What do expats find most challenging?

"Expatriates in Melbourne often find it hard to adjust to the local cultural norms, such as the emphasis on drinking coffee in establishments as opposed to at home. The city is also quite spread out with many suburbs, which can make it challenging for expats to feel connected to the community. Additionally, the local pace of life is usually fast, which can be hard for those used to a slower environment. Finally, Australians have their own unique style of communication and humor, which can take some getting used to for newcomers," said a member in Melbourne, Australia, Australia.

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"There's a very strong and quite patriotic culture here and an obsession with watching football. I battle with the culture of 'rules and regulations', especially as a migrant who has to comply with all sorts of silly things (that cost a lot of money). It seems that these aren't really questioned, nor the amount of money that it costs to do certain things here for anyone, almost like they were a self-explanatory given. Market thinking has never come natural to me, but it's definitely strong here. My impression is that Melbourne is very 'work and play' oriented, something that for me is a real challenge as it's just not how I approach life. The biggest challenge has been in meeting people. To me it seems like a lot of things aren't spoken about (often? with people you don't know so well?), primarily feelings and difficulties or opinions on culture/politics. I've felt pretty rejected here as the Australians I have met so far have expressed very little interest in me as a person and my background, and instead seem to expect me to just fit into their Aussie lifestyle like my life has just begun here. The friendships I have here are still very much functional and centred around practical things like talking about jobs and what each of us is doing at the moment. I feel extremely lonely here with that, and like I have had next to no 'real' conversations in the year I've been here. The beginning was the toughest as I felt that people around me that I met here simply weren't interested in my difficulties in settling here. I felt so utterly alone and like people experienced me as a burden if I wasn't just happy and excited to be here and getting on with things from day one. It's not that I don't like people here, I think it's just a way of thinking and communicating that I can't seem to find my way into," remarked another expat who made the move to Melbourne, Australia.