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FuelDrop was pretty spot on. I'll give my own thoughts coming from a non-capital city (although as far as it goes we're actually bigger than a couple of them). Some things will differ slightly here from say Sydney (even though here in Newcastle it's our closest major city), but there will also be slight differences from state to state (for instance Woolworths is called Safeway in Victoria).
1. What stores do you have? To be specific, I'd like to know what grocery stores/supermarkets, chain restaurants, gas stations, hardware stores, and such you all shop at, and what your opinions on different companies are.
Grocery Stores: Woolworths is Australia's largest chain, altohugh Coles isn't far behind. IGA is a whole heap of independently owned supermarkets who basically banded together under one name to thry to fight the big boys. Aldi (a German company) is also gaining a lot of popularity for its cheap but quality items.
As far as department stores go, we have Big W (Woolworths), Target and K-Mart (Coles). David Jones and Myer are upmarkety department stores whose prices are generally much higher for similar (if not the same) products as the lesser ones (such as toys, books & CD/DVDs), although they do keep more high end stuff in other areas such as fashion and make-up.
Restaurants: McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Dominos, Subway. Mostly American chains hold power here. Your Hungry Jacks is called Burger King out here but it is nowhere near as popular as Maccas. A few Australian ones are Eagle Boys (Pizza) and Henny Penny (Chicken, although it is very region specific).
Petrol Stations: Caltex, Shell, BP, Mobil (although most if not all Mobils in our area have now been converted to 7-11's). They also do deals with Supermarkets for cheap fuel discounts (Woolworths with Caltex and Coles with Shell) eg. Spend $30 at the Supermarket and get 2c/litre off your petrol.
Harware Stores: Bunnings is probably the biggest (owned by Coles) and then Mitre 10.
2. What product brands are popular? What are your opinions on different brand names?
There is a lot of diversity here and many names spread over differnet product categories. To list it would take me a very long time, sorry. :(
3. Could I get a layman's description of gun laws, how easy it is to get a gun, how many people have guns, and an overview of gun politics? I respectfully request that this question does not turn into a debate on these laws.
Police and Private Security have access to firearms, although automatic weaponry is pretty much exclusive to the military and crack police units.
You need a licence to own a gun (and you need a good reason for it) and they can only be used under cetain conditions eg. gun ranges or farms for wildlife control.
4. What animals do you commonly see? For example, I know kangaroos are common in Australia, but how often do you actually see them?
Domestic animals are the most common. Native wildlife is rare in cities other than on the ourskirts or suburbs with large sections of bushland within them. You do see a fair number of native birds though (Cockatoos being quite a common sight feeding on the side of the road).
Kangaroos (at least the big red ones you associate with a the image of a Kangaroo) are mainly confined to the non-coastal reagions of Australia.
5. What foods are uniquely Australian? What do Australians in general often eat and drink? What brands of alcohol are popular?
Food & Drink: Vegemite is obviously our most Iconic food and we do eat a fair bit of it. Tim Tams are probably our next most poular food that is uniquly ours. Other than that, a great deal of our food is just specific Australian brands of regular foods (Fountain Tomato Sauce, Smiths Chips, etc...) As far as drinks go, ther is nothing particularly Australian (although we do drink a lot more Ginger Beer than I have seen being consumed overseas). Brands like Coke and Pepsi and their various sub-brands) pretty much rule here. We did have Schweppes as our own (and it's still popular) but is is now owned by Pepsi, so it blankets under that brand.
Alcohol: We have a lot of Beer brands available, although the one you most associate with us (Fosters) isn't really well like here. Tooheys and Victoria Bitter are the most popular in this area (although I know South Austraia and Western Australia have their own brands), but VB obviously outsells Tooheys in Victoria. The Queensland brand of XXXX is also common here but is much more heavily drunk in Queensland (obviously).
Crown Lager and James Boags are popular high end beers here as well.
Bundaberg Rum is our most well known spirit. Most others are only minor brands and pale in comparison to the big ones (Jim Beam, Smirnoff, etc...)
6. What is your opinion of the Australian military? Police forces? Government?
No real opinion as such. They do their jobs well and have no more scandals (and in most cases less) than other countries. Of course in saying that, Government still act like the childish playgrounders that they do in other countries...
7. What do you watch on TV?
Mostly American shows, although there are a few good Aussie shows that have a large following (large by our standards, not yours... if a show rates between 1 and 2 millon viewers here it is a hit, if it got that many viewers in the US it would be cancelled in a heartbeat!).
Underbelly is the standout from the last 5 years, although a number of others are very popular too (Spicks & Speck, Offspring, the Chasers to name a few)
8. What are your opinions on some other nations? I'm especially interested in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Ireland, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Generally speaking, opinions are good for all of them, although as in any culture you have your naysayers and haters. As a very multi-cultural society, there are racial issues and although they can get way out of hand, they are generally few and far between.
9. Can you describe Australia's relationship with New Zealand in layman's terms, or is it as complicated as I've sometimes heard?
It's a sort of love/hate relationship. As far as geeral relations go, there are no problems except some friendly ribbing and competition. If you look at sport on the other hand...
10. How many Australians are anti-immigrant? How vocal are they?
Generally they are in the minority but as with all minorities they are usually the most vocal...
11. What public transportation do you have? How often do you use it?
Buses, Trains and in some areas Ferries.
I never use it anymore (although I used to a lot when I was younger).
Buses are generally on time but fluctualte in their popularity at times.
Trains are often late and have been plagued by dramas over the last 10 years. That being said, a lot of people use them because of commutes to and from work (there are a fair number of people who live in Newcastle but work in Sydney as pay is higher in Sydney, but cost of living is lower in Newcastle).
There a re no issues with Ferries as far as I am aware.
12. What is the weather usually like where you live? How is it in other areas of the country?
Hot in Summer, cold in winter (although no snow).
As you go north, temperatures rise (like in Queensland, where a cold winters day is a moderately warm day here).
As you go south, temperatures drop (5 hours south of us are mountains and Australia's ski fields). Victoria is known for its wetter conditions, although I think that a lot of that is just myth and they're probably only slightly wetter than anywhere else).
13. How much do you know about aboriginal peoples? How often do they appear in media?
No more or less than the average person.
Occasionally, but not too often.
14. What sorts of clothing do you usually wear?
Shorts and T-Shirts in summer.
Jeans/Long Pants and T-Shirts with Jackets in winter.
15. Do you often go into the Outback? Do many Australians?
No. I live on the coast, so that's a loooong trip for me.
I don't think there a re large numbers of Australinas who do, although it is certainly a stop over for anyone doing a 'round Australia Tour.
16. What model cars are popular?
Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon rule the roost here.
There are a lot of common models getting around the streets here though, but smaller 4x4s are quite popular. Utes are also popular, alshough more so in the country as farm vehicles and in the mining sector.
17. About how much crime do you have, and what sorts of crime is it?
Crime is alvays present, although nowhere near the levels of countries like the US.
There is a lot of small stuff (B&E, Assault, etc...) Not a lot of armed robbery though.
Gang related incidents are commonish (Bikies, Drug Rings, Organised Crime, etc...)
Murder is actually not too bad here, altohugh of course it is present, it is more non-lethal violence that holds sway.
Drugs are also a big part of the underworld scene.
18. What music is popular? What musicians are from Australia?
Similar tastes to other western countries.
Some notable (for sheer popularity or for other reasons such as cult status or quirkiness) Australian bands and artists over the last 20 years have been:
AC/DC
INXS
Crowded House
Hunters & Collectors
Hoodoo Gurus
John Farnham
Cold Chisel
Powderfinger
Midnight Oil
John Butler Trio
Eskimo Joe
Pete Murray
Sneaky Sound System
Kate Miller-Heidke
and so many many more that I'm forgetting right now! :)
Phew! That took me an hour and a half to compile... way longer than I was expecting, but happy to help. :D
flash_cxxi
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
