Frustrated dad’s shocking ‘state’-ment starts online debate—‘we were just sick of it’
- Replies 21
In a social media post that's sparked a fiery debate, one frustrated father has taken aim at Western Australia, dubbing it ‘the worst state in Australia’.
His candid remarks have ignited a flurry of reactions online, with supporters and detractors alike weighing in on the contentious claim.
As the conversation gains momentum, it raises questions about regional pride, perceptions of quality of life, and the diverse experiences of residents across Australia's vast landscape.
Western Australia dad and travel blogger, Jimmy Mitchell's frustration boiled over following a distressing personal experience when his son suffered a chipped tooth, leaving the boy with an exposed nerve, and in need of urgent dental care.
The ordeal that unfolded on a Saturday afternoon in February left Mitchell and his family feeling helpless and disillusioned with the state's services.
‘I’m done living in the state of Western Australia and how backwards it is,’ he said in a video posted on social media.
‘We tried 15-20 different emergency dental practices. Half of them didn’t pick up. The other half were like “oh, we’re closing in half an hour, he’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow.”’
‘As parents, what would you do? Would you just leave it until tomorrow? No. We weren’t sure if he was going to lose his tooth, [so] we went down to the Perth Children’s Hospital, and it took them three hours to turn around to us and say we need to go and see an emergency dentist,’ he added.
According to Mr Mitchell, he became ‘frustrated’ and ‘disappointed’ in the WA health care system because of this incident.
‘We didn’t know if his tooth was going to be OK, or whether it was going to die overnight because of [the] exposed nerves. All we wanted was an emergency dentist to take five minutes to tell us whether it was going to be okay or not, so we could leave it (until Monday),’ he explained.
‘I’m genuinely scared in WA that if I was to get sick of, or one [of] the kids was to get sick, we wouldn’t get the healthcare that we needed, because of how broken the healthcare system is.’
He also mentioned that he had to wait until the following Tuesday for a dentist to install a filling for his son.
‘So far, it’s so good, but they said there’s a chance the tooth could die just because of how long it was left,’ he said.
Mr Mitchell's dissatisfaction extends beyond healthcare, saying, ‘There’s the archaic rules like how shops close at midday. Even just fundamentally how the city is designed, you go into the CBD (Central Business District), and everything’s closed after six o’clock.’
These factors, he argued, contribute to a 'backwards' mentality that hampers the state's progress and livability.
After returning from a journey in Southeast Asia last year, Mr Mitchell expressed that his son would have been in a better situation if they were still abroad.
‘At least in Southeast Asia, we would have been able to go and see an emergency dentist, go get it fixed, and have a resolution to do that tooth quickly, instead of the poor kid sitting there, thinking he’s going to lose a tooth overnight,’ he argued.
The travel blogger's video detailing his grievances received a mixed response online.
Some sympathised with his plight, sharing their own experiences of inconvenience and expressing shock at the early closing hours compared to other states.
‘1 million per cent!!! Coming from QLD (Queensland), I just can’t get used to it!’ one agreed.
‘WA is backwards compared to most other states in Australia,’ another commented.
‘I thought [about] this when I moved here! I moved from Tassie, and was SHOCKED how early everything closes,’ a third recalled.
‘Totally agree with you. I had a similar situation, but I had a bad infection in my tooth, and I was in agony [with] no dentist to be seen… When I called the next day, bookings took two weeks [and] I’m in pain! Perth needs to seriously have some more clinics open,’ another narrated.
Others, however, were less empathetic, suggesting that if Mitchell was unhappy, he should simply leave Western Australia.
‘Get out and live somewhere else if you’re not happy. Pretty sure most people don’t mind the lifestyle,’ one said.
‘If you [are] sick of living in WA, please leave. I live in Perth, and [it] is not like that, [so] stop complaining,’ another responded.
Mr Mitchell stated that he had indeed taken that course of action, and departed the country to live in Kuala Lumpur with his family.
‘I’m kind of sick of WA, I’m kind of sick of the backwards mentality Australians have, and how defensive they get. Everyone said to us, “if you don’t like it, leave,” and that’s what we did,’ he said.
The father of two had previously shared his reasons for why he "decided to give up on Australia" and embark on a full-time global journey in a video that made the rounds last year.
According to him, despite both him and his wife holding stable jobs, they found it financially challenging to sustain their lifestyle in Australia.
‘Between the cost of living, the cost of groceries, the cost of fuel, the cost of housing, all these costs, I felt like we were making this extraordinary income and just not getting ahead,’ he elaborated.
Mr Mitchell now runs an online marketing agency and explained that, ‘the more I worked, and the harder I worked to earn the money so we could have the stuff, the less time I got to spend with my family and my kids and my wife.’
He commented on the cost of living in Australia, saying it was ‘getting so ridiculous that it makes it impossible for families to be families’.
‘We were just sick of it.’
‘We were at the point where we can’t continue like this, so we just made the decision to check out of it. We were like, “we are just moving away from Australia because clearly we can’t afford to be here anymore.” If we want to be together as a family, we can’t afford to stay in this country anymore,’ he added.
You can watch Mr Mitchell’s full video here:
Amidst the cost-of-living crisis in Australia, most do not have a choice but to resort to extreme measures.
Some are trying this trend that could put their life at risk, while some are even pushed to commit illegal activities.
Even some senior citizens are resorting to extreme measures just to make ends meet.
Have you experienced similar frustrations, or do you feel that the state's unique charm outweighs these concerns? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
His candid remarks have ignited a flurry of reactions online, with supporters and detractors alike weighing in on the contentious claim.
As the conversation gains momentum, it raises questions about regional pride, perceptions of quality of life, and the diverse experiences of residents across Australia's vast landscape.
Western Australia dad and travel blogger, Jimmy Mitchell's frustration boiled over following a distressing personal experience when his son suffered a chipped tooth, leaving the boy with an exposed nerve, and in need of urgent dental care.
The ordeal that unfolded on a Saturday afternoon in February left Mitchell and his family feeling helpless and disillusioned with the state's services.
Jimmy Mitchell aired his frustration with Western Australia on social media, calling it the ‘worst state in Australia’ after an incident involving his son. Credits: Tiktok / Mitch’s On The Horizon
‘I’m done living in the state of Western Australia and how backwards it is,’ he said in a video posted on social media.
‘We tried 15-20 different emergency dental practices. Half of them didn’t pick up. The other half were like “oh, we’re closing in half an hour, he’s just going to have to wait until tomorrow.”’
‘As parents, what would you do? Would you just leave it until tomorrow? No. We weren’t sure if he was going to lose his tooth, [so] we went down to the Perth Children’s Hospital, and it took them three hours to turn around to us and say we need to go and see an emergency dentist,’ he added.
According to Mr Mitchell, he became ‘frustrated’ and ‘disappointed’ in the WA health care system because of this incident.
‘We didn’t know if his tooth was going to be OK, or whether it was going to die overnight because of [the] exposed nerves. All we wanted was an emergency dentist to take five minutes to tell us whether it was going to be okay or not, so we could leave it (until Monday),’ he explained.
‘I’m genuinely scared in WA that if I was to get sick of, or one [of] the kids was to get sick, we wouldn’t get the healthcare that we needed, because of how broken the healthcare system is.’
He also mentioned that he had to wait until the following Tuesday for a dentist to install a filling for his son.
‘So far, it’s so good, but they said there’s a chance the tooth could die just because of how long it was left,’ he said.
Mr Mitchell's dissatisfaction extends beyond healthcare, saying, ‘There’s the archaic rules like how shops close at midday. Even just fundamentally how the city is designed, you go into the CBD (Central Business District), and everything’s closed after six o’clock.’
These factors, he argued, contribute to a 'backwards' mentality that hampers the state's progress and livability.
After returning from a journey in Southeast Asia last year, Mr Mitchell expressed that his son would have been in a better situation if they were still abroad.
‘At least in Southeast Asia, we would have been able to go and see an emergency dentist, go get it fixed, and have a resolution to do that tooth quickly, instead of the poor kid sitting there, thinking he’s going to lose a tooth overnight,’ he argued.
The travel blogger's video detailing his grievances received a mixed response online.
Some sympathised with his plight, sharing their own experiences of inconvenience and expressing shock at the early closing hours compared to other states.
‘1 million per cent!!! Coming from QLD (Queensland), I just can’t get used to it!’ one agreed.
‘WA is backwards compared to most other states in Australia,’ another commented.
‘I thought [about] this when I moved here! I moved from Tassie, and was SHOCKED how early everything closes,’ a third recalled.
‘Totally agree with you. I had a similar situation, but I had a bad infection in my tooth, and I was in agony [with] no dentist to be seen… When I called the next day, bookings took two weeks [and] I’m in pain! Perth needs to seriously have some more clinics open,’ another narrated.
Others, however, were less empathetic, suggesting that if Mitchell was unhappy, he should simply leave Western Australia.
‘Get out and live somewhere else if you’re not happy. Pretty sure most people don’t mind the lifestyle,’ one said.
‘If you [are] sick of living in WA, please leave. I live in Perth, and [it] is not like that, [so] stop complaining,’ another responded.
Mr Mitchell stated that he had indeed taken that course of action, and departed the country to live in Kuala Lumpur with his family.
‘I’m kind of sick of WA, I’m kind of sick of the backwards mentality Australians have, and how defensive they get. Everyone said to us, “if you don’t like it, leave,” and that’s what we did,’ he said.
The father of two had previously shared his reasons for why he "decided to give up on Australia" and embark on a full-time global journey in a video that made the rounds last year.
According to him, despite both him and his wife holding stable jobs, they found it financially challenging to sustain their lifestyle in Australia.
‘Between the cost of living, the cost of groceries, the cost of fuel, the cost of housing, all these costs, I felt like we were making this extraordinary income and just not getting ahead,’ he elaborated.
Mr Mitchell now runs an online marketing agency and explained that, ‘the more I worked, and the harder I worked to earn the money so we could have the stuff, the less time I got to spend with my family and my kids and my wife.’
He commented on the cost of living in Australia, saying it was ‘getting so ridiculous that it makes it impossible for families to be families’.
‘We were just sick of it.’
‘We were at the point where we can’t continue like this, so we just made the decision to check out of it. We were like, “we are just moving away from Australia because clearly we can’t afford to be here anymore.” If we want to be together as a family, we can’t afford to stay in this country anymore,’ he added.
You can watch Mr Mitchell’s full video here:
Amidst the cost-of-living crisis in Australia, most do not have a choice but to resort to extreme measures.
Some are trying this trend that could put their life at risk, while some are even pushed to commit illegal activities.
Even some senior citizens are resorting to extreme measures just to make ends meet.
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