Hi there! Hey cool, yeah feel free to add me and I'll do likewise!
Yes, there's a fairly low black African (or Diaspora) population in Australia, but I've met a few black Americans here! I just found out the other week that this guy from Detroit heads up a leading drug addiction organization here in Melbourne, very cool. The other two prominent black Americans here are Marcia Hines, a former Motown backup singer who's a judge on Australian Idol, and an academic in Queensland who's the daughter of a WWII US soldier who had an affair with a white Australian woman. She kind of assimilated into the Indigenous community there, partially because she could pass as one, and wrote as her experiences as one...she landed into some really hot water over that IIRC.
I feel the need to predicate my experiences here as a person of color with pointing out I'm mixed and light-skinned, so my experience is going to be a bit different than someone black on both sides. Most white Australians think I'm Latina or Arab (not to mention a whole host of other ethnicities lol). But the long and short of it is Australians are racist in their own way. It's not as obvious here as it would be in some parts of the US, but it's there. I've gotten comments similar to ones I've gotten into California, my home state. I think the main points of difference are that because Australians don't have much first hand experience with black people, most of what they know is from entertainment, hence that notorious Jackson 5 Hey Hey It's Saturday sketch a couple years back and some of the Don Imus-esque comments some meat-headed media people make every now and then.
My life here hasn't always been peachy, but I've enjoyed living here because the life is a bit better than the US, especially now with the economy. I'm not sure how I'd fare employment-wise right now back home. Australia was pretty much the only country to weather the GFC because of AU's relationship with China. Having said that, they're saying Australia may not fare so well next time, and I get the feeling spending and certainty is down these past few months.
College here is three years unless you do honours. I wanted to go to Columbia in NYC, which I still have half-hearted plans to do, so Melbourne Uni was a good alternative, as they had one of the best Arts faculties in the world when I applied (not so now lol) and my tuition costs per annum were less than half of Columbia (though I could have gotten grants and scholarships).
Thanks for the reply! Wow, never knew about the black american in Australia, even if it's small it's definitely interesting info. Cool about finding out about those guys. Melbourne seems like a cool city, I have been following an Australian blogger for a few years (Frieda Rose) and she raves about how great Melbourne is. I always wondered how good it was for black americans there.
I heard about the economy in Australia, it seems amazing they bipass the economical problems. The economy is hurt and the recession is still on. The job market is competitive and tough at this point, I've been thinking once I finish my undergrad degree here about moving out of the country, lol.
Right now I am a community college student about to transfer this fall into a 4 year college or university (I was leaning more towards a small liberal arts college on the east coast) for Political Science or International Relations, but school in Australia intrigues me. How is it for international students? The University of Melbourne looks nice from what I have read about and seen. I was looking at NYC for colleges, I would love to get into Columbia but that's a competitive school for undergrad, but I want to apply for the MIA program there when I get my BA.
How is the culture and city life in Melbourne? I know it's a big city in Victoria and one of the most fashionable cities. I also hear it's more multicutural and liberal than other cities there. is the weather? I live in WA state about an hour from Seattle and it rains like 10 months out of the year, lol.
I'll check Freida Rose out. Melbourne is a good city, I think we ranked #1 as the most liveable city again. \o/
Having said that it does have its problems. Its public transport is getting worse, and considering the thousands that move here each year it's not going to get better. I live in the inner city and I wouldn't get a car if I knew how to drive because I'd go batty waiting in traffic. I am considering an electric scooter so I don't have to pay the ridiculous public transport costs and cut down travel time. Also, if you were looking to buy a home, the prices here are outrageous as well.
I wouldn't say it's any better or worse for black Americans than it is for any other group, save perhaps the Indigenous population, which struggles here. I was very relieved to go to Brisbane and Adelaide and see middle class Indigenous Australians.
Some info if you want to work here:
While there is technically low unemployment in Australia, that's a bit misleading and I have to say I've been having problems finding a decent job. I had a wonderful library job my first year here that was unfortunately contractual, and after that I've had work that has disappointed in me in some way.
There's an employment designation here called "casual" that doesn't exist in the US. If you are "permanent", you can be full time or part time. You get all sorts of rights you never would have in the US, like 1 month of annual leave, sick leave, protection if you're fired, etc. I used to think Australia was far more progressive than the US for this, but then I realized how rare and hard permanent jobs are. I've had a couple jobs that were advertised or led me to believe were permanent, but then they offered me a position, and it turns out it was casual. You get none of the aforementioned perks with a casual job, which can be either part or full time. You can get fired with one hour's notice.
At the end of the day, Australia's just like the US: many employers will screw you over one way or another.
I have a good number of friends who have been looking for work for about 6 months. They are both highly qualified, intelligent, and hard-working. So while there are few people with *no* work, there are many many people, myself included, who have far less work than they want. I have been wanting 25 hours of work a week since last August (which is not a lot), and have usually gotten 15-20.
If you live in a sharehouse in an inner suburb, you can expect to pay $500-1000 a month for the room. Less in the outer suburbs, but you don't want to live there lol. A receptionist/admin role will pay you $20-$25 an hour. Retail slightly less. If you commute every day, it about $110 a month for public transport.
-It's mandatory you get overseas student health insurance, which is a good thing because it matches the national healthcare system on most things. That means all doctor visits are free and all Rx over $32 are repaid to a certain extent.
-You can only work 20 hours a week during the semester, unlimited during breaks. That means unless you have savings, a nice credit card, or family helping you, you're going to have to find a job that pays at least $20 an hour (very doable) and work as close to those 20 hours.
-I went to Melbourne Uni, which is kinda notorious for having a student population that's a little stiff. I was talking about this with a guy I met last night: I thought it was because I was an American and it was the typical Melbourne arts student vibe, but he thought it was because there aren't very many interesting people haha. Perhaps he was right. There *were* few people who I clicked with, and the ones who I did click with are still very good friends.
If you want more of a friendly, alternative culture friendly campus, go to Monash in Clayton. I actually have more friends who went there. Bad news is you have to take a train to Clayton, then take a 15 minute bus ride. Some genius decided to make a major uni campus in bumfuck nowhere.
I'd really stick to Melbourne or Monash. Don't bother with Victoria Uni. LaTrobe is *okay*, some people praise it, but it's not in the top tier of Australia unis.
If you can stand not living in a major city, Australian National is neck and neck with Melbourne at the country's top unis, and one of the best in the world. There's also Sydney Uni in...Sydney. My friend Jim goes there and is studying politics/psych. Like Melbourne, the campus is beautiful.
If you want culture, Melbourne is the more cultural/artsy city than Sydney. I actually like the architecture and hustle-and-bustle of Sydney than I do Melbourne, actually.
The CBD (the part of the city with skyscrapers, a relatively small part of the metro area) is pretty quiet at night and few people live in it, about 12,000 I think. The population is very spread out, with most living in the SE. This is what makes Australia different from the US. If you want nightlife, Carlton (suburbs), Fitzroy, Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, Brunswick, South Yarra, or Southbank are where you want to live. I've always wanted to live in the CBD to live like a true city girl in a high rise apartment, but I live in an apartment a block away, and I'm just peachy here.
There are a shitload of hipsters in Melbourne. I find it annoying because they tend to be snotty and privileged, but oh well.
Melbourne is the only major city in Victoria. Each state has only one city with a pop. of over 1 million. Actually, I don't think the NT or Tasmania have any cities with over a million people.
Melb is multi-cultural, as is Sydney. Not sure about Perth. Don't bother with Adelaide, and Brisbane is alright.
Melbourne has strange weather that's different to much of the country. Our winters are colder, the coldest on the mainland. It's about 6-10C in the winter, and 20-25 in summer. There are plenty of summer days that are 25-32, which is my personal sweet spot, and a spattering of days that are 35+. Over 35 is pretty unbearable, and unfortunately most of those days are windy as hell too.
We're notorious for "four seasons in one day". Don't be surprised if you leave the house with sunny 35C weather, it rains on your lunch break, and it's cool and cloudy by nightfall. Fucking Melbourne...lol.
Also, at least once a year: apocalyptic hailstorms.
It *will* rain in summer, and obviously in winter. It rains a lot in spring. Spring and early summer has some awesome, put-the-fear-of-God-into-you thunderstorms. I'd say fall is the least likely time to have rain. So it may be comparable to Seattle actually.
Right now we're lucky: it's April and in most years it's usually pretty damn cold. It's been 20+ pretty much every day. They say it'll hold out until June. God I hope so. It's really really lovely. It was 27C yesterday, I was in heaven. (Can you tell I hate cold weather?)
OMG, thanks for the massages. This is really helpful to my curiosity of Melbourne and Australia in general. Melbourne sounds a lot like Seattle in terms of culture and weather. Every time I head up to Seattle I see loads of hipsters, hippies, and and all types of eccentric and liberal minded people. The weather sounds the same too, cooler with random and all seasons rolled up types of days, lol. Melbourne University looks interesting. I'm a bit weary of schools in smaller towns. I'm from a pretty rural town and it would drive me crazy to live out in another small town again. City life looks more appealing.
Interesting about the employment. I heard employment there is amazing to what is happening here in the states. Never heard about the casual and permanent jobs there. I will keep this in mind for the future.
I went to Monash Uni, and lived in share houses with friends for a few years. It's easy to find cheap a suburban rental for 3-4 people within 15 minutes walk. Mind you, it'll take more than that to walk from one side of campus to the other, so consider getting a bike. If you don't pay $$$ to get a parking permit at the start of the year, you will never get a car-park...not worth it unless you drive there every day. I used to commute by train+bus for my first year at Monash, and then moved into that suburb because it's so much easier to be local.
As for public transport options, Monash Uni is a major hub for buses. If you're doing train/bus combination, it's best to goto Huntingdale railway station, then catch a bus. There have been plans for about 50 years to extend the train line (and space reserved down the middle of North Road), but every government dodges the issue. Lately, they've started running a Huntingdale<->Monash express bus, which takes under 10 mins, and runs so frequently that the next one is pulling-in just as yours is leaving. It's always full, which should be an indication that it's past time to build the train-line!
Monash Uni's architecture has an unappealing obsession with form-cast concrete and 1970s-style brown brickwork. It lacks that sense of history that makes parts of Melbourne Uni look elegant, but if you're there for academic reasons then most faculties are better than UniMelb (same can be said for RMIT). If you're studying Law or Medicine and went to a very posh school then the University of Melbourne is the obvious path, since those careers rely so heavily on class, reputation, and nepotismclose-knit personal/professional networks.
There are a shitload of hipsters in Melbourne. I find it annoying because they tend to be snotty and privileged, but oh well.
Haha, that's just Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, and all the sneering "Northside" types. :-P St Kilda used to be far better, and great for creative/alternative types, but then got gentrified.
We're notorious for "four seasons in one day". Don't be surprised if you leave the house with sunny 35C weather, it rains on your lunch break, and it's cool and cloudy by nightfall. Fucking Melbourne...lol.
This is no joke. We're in some sort of weather nexus, like Ghostbusters. Don't leave home without a coat, or it'll rain just to screw with you. :-P Early January always has a few 40+ C days, with a chance of flash-flooding. Friends who just moved from here to Seattle for work say it's always colder, windier and wetter there.
Spring and early summer has some awesome, put-the-fear-of-God-into-you thunderstorms
Met a guy in Egypt who'd been to Melbourne for a holiday. In Egypt, they have "proper" storms less than once a decade. He was staying in a forest hut 2-3 hours drive down the coast from Melbourne, and one of those storms rolled in...said he thought he was going to die.
Yes, there's a fairly low black African (or Diaspora) population in Australia, but I've met a few black Americans here! I just found out the other week that this guy from Detroit heads up a leading drug addiction organization here in Melbourne, very cool. The other two prominent black Americans here are Marcia Hines, a former Motown backup singer who's a judge on Australian Idol, and an academic in Queensland who's the daughter of a WWII US soldier who had an affair with a white Australian woman. She kind of assimilated into the Indigenous community there, partially because she could pass as one, and wrote as her experiences as one...she landed into some really hot water over that IIRC.
I feel the need to predicate my experiences here as a person of color with pointing out I'm mixed and light-skinned, so my experience is going to be a bit different than someone black on both sides. Most white Australians think I'm Latina or Arab (not to mention a whole host of other ethnicities lol). But the long and short of it is Australians are racist in their own way. It's not as obvious here as it would be in some parts of the US, but it's there. I've gotten comments similar to ones I've gotten into California, my home state. I think the main points of difference are that because Australians don't have much first hand experience with black people, most of what they know is from entertainment, hence that notorious Jackson 5 Hey Hey It's Saturday sketch a couple years back and some of the Don Imus-esque comments some meat-headed media people make every now and then.
My life here hasn't always been peachy, but I've enjoyed living here because the life is a bit better than the US, especially now with the economy. I'm not sure how I'd fare employment-wise right now back home. Australia was pretty much the only country to weather the GFC because of AU's relationship with China. Having said that, they're saying Australia may not fare so well next time, and I get the feeling spending and certainty is down these past few months.
College here is three years unless you do honours. I wanted to go to Columbia in NYC, which I still have half-hearted plans to do, so Melbourne Uni was a good alternative, as they had one of the best Arts faculties in the world when I applied (not so now lol) and my tuition costs per annum were less than half of Columbia (though I could have gotten grants and scholarships).
Are you thinking of possibly moving here?
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I heard about the economy in Australia, it seems amazing they bipass the economical problems. The economy is hurt and the recession is still on. The job market is competitive and tough at this point, I've been thinking once I finish my undergrad degree here about moving out of the country, lol.
Right now I am a community college student about to transfer this fall into a 4 year college or university (I was leaning more towards a small liberal arts college on the east coast) for Political Science or International Relations, but school in Australia intrigues me. How is it for international students? The University of Melbourne looks nice from what I have read about and seen. I was looking at NYC for colleges, I would love to get into Columbia but that's a competitive school for undergrad, but I want to apply for the MIA program there when I get my BA.
How is the culture and city life in Melbourne? I know it's a big city in Victoria and one of the most fashionable cities. I also hear it's more multicutural and liberal than other cities there. is the weather? I live in WA state about an hour from Seattle and it rains like 10 months out of the year, lol.
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Having said that it does have its problems. Its public transport is getting worse, and considering the thousands that move here each year it's not going to get better. I live in the inner city and I wouldn't get a car if I knew how to drive because I'd go batty waiting in traffic. I am considering an electric scooter so I don't have to pay the ridiculous public transport costs and cut down travel time. Also, if you were looking to buy a home, the prices here are outrageous as well.
I wouldn't say it's any better or worse for black Americans than it is for any other group, save perhaps the Indigenous population, which struggles here. I was very relieved to go to Brisbane and Adelaide and see middle class Indigenous Australians.
Some info if you want to work here:
While there is technically low unemployment in Australia, that's a bit misleading and I have to say I've been having problems finding a decent job. I had a wonderful library job my first year here that was unfortunately contractual, and after that I've had work that has disappointed in me in some way.
There's an employment designation here called "casual" that doesn't exist in the US. If you are "permanent", you can be full time or part time. You get all sorts of rights you never would have in the US, like 1 month of annual leave, sick leave, protection if you're fired, etc. I used to think Australia was far more progressive than the US for this, but then I realized how rare and hard permanent jobs are. I've had a couple jobs that were advertised or led me to believe were permanent, but then they offered me a position, and it turns out it was casual. You get none of the aforementioned perks with a casual job, which can be either part or full time. You can get fired with one hour's notice.
At the end of the day, Australia's just like the US: many employers will screw you over one way or another.
I have a good number of friends who have been looking for work for about 6 months. They are both highly qualified, intelligent, and hard-working. So while there are few people with *no* work, there are many many people, myself included, who have far less work than they want. I have been wanting 25 hours of work a week since last August (which is not a lot), and have usually gotten 15-20.
If you live in a sharehouse in an inner suburb, you can expect to pay $500-1000 a month for the room. Less in the outer suburbs, but you don't want to live there lol. A receptionist/admin role will pay you $20-$25 an hour. Retail slightly less. If you commute every day, it about $110 a month for public transport.
Will continue in another message.
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-It's mandatory you get overseas student health insurance, which is a good thing because it matches the national healthcare system on most things. That means all doctor visits are free and all Rx over $32 are repaid to a certain extent.
-You can only work 20 hours a week during the semester, unlimited during breaks. That means unless you have savings, a nice credit card, or family helping you, you're going to have to find a job that pays at least $20 an hour (very doable) and work as close to those 20 hours.
-I went to Melbourne Uni, which is kinda notorious for having a student population that's a little stiff. I was talking about this with a guy I met last night: I thought it was because I was an American and it was the typical Melbourne arts student vibe, but he thought it was because there aren't very many interesting people haha. Perhaps he was right. There *were* few people who I clicked with, and the ones who I did click with are still very good friends.
If you want more of a friendly, alternative culture friendly campus, go to Monash in Clayton. I actually have more friends who went there. Bad news is you have to take a train to Clayton, then take a 15 minute bus ride. Some genius decided to make a major uni campus in bumfuck nowhere.
I'd really stick to Melbourne or Monash. Don't bother with Victoria Uni. LaTrobe is *okay*, some people praise it, but it's not in the top tier of Australia unis.
If you can stand not living in a major city, Australian National is neck and neck with Melbourne at the country's top unis, and one of the best in the world. There's also Sydney Uni in...Sydney. My friend Jim goes there and is studying politics/psych. Like Melbourne, the campus is beautiful.
If you want culture, Melbourne is the more cultural/artsy city than Sydney. I actually like the architecture and hustle-and-bustle of Sydney than I do Melbourne, actually.
The CBD (the part of the city with skyscrapers, a relatively small part of the metro area) is pretty quiet at night and few people live in it, about 12,000 I think. The population is very spread out, with most living in the SE. This is what makes Australia different from the US. If you want nightlife, Carlton (suburbs), Fitzroy, Richmond, Collingwood, Carlton North, Fitzroy North, Brunswick, South Yarra, or Southbank are where you want to live. I've always wanted to live in the CBD to live like a true city girl in a high rise apartment, but I live in an apartment a block away, and I'm just peachy here.
There are a shitload of hipsters in Melbourne. I find it annoying because they tend to be snotty and privileged, but oh well.
Melbourne is the only major city in Victoria. Each state has only one city with a pop. of over 1 million. Actually, I don't think the NT or Tasmania have any cities with over a million people.
Melb is multi-cultural, as is Sydney. Not sure about Perth. Don't bother with Adelaide, and Brisbane is alright.
Melbourne has strange weather that's different to much of the country. Our winters are colder, the coldest on the mainland. It's about 6-10C in the winter, and 20-25 in summer. There are plenty of summer days that are 25-32, which is my personal sweet spot, and a spattering of days that are 35+. Over 35 is pretty unbearable, and unfortunately most of those days are windy as hell too.
We're notorious for "four seasons in one day". Don't be surprised if you leave the house with sunny 35C weather, it rains on your lunch break, and it's cool and cloudy by nightfall. Fucking Melbourne...lol.
Also, at least once a year: apocalyptic hailstorms.
It *will* rain in summer, and obviously in winter. It rains a lot in spring. Spring and early summer has some awesome, put-the-fear-of-God-into-you thunderstorms. I'd say fall is the least likely time to have rain. So it may be comparable to Seattle actually.
Right now we're lucky: it's April and in most years it's usually pretty damn cold. It's been 20+ pretty much every day. They say it'll hold out until June. God I hope so. It's really really lovely. It was 27C yesterday, I was in heaven. (Can you tell I hate cold weather?)
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Interesting about the employment. I heard employment there is amazing to what is happening here in the states. Never heard about the casual and permanent jobs there. I will keep this in mind for the future.
Reply
I used to commute by train+bus for my first year at Monash, and then moved into that suburb because it's so much easier to be local.
As for public transport options, Monash Uni is a major hub for buses. If you're doing train/bus combination, it's best to goto Huntingdale railway station, then catch a bus. There have been plans for about 50 years to extend the train line (and space reserved down the middle of North Road), but every government dodges the issue. Lately, they've started running a Huntingdale<->Monash express bus, which takes under 10 mins, and runs so frequently that the next one is pulling-in just as yours is leaving. It's always full, which should be an indication that it's past time to build the train-line!
Monash Uni's architecture has an unappealing obsession with form-cast concrete and 1970s-style brown brickwork. It lacks that sense of history that makes parts of Melbourne Uni look elegant, but if you're there for academic reasons then most faculties are better than UniMelb (same can be said for RMIT). If you're studying Law or Medicine and went to a very posh school then the University of Melbourne is the obvious path, since those careers rely so heavily on class, reputation, and nepotismclose-knit personal/professional networks.
There are a shitload of hipsters in Melbourne. I find it annoying because they tend to be snotty and privileged, but oh well.
Haha, that's just Fitzroy, Collingwood, Northcote, and all the sneering "Northside" types. :-P
St Kilda used to be far better, and great for creative/alternative types, but then got gentrified.
We're notorious for "four seasons in one day". Don't be surprised if you leave the house with sunny 35C weather, it rains on your lunch break, and it's cool and cloudy by nightfall. Fucking Melbourne...lol.
This is no joke. We're in some sort of weather nexus, like Ghostbusters.
Don't leave home without a coat, or it'll rain just to screw with you. :-P
Early January always has a few 40+ C days, with a chance of flash-flooding.
Friends who just moved from here to Seattle for work say it's always colder, windier and wetter there.
Spring and early summer has some awesome, put-the-fear-of-God-into-you thunderstorms
Met a guy in Egypt who'd been to Melbourne for a holiday. In Egypt, they have "proper" storms less than once a decade. He was staying in a forest hut 2-3 hours drive down the coast from Melbourne, and one of those storms rolled in...said he thought he was going to die.
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Thanks for that...never moving to Seattle.
LOL @ your Egyptian friend
do you know if she'll get your reply having responded to me?
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