AUSTRALIAN LIFESTYLE
You often hear that the Australian way of life is laidback and Australians are very friendly. But compared to Croatia, people work a lot and put a big focus on their careers. They will not drink coffee for hours, and dinner is the main meal of the day. If your friend lives in the other part of the city, it’s very likely you won’t see each other for months. But that’s normal because you’re probably very busy anyway.
WORK-LIFE (IM)BALANCE
Business hours in Australia are from 9 am to 5 pm. In bigger cities, like Sydney or Melbourne, it’s not unusual to spend one hour or even longer commuting to work. This means you need to get up very early in the morning and that you come home late in the evening. Since you spend most of your day at work and commuting to work, you don’t have much free time during the weekdays. Most people work during the week and go out only during the weekends. On Fridays, people stay in the city for after-work drinks, and happy hour is mostly from 3 pm until 7 pm. There are a lot of job opportunities in Australia, but be ready to work hard. Australian society is very work and money-oriented, so socializing with friends or going out for drinks during the week is not that common.
On the weekends or when they have free time, Australians love to spend time outdoors (which makes sense since the weather is nice all year round). There are often many people on the beaches and in parks. Fitness and exercise are also an important part of their lifestyle, so you can find outdoor gyms in the parks and see people exercising near the beach at any time of day.
DINNER IS READY
Since evening is part of the day when most people are at home, dinner is the main meal of the day and is usually served between 6 and 7 pm. For lunch, Australians eat something simple and quick, such as sandwiches, frozen meals or salads you can buy in supermarkets (which, in my opinion, are not great quality). Brunch (a meal usually taken late in the morning that combines a late breakfast and an early lunch, usually between 11 am and 2 pm) is popular on weekends and is often served with alcoholic drinks. You can find restaurant and bar packages offering food with unlimited or cheap drinks between 11 am and 2 pm (called bottomless brunch).
AUSTRALIAN DREAM
Australians are obsessed with home ownership. Almost every week, you can hear about rising property prices on the news and everyday conversations are often about property value and buying a property. The Australian dream is a belief that home ownership can lead to a better life and is an expression of success and security. Therefore, the dream of almost every Australian is to buy a house (the bigger the better) so they save for a house deposit when they start working. The irony is that buying a property is becoming more and more unattainable every year as property prices increase at a rapid rate. Just this year, property prices have increased by 15%, while in 2020 the average property price increased for $103,400, which is almost $2000 a week! More and more young Australians can’t afford to buy their own property, especially in Sydney or Melbourne. The average house price in Sydney is currently $1,410,133 (yes, a million!). For comparison, the average annual gross salary in New South Wales (the state where Sydney is located) is $85000 (around $5500 net monthly).
