Australian cities becoming lonelier, more isolating

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Banano
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Australian cities becoming lonelier, more isolating

Post by Banano »

http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/aust ... 6310688211

•City builders pay little attention to making them "friendly"
•City-dwellers have fewer friendships now than 20 years ago
•25 per cent of households are occupied by a single person



AUSTRALIAN cities are becoming lonelier places to live and the way we build them may be to blame, a report says.

Melbourne-based public policy think tank the Grattan Institute found we place significant emphasis on creating sustainable and productive cities but pay little attention to making them "friendly".

Its new report, Social Cities, found the way cities are constructed affects how citizens interact.

"A lack of face-to-face contact can put our health at risk," report author Jane-Frances Kelly said.

"Unfortunately, there are worrying signs that isolation and loneliness are growing in Australia."

The report found evidence that Australian city-dwellers have fewer friendships now than 20 years ago and 25 per cent of households are occupied by a single person.

"By no means are we saying that everyone who lives alone is lonely," Ms Kelly said.

"But if more Australians live by themselves this makes connecting with others outside the home all the more important."

The report found that even small changes such as more park benches or turning unused housing lots into small parks can make cities friendlier places to live.

"Improving social connection is not necessarily hard or costly ... big returns can come from small outlays," Ms Kelly said.

"Australian cities are expected to keep growing for the foreseeable future.

"If those cities are to improve quality of life for all then they will need to meet our social as well as our material needs."
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jamesbond
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Re: Australian cities becoming lonelier, more isolating

Post by jamesbond »

Banano wrote:http://www.news.com.au/travel/news/aust ... 6310688211

•City builders pay little attention to making them "friendly"
•City-dwellers have fewer friendships now than 20 years ago
•25 per cent of households are occupied by a single person

AUSTRALIAN cities are becoming lonelier places to live.
Sounds like America. In the US, a lot of people live alone and don't have a lot of friends and a lot of people in America don't know who their neigbors are. I guess these anglo-countries are all the same. :roll:
"When I think about the idea of getting involved with an American woman, I don't know if I should laugh .............. or vomit!"

"Trying to meet women in America is like trying to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics."
OzGuy
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Post by OzGuy »

Couldn't agree more. We are becoming a very individualistic society that is more obsessed with materialism.

Growing up in the days of the 80's and 90's, just about everyone knew their neighbours, sometimes even their entire street. Everyone was friendly and would help each other out.

As a kid I knew several people that lived nearby in my neighbourhood, and we would spend the weekends hanging out and playing together.

Things have changed so much since those days. The majority of people couldn't even tell you the names of their neighbours now.

There has also been a massive increase in binge drinking, probably because this is the only way for some people to "socialise", by going to clubs/pubs etc. If you try and start a friendly conversation with someone in public, they will automatically think you are either trying to rape them, assault them, or trying to sell them something. Women are particularly bad in this regard.

It is time for me to leave this country, as I feel it is getting worse by the year. More binge drinking, more violence, more anti-social behaviour, more rudeness, and the increasing level of feminism. Wherever you go there is this anti-male and pro-female vibe. Everywhere you look it is women this women that - men are only ever mentioned in a negative context.

Our cities are very poorly planned out and the infrastructure simply cannot keep up with the growth rate. It seems to be the Australian way to wait until things get really bad, then act. Our roads are clogged with traffic and they are always playing catch-up instead of planning in advance.

Australia is no longer the dream place it used to be. I for one cannot wait to leave this country.
zboy1
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Post by zboy1 »

OzGuy wrote:Couldn't agree more. We are becoming a very individualistic society that is more obsessed with materialism.

Growing up in the days of the 80's and 90's, just about everyone knew their neighbours, sometimes even their entire street. Everyone was friendly and would help each other out.

As a kid I knew several people that lived nearby in my neighbourhood, and we would spend the weekends hanging out and playing together.

Things have changed so much since those days. The majority of people couldn't even tell you the names of their neighbours now.

There has also been a massive increase in binge drinking, probably because this is the only way for some people to "socialise", by going to clubs/pubs etc. If you try and start a friendly conversation with someone in public, they will automatically think you are either trying to rape them, assault them, or trying to sell them something. Women are particularly bad in this regard.

It is time for me to leave this country, as I feel it is getting worse by the year. More binge drinking, more violence, more anti-social behaviour, more rudeness, and the increasing level of feminism. Wherever you go there is this anti-male and pro-female vibe. Everywhere you look it is women this women that - men are only ever mentioned in a negative context.

Our cities are very poorly planned out and the infrastructure simply cannot keep up with the growth rate. It seems to be the Australian way to wait until things get really bad, then act. Our roads are clogged with traffic and they are always playing catch-up instead of planning in advance.

Australia is no longer the dream place it used to be. I for one cannot wait to leave this country.
Australia is still a better country than America in comparison. At least you guys don't have the massive student loan problems and healthcare problems like we do in the United States. Also, Australians are a pretty knowledgeable group of people (excluding racist redneck bogans) than your average dumb-downed American person. The women suck there as much as American women though, unless your black it seems.
Banano
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Posts: 2011
Joined: June 11th, 2011, 1:26 am

Post by Banano »

http://www.canstar.com.au/youth-banking/hecs-debt/

The days of the Government paying for students’ university costs have come and gone, and now we have the HECs system available to help would-be academics with their higher education loans.

Dont think australia is tht much better than usa. Try comparing house and car prices aus vs usa.. The most expensive place to live.
Voice of Reason
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Joined: February 20th, 2012, 8:55 pm
Location: Out of the West

Post by Voice of Reason »

zboy1 wrote:
OzGuy wrote:Couldn't agree more. We are becoming a very individualistic society that is more obsessed with materialism.

Growing up in the days of the 80's and 90's, just about everyone knew their neighbours, sometimes even their entire street. Everyone was friendly and would help each other out.

As a kid I knew several people that lived nearby in my neighbourhood, and we would spend the weekends hanging out and playing together.

Things have changed so much since those days. The majority of people couldn't even tell you the names of their neighbours now.

There has also been a massive increase in binge drinking, probably because this is the only way for some people to "socialise", by going to clubs/pubs etc. If you try and start a friendly conversation with someone in public, they will automatically think you are either trying to rape them, assault them, or trying to sell them something. Women are particularly bad in this regard.

It is time for me to leave this country, as I feel it is getting worse by the year. More binge drinking, more violence, more anti-social behaviour, more rudeness, and the increasing level of feminism. Wherever you go there is this anti-male and pro-female vibe. Everywhere you look it is women this women that - men are only ever mentioned in a negative context.

Our cities are very poorly planned out and the infrastructure simply cannot keep up with the growth rate. It seems to be the Australian way to wait until things get really bad, then act. Our roads are clogged with traffic and they are always playing catch-up instead of planning in advance.

Australia is no longer the dream place it used to be. I for one cannot wait to leave this country.
Australia is still a better country than America in comparison. At least you guys don't have the massive student loan problems and healthcare problems like we do in the United States. Also, Australians are a pretty knowledgeable group of people (excluding racist redneck bogans) than your average dumb-downed American person. The women suck there as much as American women though, unless your black it seems.
Australia is become more like America as time goes on. Everybody is paranoid about being sued. Laws come in that take away freedom. Workplace regulations are getting more and more Nazi-like. And just last year, they bought in a law where a woman doesn't even have to be married to a man to get his possessions, she is eligible even if you have just lived together for a certain time period.

I am 30,000 in debt from student loans, and that's only going to increase with inflation if I don't pay it.

The government is short sighted. People pretty much have to start dying before they make changes.

Australian women think they are too good to talk to you, and they can get away with anything.

Things you need (car expenses, food etc.) are getting more and more expensive., while things you want (CD's, DVD's, electronics etc.) are getting cheaper, so consumerism and financial misery is rising.

I can go on and on about this country. I'm sick of it. Australia being such a great country and the "lifestyle" etc is propaganda. Most people live in densely populated areas in rundown apartments that they pay an arm and a leg for. Public transport is inefficient.

I will stop now.
OzGuy
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Posts: 396
Joined: March 24th, 2012, 11:37 pm

Post by OzGuy »

Voice of Reason wrote: Australia is become more like America as time goes on. Everybody is paranoid about being sued. Laws come in that take away freedom. Workplace regulations are getting more and more Nazi-like. And just last year, they bought in a law where a woman doesn't even have to be married to a man to get his possessions, she is eligible even if you have just lived together for a certain time period.
Now this just pisses me off. I think its only like 1 year or something isn't it? If I wanted to a woman to take all my shit then that's what marriage is for. But I don't, so why should she be able to?
I am 30,000 in debt from student loans, and that's only going to increase with inflation if I don't pay it.
Not if you leave the country and never come back, you won't have to pay a cent.
The government is short sighted. People pretty much have to start dying before they make changes.
Yep, and they never plan for growth. It seems to be the Australian way to wait until its too late, then act.

Our government is also corrupt. Don't even get me started on Gillard. And will someone please tell the feminists NO SHE ISN'T THE FIRST FEMALE PM AS SHE DIDN'T GET VOTED IN!!! She is only there because she back-stabbed Rudd. Now watch her get voted out and see what the feminists have to say then. Her and Bligh are a perfect example of what happens when you let women have too much power in making big decisions. They make decisions primarily based on emotion rather than logic.
Australian women think they are too good to talk to you, and they can get away with anything.
Yep, I would only ever consider approaching the ones who are dressed conservatively, as in not wearing a ridiculously short skirt, high heels, low cut top. You can often tell a woman by how she dresses... the more conservative dressed ones are less likely to be stupid, egocentric, and superficial. However, I won't show any in interest in ANY Australian women anymore, I've given up. Even the conservative looking ones usually turn out to be corrupted by feminism.
Things you need (car expenses, food etc.) are getting more and more expensive., while things you want (CD's, DVD's, electronics etc.) are getting cheaper, so consumerism and financial misery is rising.

I can go on and on about this country. I'm sick of it. Australia being such a great country and the "lifestyle" etc is propaganda. Most people live in densely populated areas in rundown apartments that they pay an arm and a leg for. Public transport is inefficient.

I will stop now.
Australia is becoming a very expensive place to live, especially real estate. We now have the most expensive property in the world, even higher than New York. There is this obsession with real estate here, everyone thinks that they MUST own a house - "the great Australian dream" propaganda bullshit. This is why prices are so damn high.

It really pisses me off when ignorant people say "Australia is the best country in the world" when they have never stepped foot outside the country!

Don't even get me started our public transport. It is almost non existent, never on time, way over priced, crowded, full of noisy bogans. It is what you would expect in some third world countries.

Another thing I cannot stand about Australia is their obsession with football. It seems to be the main topic of conversation for most people.

f**k Australia, I cannot wait to leave this country and never come back.
Voice of Reason
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Joined: February 20th, 2012, 8:55 pm
Location: Out of the West

Post by Voice of Reason »

I am 30,000 in debt from student loans, and that's only going to increase with inflation if I don't pay it.
Not if you leave the country and never come back, you won't have to pay a cent.
That's what I hope to do, if all goes well and if my online businesses are successful.
Australian women think they are too good to talk to you, and they can get away with anything.
Yep, I would only ever consider approaching the ones who are dressed conservatively, as in not wearing a ridiculously short skirt, high heels, low cut top. You can often tell a woman by how she dresses... the more conservative dressed ones are less likely to be stupid, egocentric, and superficial. However, I won't show any in interest in ANY Australian women anymore, I've given up. Even the conservative looking ones usually turn out to be corrupted by feminism.
It's amazing what our women have become, and it's getting worse. Ten years ago I could actually become friends with a woman, but nowadays I'm wasting my effort. This is a huge contrast to when I went to SE Asia. (Example - I have a female friend in Cambodia who keeps in contact with me. We talk all the time, and she even calls me on Skype and gives me one hour of her time, even though she is hard working). Try finding a woman in Australia who has time for you like this. They only have time for you if you are a some thug looking low life. Yeah...real friendly women we have here.
Don't even get me started our public transport. It is almost non existent, never on time, way over priced, crowded, full of noisy bogans. It is what you would expect in some third world countries.
When I go onto a train in Sydney I feel like cattle, the way I get crowded in. You could understand this if it was in a place like Japan with a higher population density, but trains there would run on time, would be smoother, and would NOT just stop in the middle of nowhere for a period of time for no reason. Australia has a small population - there is no excuse for this incompetance.
Another thing I cannot stand about Australia is their obsession with football. It seems to be the main topic of conversation for most people.
LOL. I actually like football - Rugby League, not AFL. It's about the only thing I'll miss, as well as my family and close friends. Everything else can burn for all I care.
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cwpropertyau
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Re: Australian cities becoming lonelier, more isolating

Post by cwpropertyau »

Our country is gradually becoming like America. There are still places where there are many people though.
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