Racism in Sydney? should I be worried?

[misterbig]

Toronto is a special case in Canada - well integrated multi-cultural city and one of the most affordable big cities to live in the western world. I still can't believe how easy it is to buy a nice home in Toronto vs Vancouver. I'd suggest any newcomers consider Toronto first before Vancouver, especially if you're of African/middle-eastern descent.

Spend some time in BC and Alberta and you'll see how racists people really are - behind your back. From what my Cdn relatives/friends tell me, outside Ontario, that is the prevailing attitude in the Prairies and Maritime provinces. While the Chinese have made a mark in Vancouver, just read CBC news forum and count the number of negative remarks about Chinese driving up home prices etc. First Canadians hated the Hong Kong chinese immigration, then the Taiwan chinese and now it's the mainland Chinese. The point is Canadians are just like Australians, they want things to stay the same and limit outside immigration - forgetting that we were all immigrants at one time looking for a better life.

TO vs Sydney? TO is more culturally integrated and the cost of living is so cheap compared to Sydney. A lot of Canadians don't like Americans either but I always say take away all the American companies who have helped lower costs in Canada and suddenly Canada would be as expensive as Australia to live in.

I hold both Canadian and Australian passports and I've had jokes made about both when travelling. As proud as Canadians are about themselves, there's a whole lot of people out there who don't like us as well. And more people around the world want to visit Australia than Canada. How many icons of Canada can you name that we don't share with USA?

I live between both countries and recognize both have similar problems and similar histories.

[dannykool]

Spend some time in BC and Alberta and you'll see how racists people really are - behind your back. From what my Cdn relatives/friends tell me, outside Ontario, that is the prevailing attitude in the Prairies and Maritime provinces. While the Chinese have made a mark in Vancouver, just read CBC news forum and count the number of negative remarks about Chinese driving up home prices etc. First Canadians hated the Hong Kong chinese immigration, then the Taiwan chinese and now it's the mainland Chinese. The point is Canadians are just like Australians, they want things to stay the same and limit outside immigration - forgetting that we were all immigrants at one time looking for a better life.

TO vs Sydney? TO is more culturally integrated and the cost of living is so cheap compared to Sydney. A lot of Canadians don't like Americans either but I always say take away all the American companies who have helped lower costs in Canada and suddenly Canada would be as expensive as Australia to live in.

I hold both Canadian and Australian passports and I've had jokes made about both when travelling. As proud as Canadians are about themselves, there's a whole lot of people out there who don't like us as well. And more people around the world want to visit Australia than Canada. How many icons of Canada can you name that we don't share with USA?

I live between both countries and recognize both have similar problems and similar histories.[/quote]

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Let the poster experience it first-hand. I think you have gotten into cost of living, icons, visiting and other irrelevant issues which do not form part of the question. He will come back and give you first-hand feedback. Sorry to cut you off but I would prefer if we stick to the topic on hand.

[misterbig]

Let the poster experience it first-hand. I think you have gotten into cost of living, icons, visiting and other irrelevant issues which do not form part of the question. He will come back and give you first-hand feedback. Sorry to cut you off but I would prefer if we stick to the topic on hand.

Exactly my point. The first two replies to the poster by possums and myself addressed the OP's question. Then you who I assume are not living in Australia jump in with your comment about how Google will show how racist Australia's history is.

[Steven]

Spend some time in BC and Alberta and you'll see how racists people really are - behind your back.

Alberta used to be really racist, but it's mellowed a lot. There was a white supremacist who tried handing out flyers in Prince's Island Park a couple of years ago and that didn't work out too well for him, loads of complaints and he was arrested for inciting racial hatred.

BC isn't racist imx. No idea where that concept comes from. Maybe back in ye olde days of the head tax but not lately. The only complaints I ever hear about race in BC are the Chinese gangsters who control the drugs trade.

If I was to think of somewhere that wasn't racially tolerant in Canada actually it would be Ontario because of all that fuss in Caledonia.

Frankly I think Canada is probably the most racially tolerant country in the world (with the possible exception of Brazil), I remember seeing something in the paper from Statistics Canada about how Canada has the most interracial marriages in the G7.

Certainly there's nothing to compare with stuff like the Australia First party or the assaults on people of Lebanese decent at the beach near Sydney.

[dannykool]

If I was to think of somewhere that wasn't racially tolerant in Canada actually it would be Ontario because of all that fuss in Caledonia.

Frankly I think Canada is probably the most racially tolerant country in the world (with the possible exception of Brazil), I remember seeing something in the paper from Statistics Canada about how Canada has the most interracial marriages in the G7.

Certainly there's nothing to compare with stuff like the Australia First party or the assaults on people of Lebanese decent at the beach near Sydney.[/quote]
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absolutely correct.

[possums]

To base Australia's level of racism on a few events between the Lebanese and Australian's at Cronulla is unfair. I am in no way condoning the Caucasian Australian's actions but they acted in retaliation to numerous racists attacks of Lebanese on Australian's. Several different cases of gang rape where a white Australian girl was singled out and racist remarks where made during the ordeal, and many members high up in the Lebanese community making false statements that the victims consented to the pack rape and they deserved it because of their non Muslim ways.

The tension was growing for years and years and a few attacks on some Australian businesses was the breaking point. I am friends with many Lebanese Australians who are appalled at the behaviour of the Lebanese and as an Australian I am appalled at the behaviour of the Caucasian Australians, the whole of Australia wasn't sitting here watching the protests and backing them, we were all just as shocked as the rest of the world who may have seen these protests.

There is racism in just about every country you will visit.

[misterbig]

Exactly possums, but you can't argue with people who don't live in Sydney (never hung out in Cronulla) and who think everything there is to know can be learned from Google and the media.

[cdnexpat]

I've worked/studied with many different types of Indians (Canadian-Indians, American-Indians, British-Indians, Indian-Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis) etc. Most of them have found Australia in general to be very tolerant. Some have had issues, but probably about the same level that they had as immigrants to their adopted countries (ie Canada/UK/US etc.)

Some actually found that culturally Australia was a lot closer to their native culture then North America was (cricket, indian food etc.) They were pretty happy that they could get things like Tandoori chicken wraps at mcdonalds and that there were good indian restaurants around.

I suppose your experience will be coloured by the level of racism you personally experienced in Toronto vs. what you experience in Oz. But in general I doubt that there's really anything that should mitigate your decision to move to Oz.