Family: Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)

After Japan, we were all looking forward to a slower pace in Australia, and that is just what we got! We were in Australia for a total of 6-weeks, 3 in Sydney and 3 in Melbourne. During our time in Sydney, my Dad actually came for a visit, so we spent lots of time with Papaw. We stayed close to Sydney and we just enjoyed being at home. My time with my Dad was pretty special, so I plan to write a blog just about his visit. Our time in Sydney flew by … before I knew it we were in Melbourne. Shortly after arriving in Melbourne, Jim headed off for a few days to dive the Great Barrier Reef while Nolan and I enjoyed a quiet Easter weekend. Then we closed out our time in Melbourne a family trip down the Great Ocean Road.

I did a bit of research and did find a few interesting facts about Australia on www.aifs.gov.au/facts-and-figures, including:

In 2013, 77% of couples lived together before marriage. Unmarried cohabitation provides couples with autonomy from their parents, the ability to adjust to one another on a more intimate and immediate level (that previously occurred during early marriage) and enables both people to pursue careers and opportunities without children.
The average age of (first) marriage is almost 30 for men and 28 for women.
In 2017, it became legal for same-sex couples to marry, following a nationwide postal vote in favor of the legislation.
The divorce rate is actually dropping in Australia.
The percentage of parent couples with children under 18 years where both partners work is increasing steadily, from 53% in 1996 to 61% in 2016. There has been a corresponding decrease in the percentage of stay-at-home mums.

Here’s are my research findings:

Based on averages of time use estimates reported by parents (with children aged under 15 years) over the period 2002–15: Fathers work, on average, 75 hours a week. Of that, 46 hours is on paid work, 16 hours is on housework and 13 hours is on child care, and Mothers work an average of 77 hours a week: 20 hours is paid work, 30 hours is household work and 27 hours is child care.
The parks were busy in the evenings and on the weekend they were even busier!
Coffee shops were busy and during the week we often saw people enjoying a morning coffee and reading the paper.
A sense of “community” in Australia, I would translate “community” to “family.”

Here’s my final thought on Australia:

Our time in Australia was an opportunity to reconnect to our own family. I remember arriving in Sydney totally exhausted and by the time we left Melbourne, we were all feeling rested, connected, and ready to continue our adventure. I think Australia will always be a little extra special for me when I look back on this trip because our time in Australia was really about us. We enjoyed the country, but more importantly, we slowed down and focused on our family.
In general, I found Australia to be pretty laid back. Maybe my memory of the United States is becoming a bit jaded, but I recall life in the US being a bit more … well, “more.” As Americans, I think we often get caught up in the idea of more … more money … more things … etc. I didn’t get the feeling in Australia. The culture seems to be more settled, more relaxed.

And now as always, some of my favorite pictures: