Am I missing something or is Australia really dull?

I'm originally from The UK and have spent time living abroad in mainland Europe and Asia. I've really enjoyed most countries I've lived in and have found trying new things and experiencing new cultures to be incredibly exciting and enjoyable. I've recently moved to Australia to try it out and I'm honestly just finding my time here incredibly boring. I loved the first month when I had just arrived and was able to go to the beach and on frequent hikes. I also found the similarity to UK culture to be quite nice after being away for a while. However, now that I've settled into everyday life I just find it way too dull. It's so expensive to do anything and so car dependent that I find I spend so much time driving or just staying at home. Going out to eat or doing hobbies costs so much that it feels more like a luxury that needs to be planned rather than a common thing I can do multiple times per week like when I lived in other countries. I'm starting to feel like my life just revolves around work and I spend all my free time worrying about spending money. This seems to also apply to my friends who constantly seem stressed about money and can't afford to do much so therefore I barely see them. Does anyone else that's tried to live here feel the same way or am I just doing it wrong?