Sanx
14th April 2008, 20:42
Following a five month period where I only had work for one, which spanned paying for an extremely expensive party (wedding), I decided to take up a three month contract in Brisbane. All things considered, I would have preferred to stay in Auckland, but given the Auckland IT contract market died and I needed to pay for such luxuries as food and rent, this was the only choice.
First impressions of Brisbane were as follows:
Fuck it's hot.
Really hot.
Air conditioning is wonderful.
The city's clean. Really clean. You usually don't notice an absence of something, but the complete lack of graffiti and litter in the city centre is very nice to see.
Australians are tough bastards. Balls of steel and skin of leather. At least, they obviously think they have leather skin as no-one wears gear on a bike. I have never seen so many people riding in shorts and t-shirts.
And there are bikes everywhere. Brisbane City Council recognises encouraging motorcycles can lead to a reduction in congestion so doesn't then penalise every biker by not providing bike parking and ticketing every bike on the pavement. Bikes park anywhere and everywhere; provided they're not causing an obstruction, it's fine.
People drive at a reasonable pace. You don't get Islanders in Bongo Wagons who take ten seconds to work out what pedal to press once the light goes green, and then accelerate so slowly that they haven't yet hit fifty by the time they hit the next red light 500 metres away.
People observe lane discipline on motorways (which are many and well-built). Pull out to overtake, and pull back once the manouver's completed.
The beer's uniformly shite and tasteless.
The wildlife's great. Lizards, exotic (to me, anyway) birds, bats ... haven't seen a snake yet though :(
Did I mention it's hot?
Queensland belives in investment in infrastructure. They build roads, and rail, and stadia and public facilities. Unlike NZ's useless excuse for government, who spend all the money being politically correct and buying votes from the laziest, least productive societal leeches and then give the rest out in treaty claims.
Used cars and bikes are expensive.
New cars and bikes, under 60k, are cheaper.
Fuel's cheaper too, but all the locals are still whining.
Fresh food's pricey, but take-out is cheap.
A public transport system that works is a great asset. One ticket gets you use of the trains, buses and ferries. Take that, Auckland!
I haven't seen one chip-seal road yet, even driving through the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hinterlands. Yes, the roads are bumpy in places and some need repair, but on average, they're an order of magnitude better than in the North Island.
Traffic cops, and I've seen very few of them, concentrate on bad driving, not speed. Which is why Queensland's road toll is getting lower every year and is lower in every statistic compared with NZ and Victoria, where speed is declared the root of all evil and is the sole thing cops are concerned with.
No Maori cultural shite rammed down one's throats constantly. I know this shouldn't be a surprise given that Brisbane's in Australia, but it's so refreshing never-the-less.
Very very few boy racers.
The National Parks are fantastic. I've walked more in the last six months than I've done in the preceeding six years, and loved every minute of it. Traipsing through sub-tropical rainforest with nothing but the sound of the birds to keep you company is very uplifting.
Noosa and its headlands must be the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
Oh ... it's hot.
Of course, they're some down sides too:
I don't have a bike.
My wife's in Auckland.
Many good friends are in Auckland.
I don't have transport, unless I rent a car.
I'm sharing a house with a guy who had his personality removed at birth. He plays golf ... 'nuff said.
And that's it. They're crying out for good people here, especially in my industry. My wife's coming over in May for a two-week look-see, and I'm going to do everything to persuade here to move over here. And by everything, I mean point her in the direction of shoe shops, armed with a credit card.
If she does decide to join me here, then I'll miss NZ and especially the great people with whom I've shared laughs, beers and track days over the last couple of years. But this place has so much to offer ...
First impressions of Brisbane were as follows:
Fuck it's hot.
Really hot.
Air conditioning is wonderful.
The city's clean. Really clean. You usually don't notice an absence of something, but the complete lack of graffiti and litter in the city centre is very nice to see.
Australians are tough bastards. Balls of steel and skin of leather. At least, they obviously think they have leather skin as no-one wears gear on a bike. I have never seen so many people riding in shorts and t-shirts.
And there are bikes everywhere. Brisbane City Council recognises encouraging motorcycles can lead to a reduction in congestion so doesn't then penalise every biker by not providing bike parking and ticketing every bike on the pavement. Bikes park anywhere and everywhere; provided they're not causing an obstruction, it's fine.
People drive at a reasonable pace. You don't get Islanders in Bongo Wagons who take ten seconds to work out what pedal to press once the light goes green, and then accelerate so slowly that they haven't yet hit fifty by the time they hit the next red light 500 metres away.
People observe lane discipline on motorways (which are many and well-built). Pull out to overtake, and pull back once the manouver's completed.
The beer's uniformly shite and tasteless.
The wildlife's great. Lizards, exotic (to me, anyway) birds, bats ... haven't seen a snake yet though :(
Did I mention it's hot?
Queensland belives in investment in infrastructure. They build roads, and rail, and stadia and public facilities. Unlike NZ's useless excuse for government, who spend all the money being politically correct and buying votes from the laziest, least productive societal leeches and then give the rest out in treaty claims.
Used cars and bikes are expensive.
New cars and bikes, under 60k, are cheaper.
Fuel's cheaper too, but all the locals are still whining.
Fresh food's pricey, but take-out is cheap.
A public transport system that works is a great asset. One ticket gets you use of the trains, buses and ferries. Take that, Auckland!
I haven't seen one chip-seal road yet, even driving through the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast hinterlands. Yes, the roads are bumpy in places and some need repair, but on average, they're an order of magnitude better than in the North Island.
Traffic cops, and I've seen very few of them, concentrate on bad driving, not speed. Which is why Queensland's road toll is getting lower every year and is lower in every statistic compared with NZ and Victoria, where speed is declared the root of all evil and is the sole thing cops are concerned with.
No Maori cultural shite rammed down one's throats constantly. I know this shouldn't be a surprise given that Brisbane's in Australia, but it's so refreshing never-the-less.
Very very few boy racers.
The National Parks are fantastic. I've walked more in the last six months than I've done in the preceeding six years, and loved every minute of it. Traipsing through sub-tropical rainforest with nothing but the sound of the birds to keep you company is very uplifting.
Noosa and its headlands must be the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
Oh ... it's hot.
Of course, they're some down sides too:
I don't have a bike.
My wife's in Auckland.
Many good friends are in Auckland.
I don't have transport, unless I rent a car.
I'm sharing a house with a guy who had his personality removed at birth. He plays golf ... 'nuff said.
And that's it. They're crying out for good people here, especially in my industry. My wife's coming over in May for a two-week look-see, and I'm going to do everything to persuade here to move over here. And by everything, I mean point her in the direction of shoe shops, armed with a credit card.
If she does decide to join me here, then I'll miss NZ and especially the great people with whom I've shared laughs, beers and track days over the last couple of years. But this place has so much to offer ...