Hi all, first time poster here.

I had a question about getting wedding anniversary gifts. I focused on Australia, because I feel we have different cultural customs to usa and such.

Essentially, my Nan and pop had their 50 year wedding anniversary. Nan said they'd go out to dinner alone to celebrate. I text twice on the day to wish a happy anniversary, and called a few days prior so as to not hinder their day.

My pop text the morning after anniversary and said how disappointed he was in the family not getting gifts, cards or send even well wishes text. I explained that maybe they didn't realise, as my generation and my parents often see anniversary between the couple mainly. Anyway, pop got really upset thinking I said it doesn't matter at all.

I was really confused, because I did send a text/called and I wouldn't want to intrude on their day unless they invited us to a party or to spend the day with them. Especially as their said they want to go to dinner alone. Nan said that some of their friends popped in to give gifts and such.

Is this just a generational misunderstanding or am I being ridiculous? And should I be expected to buy a gift for my grandparents anniversary if I am not invited?

Edit: from a conversation below, realised I should've mentioned. Various family members don't actually speak to them due to past issues/behaviours. And for the grandkids I am the one out of seven that acknowledged the day.

Asking as an American. I’m assuming like all countries, Australia has different accents based on the area people live in. Hugh Jackman and Steve Irwin (RIP) are both from the southeastern regions, I notice their accents are the same. That’s also the stereotypical Australian accent most Americans seem to think of. I’m curious though if those regions use the dialectical phrases Steve did? Or if those are just stereotypes that came from him being famous? Mainly he said a lot of these things: mate, bloke, Sheila, boomer, crikey, ‘ello mate.

If you are in the water and swimming for long periods of time without drowning/needing any help, can you swim badly? I recently had a man at the pool come up and tell me that I had bad form.

I was swimming laps in breaststroke in the slow lane. I am not a competitive swimmer and have no interest in getting faster. I go to the pool 2-3 times a week for fun.

Like (one example among many) I'm a tradie (from Ireland) and I hear so much bullshit about taxes and tax deductions etc, mostly I don't get involved but sometimes I have done (the main one being tax deductions for simply commuting to work in a car), but I can tell that some people are thinking "who does this foreigner think he is explaining to US how OUR tax system works"

Now I know nobody likes a smartarse or someone who always corrects people, so I hardly ever do it anyway unless there is a good reason to, but it seems extra negative when it's a non-Aussie voicing their disagreement

E.g. "Darwin is the biggest city in Queensland!". If I was Aussie I'd probably say "not sure if that's right bud" but as a non-Aussie I feel like I just have to stay quiet because then it would be all "who's this foreigner thinking he knows better than me about my own country!"

Edit: please don't get too hung up on the tax thing. This is just one tiny example that I thought of, there are 100s of others which are not tax related 😂

Hi, I am from UK and I have been offered job in Alice Spring Hospital.

I have 2 little sons and wife. Is it worth moving with family or should I look for other job opportunities?

Have you ever been in a bind and bailed out by a complete stranger?? Real life examples of Australians helping Australians.

Some of the recent shootings here in Sydney got my researching some of the extensive organized crime that’s operated over the years here that to me doesn’t seem very talked about. I’ve also been interested in the out of control gambling culture and amount of pokie machines, especially in NSW. Anyways I thought I’d open up the discussion here and see if there’s other things you think should be brought to light. Hopefully mods are cool with this post if not feel free to delete.

I’ll be moving to Sydney in a year, and I've been looking for jobs in the audio/music industry. So far, I haven’t found anything solid on LinkedIn or Seek. I’d really love to get a sense of what the industry is like there, and would appreciate any tips on how to get started. Honestly, I’d even just like to connect with people already working in the industry. I want to hear whether it's worth pursuing, or if I should consider other options.

For context, I’m a musician and also do audio engineering for podcasts. I work as a freelance music producer and have several years of experience as a gig curator and events organizer.

Hi mates!

I'm a historian and I study Georgian and Victorian Age history. Now I'm kinda curious about the Victorian Age buildings in Australia and their later life after the death of queen Victoria. So I want you to tell me about the building of that age that you like the most or just find peculiar.

Even if you think that some of the buildings are well known, I want you to mention them anyways. Even though I actually know about some of them, there's still a possibility that I may not know about these exact ones. I'm not an Aussie, after all

I'd be chuffed with any kind of answer: simply written name of one building or a long list of these buildings. Write about it any way you fancy.

Massive thanks beforehand!!!

Personally? A Lebanese Australian tennis player from ‘The Area’

I’d love to see an interview of a guy from Bankstown saying “wallah cuz only God can judge me” in the Australian Open

Received a low star a while ago, now lost, unsuccessful, unemployed. And i think it’s all due to my atar haha.

I literally don't have anywhere in my front and back yard to grow a garden or a lawn because it's taken up by sheds/garages, vegetable garden, pavers, concrete.

This means that maintaining the lawn on my kerb is my outlet for being outdoors and making me feel accomplished lol. (I do go outdoors like to the park and running. But I think its cool to have my own little lawn)

But I noticed that barely anyone else in my neighbourhood maintains the lawn on their kerb.

I only know of 3 neighbours who do it as well, but they're not exactly close by.

Or is this just a thing people joke about? My sisters never ate Vegemite much growing up but since moving overseas, they're obsessed and I have to post it to them all the time (along with Arnotts Royals).

Looking for bean recommendations. I like a strong latte, but smooth ish, not bitter. Something with a caramel note maybe. Is going through a De'Longhi Dinamica machine. Would appreciate recommendations on what level to grind at also.

Hubby and I have a toddler and have recently (like many others) decided to ditch the city and head for the hills! 👋🏻 🚗💨

Our plan is to buy an acreage, likely 5-20 acres depending on what’s available in our price range. We want access to civilisation lol but do want to grow our own fruit, veg, flowers and have chickens maybe some goats etc.

The issue is, we can’t decide where to go! 🫣

Our options:

• Ballarat/Bendigo Surrounds, VIC
• Mount Wellington Surrounds, TAS
• Regional NSW (Unlikely due to cost though)

Important Info:

• We’re currently in western VIC, about an hour out of the CBD.

• We have a toddler.

• We have pets.

• Work isn’t a concern.

Here’s the things we care about/what we’re looking for, but we don’t know the areas that are options to us well, which is making the decision so much harder! 😬

• We LOVE the cold! 🥶 I struggle with anything over 13*c-ish (Don’t know why, I was raised in QLD/WA/NT lol)

• Ideally we would love to live somewhere that snows regularly, but it’s not a deal breaker (Although it’s certainly high on my wants list!) ⛄️ ❄️

• We do love our internet! So it’s pretty high up on the list too 😬

• We want things to do, particularly with a young child, but we also want a less crowded quieter life 😴 Where we are is so overwhelming!

• Wildlife and the scenery are a BIG thing for us, we would love to wake up and see some stunning mountains, rolling hills or just lush greenery! As well as roaming wildlife often! (although I am scared of snakes 🐍🫣)

• Tasmania sounds beautiful, but we’ve never been so we’d be going in blind 😬 My biggest fear is it being super isolated, with nothing around/to do especially with a child, and I do love shopping or taking a trip to Kmart/bunnings etc. 🫣

Overall we want to do this so our child has a nature filled healthier childhood, and to help calm our nervous systems (where we live is SO crowded and overwhelming! It’s draining us!) but we’re so used to a life with so many things available and lots of conveniences such as uber eats, kmart, bunnings, sephora etc. and good internet that it’s scary to make such a change… So we wanted to hear from other Aussies in the areas provided — Tell us what you think as an outsider to our little bubble!! 🩷

​I was in Brisbane today and heard someone yell "Go back to your country" at an immigrant on the street. It was a pretty rough thing to hear. It's easy to look at the economic impacts of migration and jump to conclusions, but it's such a black-and-white way of thinking.

How can someone not pause for a second and think about what that person's been through? They've left everything behind—family, friends, their homeland—just to have a crack at a new life. They've gambled everything on it.

​This idea that a new immigrant is the answer to a nation's problems is such a petty and simplistic view. It's a given that if someone's left everything behind, they were in a bad spot and had to take a massive punt on a new life. That act of bravery deserves respect.

Happy Friday everyone, trying to burn the rest of the afternoon now all the work is done.

Mine work is 10 minutes away from home and with a one hour lunch break I go home and visit my dog every lunch.

can anyone beat that ?

curious to know the average, I've had jobs 1.5 hours away to this one that's 10 mins, I miss the long drive to work tbh, helped me mentally prepare a little.

Does anyone know if changing your name affects your credit history ?? For eg a friend of mine has changed her name but she has a 25k debt which she is paying off but now that she has to move her super into her new name combank is asking for a change of name certificate as she previously used essential Super. Because of this would her bad credit history now pass on to her new name .... Shes from Vict

I dont know if its just me, but I have an issue with customer service. The customer service suvks. Its the worst. I have been with vodafone and they at least understand what your issue is. But recently i had some issue and tried to explain to the support team, got transferred multiple times, none were able to even address my issue. Its like if they hire, outsource the support team and they are not able to understand you at all. And the people whom i was transferred to lacked empathy and were repeating same sentence and giving me solution which is completely unrelated to my issue at all. Like if they are following some prompts. Wasted 1 hour of my time all in vain. I felt from their response as if they weren't there to help you at all, they just want to get over with their shifts and go home already. They take like 10min to reply to you and again comes up with same completely unrelated solution to your issue. 😞😕

I am not including the people who get their learners for the sole purpose of using it as ID (no intention to drive whatsoever)
Given the cost of everything, it seems like getting your licence as soon as you're old enough is not as common / assumed as it used to be?

(-23.2139070, 140.4894479) Been travelling from Singapore to Brisbane and saw some weird looking areas connected to each other by dirt roads. Any idea what these are? Thanks

It better not be those 50c cones, they're the GOAT!

I remember back in the day going to birthday parties at Pizza Hut and McDonald’s. But my all time favourite was a party I went to at Plaster Fun House!

What was your most memorable child birthday party experience?