Australians who’ve never left Australia often overestimate how worldly they are. Without experiencing developing countries or different cultures firsthand, it’s easy to become narrow-minded and disconnected from the multicultural reality of modern Australia.

There is something about living in a first-world country that can make people complain more, become self-centred, overlook the countless blessings around them, and never feel satisfied.

I’m not saying Australia is perfect, nor am I suggesting we should settle for mediocrity or stop striving for better.
But if you’ve intentionally immersed yourself in a developing country, you quickly realise that this is how most of the world lives. That experience has a way of reshaping your perspective, deepening your gratitude, and broadening your understanding of people.

Australians who have had the opportunity to travel but never have often have a narrower worldview. Not because they’re unintelligent, but because their assumptions about life have never really been challenged.

Thoughts?

Hey everyone,

I’m in a bit of a dilemma and would love to know what would you do if you were in my shoes.

A few months ago I landed a job I’ve always wanted, on 125k which was already a 45k jump from my previous role. So really happy about that.

The work is exactly what I enjoy, team is great, culture is really relaxed. Plus, I got insanely lucky and live a one-minute walk away. No commute, which means heaps more free time, and I’ve actually really loved living close to the city. Public transport is literally 5 mins away walking distance.

Now I’ve been offered a role paying around 160k, but it’d mean a 30-minute drive each way, not accounting for peak hour traffic tbh, and I’m not sure about the culture. I honestly don’t know what to do.

I really don't wanna move closer to this new role as I'd lose the closeness to the city, which is something I love currently, but would be better pay.. or stay, and maybe try to negotiate a raise later, while keeping my 1minute commute

For people who have been in a similar spot, how much value would you put on having no commute whatsoever compared to earning more money but spending more time commuting?

Please be kind guys, It a genuine dilemma I have, and I'd love to know what would you do :)

Thanks legends!

So people with hidden phones due to DV have (hopefully) had warnings reach them, to turn off their phones for the test.
But then what happens when the phones go off for real? An emergency warning could be at quite a remove from a need to flee; still putting the person in danger. I would love to know how this is being risk-managed not just for the test but for real-life.

I don’t mean this post in a negative way, more out of curiosity. I’m not fully Filipino, and before I moved to Australia, people usually couldn’t guess my background just by looking at me. However, ever since I’ve been in Australia, I’ve noticed that because there is a large Filipino community here, many Australians immediately ask me if I’m Filipino right away when they see me and I find that funny. I know they don’t mean it in an insulting way at all, but it genuinely makes me curious about what kind of appearance or features people associate with Filipinos.

I keep hearing how Australia has a massive problem with tall poppy syndrome and people keep getting the shits for having nice things, or having nicer lifestyles.

Is it exaggerated online? Or is it a real thing felt by everyday people ?

Starts tomorrow lol

I heard that this tv show which is very popular in many countries of Europe, does have like a Cult Following in Australia, but not mainstream in general. Do you remember when for the first time it was shown in Australian TV? Does it really have such a big audience that when people mention dog name Rex, people will recognise that it is from the show even though they never watched it for example?

As of today we have had 117 fires caused by an ebike/scooter battery in australia just this year SO far.

With 8 confirmed deaths.

Why the fuck are these death traps allowed to be sold here if this is the case.

if a washing machine was this fucking faulty the brand would be outlawed here.

If not a ban they should only be sold at approved retailers that only import quality brands and devices that can handle being charged.

Thoughts?

I'm an American and smoke cigarettes infrequently (once every couple months). Usually whenever my friends are around or I get a random urge to do so for whatever reason.

I've been watching this youtube series called the Big Lez Show and one of the characters often brings up a brand of cigarettes called winnie blues which I've learned is slang for Winfield Blue. I looked to see if I could get my hands on some to try and I found an online vendor that'd sell me some but for 60 bucks (~86 AUD)! Fuck me that's outrageous. I think it's cause Australia puts heavy taxing on cigarettes but im used to buying a pack of Camel Crushes for like 10 bucks (~15 AUD). I'm not curious enough to shell out that amount for some cigarettes but I'm curious enough to ask on here how good's a pack of winnie blues?

Hi everyone 👋

I'm doing my tax returns and I'm stuck at the beginning.

So here my situation so you can have all the information.

I am 26 years old female and I came on a working holiday visa in September 2025. I worked for 9 months and travel for 3 weeks before going back home in Canada at the end of june 2026

I did everthing that was needed to do before leaving Australia, I have acces to my ATO and mygov

But now I'm stuck at a simple question and even chatgpt can answer me 😅.

Here where I'm stuck.

Those question👇

" Were you an Australian resident for tax purposes from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026?" Yes or no

And this question👇

"If you were a resident for part of the year, only enter the dates when you were a resident " and they ask me the dates.

Before you ask yes I did tried this👇 but it's not working. I even tried the live chat on the app and it's not working.

https://www.ato.gov.au/calculators-and-tools/tax-return-work-out-your-tax-residency?utm_source=chatgpt.com

So what should I answer for those simple question ?

Thank you and have a good day 👋

I think nowadays there is so many reality tv show, that many old ones are forgotten. But i remember watching Australian version and i find it rather wholesome. Even if everything is scripted just for views on TV. But question is do you know anyone who participated on this reality show? If you are here, i would like to know, how behind-the-scenes looked like on that show. Was everything scripted? Also did girls faked being Dumb just for television?

But one thing what i like about show, is that Beauty and Geeks were very supportive of each other.

I live about 1km from my local Woolies and I’m trying to get more walking into my daily routine to get my steps up instead of driving. I have a 3 year old though, and while she’ll happily walk there I’m not convinced she’ll happily walk home once I’ve got groceries. Would it be weird if I took one of those beach carts/wagons with me? My thinking is I could use it for the groceries, and if she gets tired on the way home she could jump in too. I’ve never seen anyone bring one into Woolies before so now I’m wondering if this is a genius idea or if I’d look completely ridiculous. Has anyone done this? For more context I live in a regional SEQ town not in a metro area.

Hi guys i’m in year 12 and Im struggling so so bad. I’m thinking about going unscored because i might get an atar of like 50. if im lucky, what pathways r there to law? and if anyone is a lawyer or even studying to become a lawyer how is it. thank u!

btw i dont rlly wanna go into uni like in a couple years time, i wanna go straight after hs !

Hello ! American here, I was wondering if anyone has any Australian specific music or band recommendations from the early 2000's ? I know The Getaway Plan was a big punk band and was pretty popular ! I want to learn more about Australian culture since I've recently developed an interest in general in the country !

My friend and I are in a long standing debate about ACT Canberra licenses. He has found what appears to be a licence card but I am saying it is fake because there is no hologram or what looks like to be security features. Can someone in Canberra ACT please tell me… do ACT drivers licences have a security hologram like all other states?

My boss used to be really nice to me. Then she started being mean about a few months into my employment. Now she yells at least twice a week. She's nice and then you don't know what would trigger her yelling, and then she's nice again.

I'm only in my early 20s.

She only yells at me. She goes out of her way to be nice to all other staff. Lately, her yelling has a tone of incredible frustration and annoyance. For example, she doesn't just yell at the top of her lungs, but she makes a whinge sort of face and goes "omg you should know this, it's problem solving 101, you shouldn't have to ask me this", like it causes her distress.

She also misinterprets what I'm doing and she usually barges in during my work and takes over but makes it worse, but she thinks she's making it better.

Other employees make mistakes and they don't get yelled at.

I took advise from a senior staff member who has been here for 15 years. My boss came over and started yelling at me saying this method isn't efficient and she yelled at me for not going to her for advice and she said this is why we have many staff members (basically telling me to ask more than one staff member, which is inefficient lol). And that senior staff member didnt get told off for telling me the inefficient method. I got told off for doing the inefficient method and for not going to her lol.

What I just wrote probably sounds horrible. But this has happened over the course of a few months. She has yelled at me for other instances too. But she is mainly nice for a few days and then yells and then nice again.

She says this is the best place to work. All other staff are saying it's the best place to work but that's because they don't get yelled at. I used to think this was the best place to work until I started getting yelled at.

She is a woman, so her yelling at the top of her lungs is high pitched and not scary. If she was a man and yelled at top of lungs, it would be very deep tone of voice and scary.

She actually wants me to stay here forever. But I can't take it anymore.

I'm worried about resigning. They're all going to be so shocked I'm resigning because they think I'm loving working at this place. I have a good poker face.

She's a very good communicator, makes connections and networks, and if she read this, she will convince you I'm the bad one.

Another thing I dont like about her is she just stands there criticising you in a monotone dragged out monologue where you just have to stand there listening to her.

Hi everyone!

I'm Christophe from Belgium, and this is Ponpon.

Australia has been one of my biggest dreams for years. I love your beaches, national parks, wildlife and the outdoor lifestyle.

If I ever managed to visit Australia with Ponpon, where would you take her first?

I'd love to discover dog-friendly places that locals genuinely enjoy.

Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully one day we'll finally make the trip!

Plus they apparently misspelled my name a few years ago (one letter) and now new laws insist i get it fixed (expat problems). To do that will cost 375€ It's a total f***inf rort and i'm so p issed. that money was supposed to be for our holiday. now we will be eating spuds for 2 weeks in an exotic location.

Optus has upped the bill to 98 dollars a month for internet that barely loads half the time, and it’s just not sustainable anymore.

Any recommendations on a cheaper service? Just want unlimited internet at an alright speed without sacrificing an organ each month to pay for it.

I’ve looked up a few online but it’s real confusing on if they’ll work with the Optus modem, and I don’t really fancy paying for a new modem if I don’t have to, they’re bloody expensive

Too often, bisexual experiences are overlooked. That’s why we’re asking for your help. Your voice could help improve mental health supports. Participation is open to all adults (18+) with a marginalized sexual identity (e.g. bisexual, lesbian, gay, queer, pansexual, omnisexual, sexually fluid etc…).

Survey: https://csufobjbs.au1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6sCeGsZJld6774W

By completing our anonymous 10–15 min survey, you’ll be contributing to research that aims to better understand the risk and protective factors for mental health, among adults with a marginalized sexual identity.

We are Psychology Honours Students from Charles Sturt University in Australia. This ethics-approved study (H26115) includes questions about sexuality, self-kindness, belonging to the LGBTQIA+ community, sleep, suicidality, and depressive symptoms.

Ethics approval letter: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:AP:23e6db21-4592-4881-8472-c98ab36e4b5c

Thank you for helping make bisexual experiences more visible.

Thanks mods for approval to post!

Please share with others who may be interested.

I’m a fan of Japanese horse racing.

I’m a fan of a horse called Ka Ying Rising from Hong Kong, and as that horse is due to run in a major race in Sydney this October, I’m travelling there to cheer it on. If anyone attended ‘The Everest’ last year or knows Randwick Racecourse well, I’d love to ask you a few questions, so please do leave a comment.

I’m a photographer – where would be the best place to take photos at Randwick Racecourse? I’d like to take photos from a spot where the racecourse fencing doesn’t appear in the frame. Also, with a standard admission ticket, is it possible to take photos near the finish line? This is my first time attending a horse race in Australia, so I’ve got loads of questions.

Hi all!

I’ve been saving up for about a year and have around $5k that I was going to use to buy a secondhand car but I’m planning to move out of my current rental in the next 12 months. So I’m not sure if I should use the money to buy all the necessary furniture while I start looking at options or better off having a car? I’m really close to public transport and work is only about 30 mins so a car isn’t a necessity at the moment. Thoughts?

I know from the title it might seem like I’m overreacting, but I genuinely did something that I feel horrible about, and I regret it every single day.

Basically, one night I was on Omegle/OmeTV, and some people started pressuring me to say the n-word. They were saying it too, and I ended up saying it. I don’t know if they recorded me, if the clip was ever posted somewhere, or if anyone saved it.

I grew up in an environment where people around me casually used that word. Indians, white people, Asians, and others around me said it, but I’m not using that as an excuse because I understand that what I did was wrong. I take full accountability for my actions.

At the time, I was around 14–15 years old. I may have even lied about my age on the site and said I was older because I didn’t want to get blocked from using it.

The reason I’m so worried is because I’ve seen stories online about people losing jobs or opportunities because of things they said in the past. I saw a comment where someone said their friend lost their job the same day after saying the n-word, and it honestly scared me.

I truly regret what I said, and I understand why it is harmful and offensive. I sincerely apologize to anyone I may have hurt or offended. I know it was wrong, and I’ve learned from it.

I’m just scared that something I did when I was younger could come back years later and affect my future.

I’m honestly stuck between a rock and a hard place.

I know my current income isn’t great, but it’s working for me so far, and where I work (bank) I’d hope there’s opportunities to move internal in the future.

It’s a fully remote role, I go in once a while to catch up with people, but effectively standard business hours, fairly low stress role.

I am studying on the side too, so being at home when work finishes helps out a lot.

Come across another role offer for approx $105k 3 days in office, 2 days at home. I know this role would be a lot more demanding (KPI’s, targets etc). Commute would be about an hour each way.

Reason I’m hesitating is I don’t want to fall behind in terms of salary, and not knowing if I can get another role like this in the next year or so kind of haunts me.

I’d appreciate any advise. TIA everyone :)