People don’t like being told what to do here.

Parenting seems like a very big sore point.

A lot of parents don’t like being told to discipline their kids better too.

I’ve done lots of parent teacher interviews and boy, do lots of parents get defensive. “Oh my son’s an angel”, especially when told directly they’re doing stuff like throwing stuff at the fans.

We have young sounding people calling our pharmacy and asking if we have rikodeine, and i can hear their runny nose over the phone, and they really don't sound well.

We also have young people coming into our pharmacy asking for rikodeine and saying that other pharmacies don't have it in stock.

But I checked the suppliers and it's all in stock. Our pharmacy has heaps of them in stock.

I have to say to them that our store policy is we need a prescription for rikodeine. And they say they don't have a prescription. And then I say we have a medical centre next door, so they can see if they can do a walk in appointment. And then they say it's for their mum. And then I say then their mum needs to go to the doctor to get a prescription for it. And then they leave before I get a chance to offer them another alternative like dextromethorphan.

Rikodeine is for dry cough.

The young people look and sound like they're in their 20s.

I feel bad for turning them away but I need to adhere to store policy. And it's a pharmacist only medicine, so i cant supply it without it going through a pharmacist who will then deny supply without a script.

But i dont get how pretty much all the young people say that all other pharmacies are out of stock. There are no supply issues.

Maybe this is mainly my experiences but post COVID people have become extremely intolerant of people and any differences they have.

People are quick to judge and make fun of people. People have become more disrespectful and unhinged.

Saw those skeletons at town hall with a 'don't work forever sign' and it made me think. This is the only vid I could find of the skeletons

Bit of a rant but hear me out.

Everyone overseas thinks Australia has the best work-life balance in the world, and tbh a lot of us believe it too. If you go to Bondi at sunrise it looks like everyone’s living the dream. Swimming at Icebergs, got a matcha, running the coastal walk, boot camps on the sand, coffee after.

But I’ve been down there enough mornings to realise a lot of those people are tourists. And most of the locals aren’t there because life is chill. They’re there at 5am because it’s literally the only time they’ve got. By 7 they’re on the train and they won’t be home till after dark. It only looks glamorous because there’s a beach behind them.

I’ve travelled a fair bit and Sydney has some of the most overworked people I’ve met anywhere. Not because people love their jobs, it’s just kinda the cost of living here. And it feels like “you’ll just work forever” has become normal thing across the whole country. Almost everyone I know under 40 jokes they’ll never retire and I don’t think they’re really joking.

Our parents basically had: get a job, buy a house, pay it off by 50-something, retire on super. That doesn’t really work anymore.

Quick example. Say you earn $100k, which is above the average full time wage:

• After tax: ~$77.5k
• Rent at $400/wk (a room in a share house or a one bedder way out west): $20,800
• Food, bills, transport, insurance, a bit of a social life: ~$23k
• Left over: ~$34k a year, if nothing goes wrong

A 20% deposit on a $900k unit is $180k, so 5+ years of saving every spare dollar (assuming prices don’t go up, lol). Then the mortgage is around $51.8k a year at 6%, vs $20.8k in rent. So basically everything you were saving now goes into the mortgage, before strata and rates.

So even on $100k you spend your 20s saving, your 30s and 40s paying off the loan, and don’t really start putting anything towards retirement till your 50s.

And the thing that gets me is how much of a loop it is. You work to pay rent. You work extra to save a deposit. You buy, and now you have to keep working to pay the mortgage. Then you get a pay rise but rent/prices/interest have gone up too, so you’re right back where you started. Then kids, school, a bigger place, a new car. Every time you get ahead the goalposts move. It’s like a treadmill that speeds up every time you get used to the pace.

Nobody really chooses it either. You just kind of fall into it at 22 and look up at 45 wondering where it all went, so I am genuinely asking, what does everyone think the escape is, are these the options?

• Leave Sydney. Move regional or interstate where housing doesn’t eat half your income. Works if your job can come with you, but you lose family, friends, career stuff.
• Never buy, just rent and invest the difference. Makes sense on paper but you’re at the mercy of landlords forever and renting at 70 sounds scary.
• Go hard early. The whole FIRE thing, save 50%+ for 10-15 years and get out. Respect to people who can do it but it’s not realistic for most.
• Chip away. Small amounts into ETFs or extra super every pay, starting as early as possible, and let time do the work. Not exciting but probably the most doable for normal people.
• Side income. Second job, business, side hustle. Which kind of defeats the point if the goal is working less.

First off what do you guys prefer, Passiona or Pasito. Second off where the hell can I find a passiona in Melbourne that isnt a 10 pack and isn't in a bottle (cans always taste better)

This may be a weird thing to ask but I'm genuinely curious.. i don't really have anyone to talk to since my whole family and friends all say the same "you and me both" stuff, and my life is kinda getting worse and worse, I don't have money to pay anyone to listen and I just wanna talk to someone I suppose. Is there any place in Melbourne where I can go and just let out everything I have bottled up and go on with my day?

In canada i ask for them all the time. Some restaurants give them away, sometimes it's at the discretion of the employee to give them. I think some employees say no because they want you to buy their water bottles, while other employees in the same place dont care and will hand them out. Im in Melbourne

Hi everyone!

I’m a Korean woman preparing for a working holiday in Australia! Before I go, I’d love to improve my English listening skills, especially my ability to understand the Australian accent.

I’d love to listen to some Australian podcasts, so I was wondering what your personal favourites are!

I’d really appreciate any recommendations. Thanks in advance!

Edit: hair growth. I meant like “hair loss prevention” but yeah now I can’t edit the title. I’m losing hair and want to regrow hair.

I enquired at one place and had to go through the full 90 minute consult to get ANY information.
Laser treatment was around $5000 for the take home helmet, includes consults and stuff, then medications and stuff are on top (they said like $100 ish per three months). Is that pretty standard or are they pricing up as a “premium” clinic?

Any feedback on clinics, prices, or can you get the helmets not through a clinic? Presumably the ones on Amazon are LED not laser but I dunno.

I’ve heard medications and topical treatments alone help hair loss but not so much with growth and thickness.

Not bald, but thinning quite a lot.

Why do us Aussies hate it so much?

I can't quite put my finger on it. All I know is that it just really grates on me. Is it because it's just TOO American?

The thing is, I don't care so much if I'm watching TV and Seppos are saying it to each other. But as soon as they try saying it to me or another Aussie... 😖

Nothing against the show, but can they make it slightly less obvious?

In a nutshell,

Casual pay- 40hr work week

33/hr weekdays

39/hr before 7am

67/hr PH

Total fortnightly pay after taxes- $2240

New FT contract offered 40hr work week

$27/hr weekdays

$32/hr before 7am

Plus annual and sick leave. Haven't calculated the fortnightly pay yet.

Been with the company for 5 years, been casual the whole time. The pay increased every year on July 1st.

This feels like a significant pay cut in exchange for annual and sick leave. In the past 2 years, I have taken a total of 6 days off.

Just needed some thoughts/opinions

Thank you!

i would post this in the melbourne/sydney sub but i dont have enough karma so sorry about that

but basically i am travelling melb to syd (then obvi syd to melb) and i'm wanting to take my disposable cameras, kodak power flash and filmfuji quicksnap, and just wondering if melb and syd airport secruity in particular allow for hand checks to be done as i have read that the scanners can damage and ruin the film.
this is my first time using disposable cameras so i'm taking this very seriously with a lot of caution as i don't want them to get ruined and me wasting my money on them.
i've read mix things about aus airports allowing for hand checks to be done, so im just wondering if anyone has had recent experiences regarding this issue, if they do/dont.

thank you

Hey everyone! I’ve just started a Christmas casual job at Peter Alexander and was wondering if Christmas casuals are usually invited to the end-of-year (EOY) staff party?
I’m mainly asking because I have pretty bad anxiety when it comes to group events, so I’d love to know what to expect beforehand. I know it might vary between stores, but I was curious about other people’s experiences!
Thanks

Hey all, I applied for a "Peak Trade Team Members - Casual" at Officeworks and received an interview. I was wondering for those who are casual or have previously worked at Officeworks, what are the hours like for a casual team member role?

He has a pet hate when people say 'floor' when they are outside and referring to the ground.

Ie; I found the knife sitting there, on the floor in the driveway...

Does anyone else find this weird? Floor is inside...ground is outside.

We do laugh about it all the time. I would like to know who, if anyone finds it as annoying as he does.

G'day, mates. My son is turning 14 soon and I want to get him a really nice backpack or overnight style bag for his birthday.

General luggage would be his wallet, phone, tablet, headphones, glasses and a 1L water bottle, plus a change of clothes +/- jumper.

The brighter and funkier coloured the better.

Any recommendations appreciated, thanks a million.

I recently went to North Queensland to visit my partner's family. Their half-sister, who is much older and in her mid 50s, said "Do you want me to grab your port from the back of the car?"

I was extremely confused as the only port I knew was the old fashioned alcohol and I definitely didn't have any of that. I went to the back of the car and found out she meant my suitcase.

So is this a common thing? Is it a regional QLD thing or generational? Or has this word just passed me by and I never realised. I'm a Zoomer (26) from Adelaide for context.

I have a four-year-old daughter, and we’re an Australian Indian family living in Sydney’s Inner West. I’ve never attended any of my daughter’s daycare friends’ birthday parties. I think I was simply unaware of the social norm that you can attend these parties even if you don’t know the parents personally.
Now I’m organising my daughter’s birthday party and have invited 21 children, but so far, only three have confirmed they’re coming.
I can’t help wondering whether people aren’t attending because I haven’t attended their children’s parties in the past. Could that be the reason, or are there other factors at play? I’m worried that my daughter might miss out socially. I’d appreciate honest perspectives from other parents.

I grew up in regional Victoria but was recently teased by some Brits for my pronunciation of "garage" as "g'rahzh". I guess it's posh / pseudo-French? Never thought about it.

I've noticed other Australians say something closer to "gar-ahdge". So fully pronouncing the a in "gar" - like Gary.

I've also heard a hybrid - "gar-azh".

Of course, a lot of English people say something like "garridge".

How do you pronounce it?

Do you have "-zh" sound at the end? or a "-dge"?

Does it start like "Gary"?

Is 11months too far in advance? We are a family of five and I wanted secure flight and hotel prices for our trip to Bali. We plan to fly with Garuda, and we’re set on a date next year, but only concern is if something were to happen, and the flights can’t be cancelled etc.

EDIT: by ‘on your own’ i meaning living life independently and not depending on family. Sorry for the confusion