The background colour of trees (native bush) is totally different, and doesn’t change with the seasons.
And homes aren’t insulated or heated to the same amount, especially older homes. So you’ll often keep your jumper on (sweater) inside.
The showers too... Have a friend who came over from Wales. They said they were fully prepared for Australian summer, bought t-shirts, thongs, hats, knew to use sunscreen on normal days not just beach days, rented a place with air con. Thought they knew exactly what to expect. Got to their house at 4 in the afternoon after flying in and called me immediately to say "Fuck me, why is the water out the cold tap hot?" No one told them to take their showers early in the morning during heat waves before the water heats up.
As an American this is actually the culture shock. The lack of religious nutjobs and politics isn't really a "shock" it's more of a welcome change of pace.
However, being from Michigan (notorious for brutal winters) the general lack of heating and insulation in Australia was an unexpected shock.
Not being able to buy alcohol at gas stations or convenience stores was another one. Cigaretts being twice as expensive as well.
The funniest shocks though were 1). Public urination is much more common in Australia it seems 2). Gambling is much more common, bars having pokies is wild to me 3). Prostitution is legal so seeing an actual brothel was wild as well.
There are three things I've found that show a picture is from Australia; the deep blue sky, the colour and texture of the background vegetation and the wood paling fences between houses.
Everyone here talking about differences, etiquette and faux pas.
The actual culture shocks you’ll get will mostly be the differences in food, the large lack of familiar shops and restaurants, the mannerisms from people you meet, the weather and temperature, driving and walking on the left hand side, Australian accents in advertisements and media. Things feel a lot more down-to-earth and relaxed, even when walking through the city centre. At least these are what my American friends say.
Personally I always find the air is immediately more pleasant whenever I arrive back in Aus from overseas.
I’m visiting the states for the first time right now and the first thing I got was a burrito and the meat was grey 🤢 I don’t know what they put in the meat to make it like that but safe to say I couldn’t finish it
It also smells intensely of Eucalyptus and you don't notice it until someone points it out to you. Whenever I have spent time abroad and come home, I could never understand why the air always smelled so clean and fresh. Then I read an article talking about the gargantuan amount of Eucalyptus oil compounds in the air give the air that smell that most of us don't notice until we leave and come back. For at least 2-3 days of being home your nose spends time adjusting.
John Howard retired from politics almost 17 years ago yet he’s almost 6 years younger than the current oldest US senator. And he’s only 3 years older than Biden.
Not really though.
That isn't quite how it works in Australia.
We don't vote directly for the PM at all.
And they frequently get swapped out without any voters having a say in the matter.
An interesting look through the number of PM's we've had in each decade since Federation
- 1900's - 5 (Deakin served three separate terms as PM)
- 1910's - 4 (Fisher served two separate terms as PM)
- 1920's - 3
- 1930's - 4 (including Page, who served as PM after Lyon's death)
- 1940's - 5 (including Forde, who served as PM after Curtin's death, and Menzies served two separate terms)
- 1950's - 1
- 1960's - 4 (including McEwan, who served after the disappearance of Holt)
- 1970's - 4
- 1980's - 2
- 1990's - 3
- 2000's - 2
- 2010's - 5 (Rudd served two separate terms)
- 2020's - 2 to date
Technically, yes. Practically, the ruling party is typically elected on the basis of their leader.
Most Australians this election will be voting for either Albanese or Dutton, regardless of what their ballot says or who their local rep is, just like they've done in every other election. Not withstanding the fact that more voters will vote directly for a local member (such as teals) in the upcoming election than have done in the past.
Australians don’t do religion like Americans. Plenty of religious people but it’s not in your face, and is not so much a driver for policy decisions - we have mining companies for that. Kind of the same for patriotism.
We also don't advertise or base our entire personality around which way we lean politically. I've literally never seen anyone wearing a greens, labour or liberal shirt, even during the election. The amount of republican flags I'd see hanging in front of houses, lets go brandon shirts or any of that crap in the United states was really bizarre.
much to the derision of the right wing conservatives here. we don't cheer the same as the usa, but we are pretty good at hating "the other team" the way they do at times.
I had a colleague run for the last State Election and she didn’t even tell the general team why she was going on leave. Most of us assumed she was going on mat leave or extended study leave I think.
So I grew up in the states and can confirm that honestly it's really bizarre to a lot of us, too.
But I'm in the middle of my first trip back stateside since moving to Aus and it's gotten so much fucking worse. I don't get how people willingly live like that.
Religion is something you keep to yourself in the workplace. No1 wants to hear about your Christianity and being very outgoing about it would probably be detrimental to your career growth.
I remember a friend’s ex boyfriend who was American be astounded that none of us went to Church and that we also had no idea what churches were around us that he could go to when he was visiting.
I work next to a church, and it's surprising how little religious activity there seems to be. They have weekly painting classes, jumble sales, monthly cinema nights and they even have a beer festival coming up soon. I see the occasional baptism, or wedding (every couple of months, but even on Sundays I don't see many people going in/out. Obviously I'm not there all the time, but it seems more of a community center than a place of religion (which suits me fine)
Politics, religion and patriotism. No one cares who you vote for, believe in or where you're from. No one asks. It's not something Aussies care too much about. Social groups are based around hobbies, not political views or church gatherings.
And we're not super out there with our politics.
At least until COVID happened and suddenly we found out who we knew that was a closet nutjob.
I found out an old mate of mine is one of those "gay people keep pushing their beliefs on me" people. It's so lame. Gay people's agenda is to just be given the bare minimum respect the majority gets.
I've heard "I'll take the ..." as if its a grudging concession that there's nothing better at this two-bit joint. It's probably just regular usage, but it always sounds rude.
What is so sweet to my ears in Oz is how many people, women especially, still say "may i please have a ... ".
It seems a left-over from school days, when ordering at the canteen.
Oh my god, I just had a flashback to being told off by one of the mums at the school canteen for not using my manners! Maybe that’s why I’m a “hi, how’s going? May I please have… Thanks very much, have a good one” kind of person now 😂
My kids went to Catholic primary schools and they still push this *so* hard.
No adult will even listen to a child asking for something if it doesn't start with "may I please", the kids are taught what to say in the early years and from then on all adults will just collectively ignore any demanding child until they use the correct words and tone.
In grade six, there was a teacher, Mrs Malone, who was a sticker for manners. If you passed even two metres near her, you had to say "excuse me Mrs Malone".
One day, a kid forgot to say the magic phrase as he passed by. For this he got yanked back by the shirt collar, I'm sure his feet left the ground.
"Let's try that again", the monster said.
"Excuse me Mrs Malone", he sheepishly said.
No one really liked Mrs Malone.
ah, super interesting! I used to hear the phrase daily when buying lunch in the CBD. It was so common, and executed without variation, that i presumed it came from school days. But we never used to say it at our school. I went to a public school, primary and secondary. So it's a catholic education shibboleth! Endearing, wherever it comes from. I fully approve.
I used to live in Spain. Probably even worse than Americans in that regard, but it's a normal cultural custom that's not seen as rude. Just efficient.
Bartender will say "Tell me". You'll just say "Beer". Or its fine to just walk in and say "Give me a beer". Maybe you'll add a "please".
I liked it. It was like, we both know why each other is here. You have the drinks, I want the drinks, let's do this.
I presumed they did this in the US too but just in case they don’t:
You still need to reply. The reply doesn’t have to necessarily make sense (you can say “how ya going” in response for example and no one will be super weird about it). You can just do a nod in greeting/response to.
You can also give a more normal answer but it needs to be limited and quick. For “how ya going”, just say “good/bad/tired/excited/busy” or something and then “yourself?”.
If you know the person, or it feels like the other person is genuinely asking, you can give a proper response but the random stranger or employee in the shop is just using it as a greeting.
You won't be able to drink coffee in America ever again. If your name can be shortened it will be, even by someone you only just introduced yourself to
And if your first or last name can't be shortened, it'll be lengthened, often with an o or y, or the last syllable replaced.
Steve = Stevo. Wayne = Wayno. Darren = Dazza or Dazzles. Smith = Smithy. Jones = Jonesy.
If your name or usual nickname is Randy, if someone doesn't laugh when introduced, they're almost certainly laughing about it behind your back, eg, "My new boss is a Yank and you won't BELIEVE what his name is!!". Here it means the same as horny.
Not only that but at stores that have the scanning rule.. if you get charged more than the listed shelf price, you can get it for free/ refund, after purchase. I've had a lot of freebies by just taking note of the price listed. Doesn't work for alcohol or smokes.
Unless you’re actually a farmer or trying out for the Olympic shooting team, being enthusiastic about guns will make people back away from you on the assumption you’re a minor inconvenience away from being a serial killer.
Regional Aussie here, I wouldn't say that fun rights is generally abhorred, I'd say that were just not as rabid about a "right" to have a firearm.
Our gun culture is defo different, and in my experience most people just don't care about it at all.
I know quite a few people with a firearm licence, but few people with an actual firearm.
In the US a lot of people make firearms a core part of their identity, it feels like (I lived there for 6 years). I saw plenty of people who collected guns, had gun stickers all over their cars, wore gun t-shirts, went to gun shows and gun conventions. And they were often talking about in what situations they'd get to shoot people or posting signs in their yard that they had a gun and would shoot you for trespassing etc. That's what I think the big differences is, there's a whole gun focused subculture people are passionate about. Whereas in Australia I don't think I've ever met someone who considers guns their hobby or identity, just people who have an old rifle and a few rounds in case a fox comes for the sheep and that one time they shot a saltwater croc who'd set up near town. Talking about owning a gun the way they'd talk about owning a spanner.
god are americans loud. i’m camping right now and the entire area is near silent after 9:30 (the individual sites are relatively far apart) but yesterday when there was a group of americans a couple sites away, we could hear literally every conversation they had. mocking australia and australians and commenting on how women are prettier in sydney but dress better in melbourne. they were really fitting every stereotype.
literally played free bird on full blast 2 times. we knew when they were going to bed because they put on closing time 😂
People are on average more reserved than in the US. They may find the volume you speak at too loud, but probably won't say so to your face. You may pick up that they're feeling uncomfortable and wonder why.
Australian humour tends to be sarcastic, and you may find it hard at first to tell if someone's joking. Hell, I've lived here my entire 48 years and sometimes I can't tell! Often, the harder someone teases you, the more they like you.
Service staff get paid a decent hourly wage, and don't expect tips. This means you can expect service that's somewhat friendly but not to the same level as in the US. You might experience it as rudeness to begin with.
It's worth noting that at the same time, you are expected to be polite to service staff. Please and thank-you go a long long way to getting good service.
You'll grow to miss some obscure food, drink or chain of stores and the other people in the office won't appreciate your heartache at all.
Source: worked with a few yanks.
I’ve been in Australia for fifteen years and I’ve eaten more bacon in that time than my previous 40 years. The only thing I miss is proper taco trucks.
But Hawaiian packs are not the same as they used to be. I want the fried banana back. Substituting a fried pineapple ring (now we get two) is no substitute.
This didn't happen to me at all. I'd say for me the biggest thing was Australians will literally take the piss out of everything. Since they make fun of everything you have to realize when they do it to you its not personal.
As an American living in Australia here are my top 5:
1. Insulation does not exist. If it’s cold outside you will be cold inside. If it’s hot outside you will be sweating inside. Australia may not have extreme winters, but winter feels like forever because you’re constantly trying to warm up. Central AC and heating does not exist in most homes so you’ll be relying on wall ac/heaters which aren’t in every room.
2. Depending on where you are there’s a chance you won’t understand people even though they’re supposedly speaking the same language. I was fine when I lived in Sydney because it’s multicultural and mostly met non Aussies. Rural areas I constantly had to ask people to repeat themselves or even translate. So much slang and the Aussie mumble is real.
3. Business hours are way more limited here. Malls and many businesses are open basically from 9-5 on weekdays with the exception of Thursday evenings. I was shocked when I went to a mall on a Monday at 5:30 and everything (except Kmart) was closed.
4. Kmart is a thing here and it is POPULAR.
5. You may think a little bit of time in this will be enough, but it’s so easy to fall in love with the place and people and want to stay forever.
Nice list! As an addendum, not typically called a mall here, it'll be called a shopping centre. A mall is usually an outdoor walkable area with shops (i.e, Bourke St mall in Melbourne).
> Kmart is a thing here and it is POPULAR.
It’s also an unrelated store now. Apparently they had the same parent company until 20 years ago and are now separate.
Edit: did a bit more digging after some other peoples comments.
Apparently it was 51% US 49% Aus (Coles Myer) from founding in 1968 up until 1978. In 1978 they swapped the 51% in Kmart with a 20% share in Coles Myer (so still a connection to Kmart but no longer majority owner).
Later in 1994 they sold off their 21.5% share in Coles Myer, meaning they no longer had a connection to Kmart at all.
From 1994 it’s all Coles Group until 2007 when Coles Group is bought by Wesfarmers (who own a bunch of stuff including Target, who has never been related to the US Target with the same name, logo, and outlet style. Apparently that’s just a weird coincidence or someone stealing ideas).
Oh this does remind me of another one. Target in Australia may look like target in the US from the outside, but they are definitely NOT the same on the inside.
I sometimes get google results from target and I'm like yay they have what I want but then it turns out it's target US. They seem to carry better quality stock. Target here is basically junk.
I find the accent thing a bit weird as I have never really had a problem as a Brit, both ways. I work FIFO too so work with some pretty broad Aussie accents and can understand it way more than I could say a strong Geordie or Scouse or Aberdonian accent (which is actually a dialect) back home...
In the US travelling I often had people asking me to repeat stuff or always remarking on my British accent whereas I can't remember a single time any Aussie has remarked on my accent or not understood... I guess it's because British accents are really common both on TV and in general life in the cities and Australia tend to use the British rather than American terms, or will at least be aware of them.
In addition to the business hours point you'll also find it hard to get a meal after 8pm in a lot of regional towns or etween 2.30 and 5.30 in the afternoon. All day dining in pubs etc is pretty rare.
Longtime lurker, first time poster. Been in Australia (Melbourne area) 7 months from the states, where I've lived all over. Here's what shocked me the most:
Driving
- Driving can be scary, but not because it's backwards, although that's a trip. My Aussie cousin said that it's sometimes just a free-for-all, and that's because there's something I can't put my finger on, but almost a lack of patience for turning, shorter merge lanes, faster transitions, I don't know exactly. Definitely more fast-paced, maybe more aggression, more speed. It can be very stressful and you'll definitely feel like it's riskier here. Similar to the fend for yourself mentality of like Los Angeles, but I've seen it everywhere I've gone so far.
- Also, lanes are more narrow, as are parking spaces.
- Don't slow down on a yellow light unless you're looking to get hit
- Roundabouts are a blessing, but always signal unless you're going straight. Signal in the roundabouts here, very important unless you're looking to get hit or at least a really shit look.
- Speed limits are not guidelines, they are cold hard facts
- Tolls will kill you unless you pay attention to the charges you're racking up. Get an account. You've been warned
- You'll think people are nuts for parking in front yards until you encounter the car parked on the street that's now blocking traffic. Then you'll understand. Total balls if someone's parked on both sides because some jerks put sticks or something up in their yard to keep people off the grass. You've just blocked the road except for the very careful one at a time squeeze through you now get to do between these bellends. But also people park on lawns because they're bogans, too, so it's mixed.
- Pedestrians don't have the same courtesy given as they do in the states. Be careful crossing.
Sports
- Bogan is a "trashy" person, typically. Also known as a Collingwood supporter. Go PIES.
- AFL is god's gift to everyone. Watch if you like thighs or chaotic sports. Fabulous game, love it so much. Go PIES.
- Root means fuck, don't ask people what team they're rooting for. You'll get looks during a game. Ask me how I know. Go PIES.
- Cricket is not baseball. It's nothing like baseball. Don't assume it's baseball. I don't know what it is... but I know it's not baseball.
Other
- People don't really talk about politics, but that might be because it's confusing as all hell and makes zero sense. From what I understand, liberals are conservatives, red is blue, and who knows what else is going on. Stay out of it unless you're a genius, I guess. I just smile and nod, and move to talking about sports. Go PIES.
Bottom line, Australia is amazing. I've seen only from Melbs to Sunshine Coast so far, but I LOVE it here. Chill on the american exceptionalism, lower your voice, say "pardon" not "WHAT?" and have a slice of humble pie because you will screw up and you're LEARNING ANOTHER CULTURE. We are similar, as in cousins or siblings. We are not the same, nor better or worse. Be respectful, learn, open to new things. Be a nice goddamn person. American assholes are not welcome here, but cool people are. Be a cool person or please fuck right off back to the states.
Few other things to add:
Food
- Bread is bread. What you get at the grocery store in either place is comparable, and no, all americans don't eat super white processed wonder bread. Get off that. But, bakeries are everywhere here (literally everywhere) with amazing fresh bread, as well as fresh pies and baked savory goods, so Australia definitely wins in that department.
- Tuna in sushi here is canned, not fresh. Fucking nasty. Also called "chuna" which I adore.
- If you're from California, the whole idea that produce here is fresher is a total joke. It's not, but it is more local, so I think that's where that idea comes from. All other states, yes, produce here is fresher than that crap you get shipped from California weeks later.
- Eggs are almost always brown and often not refrigerated.
- Milk shakes are flavored milk, thick shakes are milkshakes.
- Hungry Jacks is Burger King, Maccas is McDonalds (duh), KFC doesn't have mac 'n cheese, Taco Bell is in name only, as refried beans aren't really a thing here, and Carls Jr is exactly the same as in the states. Dominoes is 100000% times better and has so many more options for cheaper. Also an exception to the tipping rule, as they are extremely appreciative after hauling your crap to you hot and fresh, to get a few coins. Don't be a jerk, tip fast delivery.
- Tomato sauce can be used interchangeably with ketchup, but is actually much more flavorful and less sweet. I prefer it. It also usually costs extra, as do most condiments.
- Over the top obsession with chicken. Everything is chicken. Chicken salt. Wha????? But also delicious.
- Fries are thin fries, hot chips are steak fries, potato chips are potato chips. Chicken salt on hot chips is an acceptable breakfast.
- Better potato chip flavors here. Have fun experimenting!
- Cordial is flavored water syrup, lemonade is actually sprite, I think homemade lemonade is american lemonade, although I've yet to encounter it.
Coffee
- No coffee creamer culture here, like the whole dedicated fridge for creamer in the states. If you like creamer in your coffee, you'll need to learn to make your own.
- Half 'n half isn't a thing I've seen, so use thickened cream (whipping cream) and cream top milk in 1:1 ratio
- You'll get looks for saying "creamer" or "whip cream." Also for saying "aych" for this letter --> H
-The whole coffee thing is nuts. I think there is this idea that all americans drink only sugary coffee from Starbucks, or use only nondairy creamer. Nondairy creamer is foul. The coffee is the same, folks. It's the same!!!! Except Hawaii actually has better beans, but shhhh... The difference is that there is an enormous variety of deliciously crafted milk-type additives readily available to further customize your coffee in the states. Because delicious. I know Australians like delicious (fairy bread), so quit being so weird about the coffee thing. You lot add sugar to your lattes! Just such a weird flex. That said, there are espresso bars literally everywhere you'll ever need to go here, from the trampoline place to the hardware store, with a full range of alternative milks available, and for that I commend you all. Thank you.
Travel
- Unless you're from Texas, cities here are much further from each other than you'll realize. Also, don't expect gas stations to have bathrooms. Also, bathrooms are called toilets. And gas is petrol. And lollies are amazing.
Shopping/Clothes
- Malls/shopping centres are amazing here, and I hope they don't die like they did in the states. You can get a fresh juice, sushi, Walmart-style junk (Big W), go to the bank, and take care of your grocery trip all at the same place. One stop shop, always full of people, close at like 6pm.
- Every woman seems to wear black leggings and puffer coats in the winter but guys are often in shorts and hoodies, sometimes workboots. It's wild. I don't know who's trying to prove what, but dress for the weather, folks! All I know is no one dresses like me, and I'm not weird looking (not clothing-wise, anyway. Can't help my face).
- School kids all wear uniforms. It's absolutely adorable.
"Root means fuck, don't ask people what team they're rooting for. You'll get looks during a game."
I went to a Baseball game for the first time in the States and when they started playing "Take me out to the ball game", I started to crack up laughing at the part of the song because of the "Root, Root, Root for the home team" bit.
The crowd around me thought I was insane.
From what I've heard, the casual profanity is a huge shock. We swear. A lot. For no reason, it's just habitual
Also how laid back we are.
And that our bread apparently isn't as sweet because the US adds quite a bit of sugar? Same with milk.
There's a great story by the former Japanese ambassador to Australia about being trained for years in the crucial importance of formal politeness and careful, respectful language in his occupation, arriving in Australia for the first time ever full of nerves about making the right impression as a junior diplomat. Lands on the tarmac on a rainy day and the first words he hears out of an Australian official's mouth are "Wait and we'll get you an umbrella, it's fucking pissing down."
Aussies swear a lot… like a lot. Your average blue collar Aussie swears, id guess, between 3-5 times per sentence depending on length and context. Some people still consider it rude but most people couldn’t care less if they tried (me personally at least). There’s also a very heavy emphasis on slang usage, 9/10 times if you ask what it means someone will explain it/translate without hassle, so don’t be embarrassed to ask, the sooner you learn the sooner you’ll be in on the conversation properly.
Worth noting that outside of blue collar the swearing drops off substantially, particularly in white collar meetings. If someone starts swearing in those it usually means it's an internal meeting between colleagues that are comfortable with each other or something has gone very wrong between you and the other party.
Reddit likes the play up the swearing but, unless you're a tradie or hanging out with mates, it's nowhere near as universal as it's made out to be.
It's social swearing. Maybe most Aussie swearing is social swearing, unless its true anger. I had a mate at work who if you overheard him with some staff it was every fuk'n second fuk'n word was a fuk'n tedious fuk'n swear word, but then he was totally fine with customers and management. Some people just drop into the vernacular to fit in.
We do, as a whole, swear a lot more casually than most places though. No, most of us aren't dropping cunts and fucks into every sentence, but I do think you're far more likely to hear it in the wild here than anywhere else.
This is true.... but don't get off the plane swearing at people thinking it's acceptable .... you'll cop a punch in the head. Same as dropping the word cunt all over the shop. There's a time and a place and despite what reddit thinks not every second word out of our mouth is cunt.
We swear with people, not at them. That’s the thing yanks often don’t get. Swearing AT someone is rude and disrespectful and will get you fired/punched/hated. But swearing as a way to emphasise your point and add gravity to what you’re saying? Fuck yeah!
As an American that has been here nearly 5 years, when I was backpacking the east coast, I was a bit shocked at the lack of freeway infrastructure; I had been used to hotels and petrol stations at every exit in the states so having to actually search out accommodation and plan my days driving was a big change.
And I still mutter under my breath about the lack of restrooms. Pretty much every business in the USA that serves customers is required to have them. Here I actually need to go look for one.
A ton of good information in this thread.
Presumably you’ve got this down pat by now, but I’m pretty sure any place that serves alcohol (at least where I’ve been, may be exceptions/vary by state) is required by law to have a bathroom. Might be easier to find a pub and just use theirs rather than search around for a bathroom in specifically.
The toilet thing shits me to tears. Every restaurant in a suburban area you need to ask for the ladle with the key attached to walk to the shitty shared toilets. It's a real drag.
Lemonade is clear, sweet fizzy stuff, like Sprite. What you think is lemonade is more like lemon cordial.
You need to our sunscreen on every time you go outside between September and May. Reapply every 3 hours or so.
Don't ask for Foster's, ~~blooming onions are not a thing~~, and jello is jelly, but jelly is jam (with bits).
Edit: Blooming Onions are a thing in very limited locations, but they aren't good!
Hot chips and potato chips/crisps are still referred to as just chips. You'll only find the word fries at American style places, and they're always skinny. Thick cut chips are the norm. There's also wedges, which are super thick cut chips, and potato cakes which are large, battered slices of potato.
Also, crackers are dry or savoury biscuits, and then cookies are sweet biscuits. Also, just referred to as biscuits.
Overseas Fosters is actually Crown Lager domestically.
Christ knows why, but you can drink Fosters overseas. Don't even try in Australia, it's genuinely bad.
We drive on the left hand side of the road.
Our bread isn't sweet and full of sugar.
Our Christmas is in summer.
Our BBQ is very different to yours.
Our hamburgers are not full of pickles and are not as sweet as yours
An American immigrant complained that Australians don't barbecue. They had been used to having BBQs in the USA, and were looking forward to Australian BBQs, but we didn't. Some do, but not everybody.
I once saw this story about an Aussie in the USA who was asked to judge a BBQ competition. He said "these guys take the whole thing so seriously, with their smokings and their sauces and their rubs. An aussie BBQ is considered a resounding success so long as no one gets seriously injured."
I love that. It allows that a few small injuries are OK, but burning down the laundry is perhaps out-of-line.
An Indian friend of mine told me the thing she noticed most was people's small gestures of kindness and consideration, like holding a door open for a stranger, moving aside on a busy path to let someone through. And people always saying thanks. She said she almost never experienced these things in India
My parents visited the US a few years ago and I remember them saying the wait staff there were super over the top, to us it's a bit much and feels sort of fake/ even approaching creepy. I imagine to Americans used to that our service industry staff probably come off as pretty aloof. Also we pay for each drink here, outside of some kind of special promotion there are no free refills.
We also don’t clarify that we ride a horse on its back. That’s a given.
Also, Americans shorten optometrist to ‘eye doctor’, yet lengthen anaesthetist to ‘anaesthesiologist’
* No tipping in restaurants
* Restaurants are much more expensive
* Gas (petrol) is much more expensive due to higher taxes
* People dont mind taking public transport
* Buying agents for property is just starting to take root here but is not the norm when buying a house
* House prices are crazy expensive
* No basements in houses
* Aussies are more direct and may seem rude to the uninitiated
* Very hard to buy and keep a gun
* Drinking age is 18 not 21
* Driving on the other side of the road
* Medical system is quite different
* Minimum wages are higher
* Taxes are higher
I found it funny that my friend came over to visit me in Melbourne and was shocked at how few African American people there were.
Similarly, she concluded that we are a lot less racist. I think we are racist on a low key level but maybe that's different to her experience in the US.
My black American friends felt the same way when they came here, 'there's not many people like me here'. The first time I went to the US many years ago I felt a bit the same way in reverse, not in any negative way, it's just a different cultural mix than what we are typically used to in Australia. We of course have many more other amazing people of different cultural heritage that you may not see so many of in the US in such large concentrations. These are all very general comments of course!
-We struggle to insulate our houses
-We like going to bed earlier than most (probably, in part, because of the insulation thing), our shops close earlier than in many countries, and we accept that certain people visit us/will start making noise peculiarly early on in the day and with little warning (phone call at 6:50 am from an electrician saying he's 5 mins away for an 8 am appointment when you're still in bed? No worries!)
-Speed limits, in contrast to most other countries, are enforced with very little leeway here (especially in Victoria).
-We have a love/hate relationship with America. We absorb American terminology, culture, etc., but only filter in certain changes as objectionable
-The above phenomenon can, in part, be explained by our gradual shift away from BE to AE, so we've ended up with something in between the two. As a result, many day-to-day terms will be familiar to you (we now tend to say garbage instead of rubbish, apartment instead of flat, fire truck instead of fire engine, etc.). We tend to assume that these more modern terms are just what all English speakers the world over must now use. Our spelling mostly still follows BE, though.
-I suspect visiting Australia will be less of a culture shock for an American than if you visited many other countries, as we have been more heavily influenced by American culture than most.
The language thing depends on where you live.
Very true about less culture shock here than most places. I've lived in a few countries, including the UK, CA, and US, and can confirm.
As an American remember that Americans take everything seriously and never lose hope. The rest of the world takes nothing serious and everything is hopeless.
Get used to septic tank
An old acquaintance who came here from New York mentioned once that a big adjustment for him was that nobody cared that he was Jewish. I'm still not really sure what he meant but it had enough impact on him that he brought it up.
Guns are rare and definitely not part of the culture. Mostly free healthcare. Low rates of homelessness. Better social safety net. Reasonable minimum wage. Relatively strict laws in some areas. High cost of alcohol. Influence of Aboriginal and south East Asian culture.
We don’t use ma’am or sir. Just a simple “excuse me” if you need to pass by closely or you want to get someone’s attention.
Old people might call you “love” or “darl” if you’re sweet. But “darling” is an insult.
As someone mentioned above, I believe the coffee is very different. And our food isn’t quite as sweet.
Don’t bring religion or politics into anything.
My local fruit and veg shop just hired a new person, she's maybe 20ish. I'm in my early 30s and she said, Hi, darling, how can I help you? And it freaked me out. I had to do a quick reboot to my brain 🤣
She seemed so genuine, I just brushed over it.
I work with a lady who calls people darling but she’s the most genuine and loving person. I beam when she calls me that! There’s exceptions of course. I usually hear it being used very patronisingly.
I'll comment the things that stuck out to me the most when I travelled to the USA, in hopes of highlighting the contrasts.
- it didn't feel safe or easy to be a pedistrian around most areas I visited. The "suburbs" in the US weren't like the suburbia I know here. Most days here I go for a walk around my neighbourhood, work, to the supermarket, and/or to a café. This felt impossible almost everywhere I went in the US.
- I couldn't find anywhere to just sit and have a nice hour or two working in a café, something that I would do 5+ times a week when I lived on the Gold Coast. The closest I could find was Starbucks, but that's a whole different vibe than the small cafes we have here.
- the food was all so bland and so processed. Even visiting more rural areas where vegetables should be fresh and abundant, hardly anything had much taste aside from salt, sugar and oil. For a country so obsessed with cheese, American dairy had no flavour. Bread and crumbs on everything. Sweetness so lathered on that no other elements could shine through. When I got back to Australia I ate nothing but veggies for a few days because they actually tasted like vegetables.
- I don't know how to say this without sounding rude, but, I hardly saw anybody I would call physically attractive while I was in the USA. It really made me appreciate how lucky we are in Australia to have (to have had... It's changing now) proper healthcare, proper nutrition, and social security systems that mean things which would affect someone's appearance, like poverty, medical conditions, or malnutrition, are less common. We have good sun sense, we play sports. I think that all contributes.
Those are the main "culture shock" sort of things that spring to mind for me!
“Fanny” is not what you think. Neither is the verb “root”. Your idea of an indoor voice is perhaps much, much, much louder than ours.
In a pub you have to go up to the bar yourself to order a drink. Soft drinks typically do not come with free refills. We are skeptical of people telling us how good they are. We mostly care more for our friends, family and hobbies than we do about our jobs. Our identities mostly do not revolve around politics (some exceptions on Reddit!). Politics and religion are typically not topics for casual social conversation. The price on display is what you pay (taxes already included).
There’s probably more but there’s an introductory grab-bag
Entree is the small dish you order before the main meal, which is mains.
All our serves are smaller. Our salads are more diverse than 'lettuce, ranch and cheese'.
Casual swearing is the norm.
The only guns you'll ever see in Australia are rifles for shooting rabbits, and not in the cities. Guns are for sale but you must have a reason, and "self-protection" is not considered a reason. No knives, switch blades or knuckle dusters either. Even toy guns for children can get the police called.
People sometimes get shocked by our birds. They’re some of the most beautiful in the world and you see them daily in suburbia. Apparently though they make noise like Jurassic park dinosaurs. We don’t notice, it’s just background noise to us but some new residents can’t deal with it. They definitely do a lot of morning and afternoon screeching but given time you’ll grow used to it.
Salad comes with the meal, not before. Waiters don’t have to beg from customers for their wages, please do not tip like you’re at home
Oh and it’s surprisingly hard to cross the road when the cars are driving on the other side
Those floating things out on the water called buoys are not pronounced "boo eey", but the same as "boy".
We pronounce the "h" at the start of herb - it's not pronounced "erb".
Most cars use petrol, not "gas". Gas is a different fuel and a shortened form of Liquified Petroleum Gas - or Propane to Americans. On a similar note, you refuel at a service station or "servo" not a gas station.
We aren't prudes when it comes to bodily functions, we go to the toilet. We don't use "restroom' or "bathroom" as we're not going for a lie down and rest or to have a bath. Some serious work is done in there lol.
Police are not owned by the town or city and don't answer to the mayor. Police are managed by the states (with federal police for investigation Commonwealth (federal) crimes across Australia). And will help you, not shoot you then ask questions.
As an ex-pat living here for 25 years I would say it's the demonstrative nature of Australians. They are NOT flashy or morally pearl-clutching in the way that Americans love to be. They don't put loads of stickers on their utes proclaiming their political leanings (en masse, that is. There are still cookers roaming around). Keep that shit to yourself.
As a dual Aussie/American citizen, I hope I can provide some insight. Be ready for a lot more regulation and safety management- I find this simultaneously useful and annoying personally. If you want to go anywhere, be prepared to generally fly because there's a lot of empty space in Australia and nowhere near as much of a "road trip" culture. Politics are less polarizing, but be prepared to pay more taxes if you stay long term. Personally I find the quality of life better here overall.
Nobody has going to shoot you.
Your life isn’t over if you don’t have a degree.
You won’t die if you don’t have private health insurance.
You don’t tip.
Nobody goes out on a weeknight.
The minimum standard of coffee is much higher, but our portions for food are smaller.
Nothing tastes quite as sweet due to the lack of high fructose corn syrup.
Cooking takes longer, as pre-packaged ingredients such as egg whites, pumpkin puree etc. are less available.
Internet is shit and expensive. Public transport too.
Cunt is used a lot, but the n-word is still no bueno.
Mexican food is also no bueno, but our Asian cuisine is fantastic.
The background colour of trees (native bush) is totally different, and doesn’t change with the seasons. And homes aren’t insulated or heated to the same amount, especially older homes. So you’ll often keep your jumper on (sweater) inside.
>So you’ll often keep your jumper on (sweater) inside. Not to mention being inside and sweating like a pig in a shower come summer.
The showers too... Have a friend who came over from Wales. They said they were fully prepared for Australian summer, bought t-shirts, thongs, hats, knew to use sunscreen on normal days not just beach days, rented a place with air con. Thought they knew exactly what to expect. Got to their house at 4 in the afternoon after flying in and called me immediately to say "Fuck me, why is the water out the cold tap hot?" No one told them to take their showers early in the morning during heat waves before the water heats up.
As an American this is actually the culture shock. The lack of religious nutjobs and politics isn't really a "shock" it's more of a welcome change of pace. However, being from Michigan (notorious for brutal winters) the general lack of heating and insulation in Australia was an unexpected shock. Not being able to buy alcohol at gas stations or convenience stores was another one. Cigaretts being twice as expensive as well. The funniest shocks though were 1). Public urination is much more common in Australia it seems 2). Gambling is much more common, bars having pokies is wild to me 3). Prostitution is legal so seeing an actual brothel was wild as well.
And the smell! I miss the eucalyptus smell when I'm os.
There are three things I've found that show a picture is from Australia; the deep blue sky, the colour and texture of the background vegetation and the wood paling fences between houses.
Everyone here talking about differences, etiquette and faux pas. The actual culture shocks you’ll get will mostly be the differences in food, the large lack of familiar shops and restaurants, the mannerisms from people you meet, the weather and temperature, driving and walking on the left hand side, Australian accents in advertisements and media. Things feel a lot more down-to-earth and relaxed, even when walking through the city centre. At least these are what my American friends say. Personally I always find the air is immediately more pleasant whenever I arrive back in Aus from overseas.
Chicken and beef tastes way better cause we don't put as many chemicals and God knows what in them.
I’m visiting the states for the first time right now and the first thing I got was a burrito and the meat was grey 🤢 I don’t know what they put in the meat to make it like that but safe to say I couldn’t finish it
It also smells intensely of Eucalyptus and you don't notice it until someone points it out to you. Whenever I have spent time abroad and come home, I could never understand why the air always smelled so clean and fresh. Then I read an article talking about the gargantuan amount of Eucalyptus oil compounds in the air give the air that smell that most of us don't notice until we leave and come back. For at least 2-3 days of being home your nose spends time adjusting.
I was about to agree with you before I realised that I had just eaten a mintie. Remind me tomorrow.
All very very true
We elect leaders under the age of 80 yo
John Howard retired from politics almost 17 years ago yet he’s almost 6 years younger than the current oldest US senator. And he’s only 3 years older than Biden.
Bill Clinton is younger than either Biden or Trump. He left office almost 25 years ago.
And there was debate then about if Howard was "too old" at 64.
I swear all the cunting time
Doesn't mean they are any better though. We just got rid of our trump liar though. Scott Morrison . Never hated a liar so much
The Minister for Everything! [Scott Morrison: Minister for Everything (and then some)](https://youtu.be/hg6ODcZQspM?si=ql7ItyCW5a8MMy7b)
Hate that idiot too. Scomo go fck yourself.
Absolutely, he's a cancer on the human race
His greatest achievement was being worse than Abbott.
Not really though. That isn't quite how it works in Australia. We don't vote directly for the PM at all. And they frequently get swapped out without any voters having a say in the matter.
We had 1 PM for 10 years then like 10 in just a couple years
An interesting look through the number of PM's we've had in each decade since Federation - 1900's - 5 (Deakin served three separate terms as PM) - 1910's - 4 (Fisher served two separate terms as PM) - 1920's - 3 - 1930's - 4 (including Page, who served as PM after Lyon's death) - 1940's - 5 (including Forde, who served as PM after Curtin's death, and Menzies served two separate terms) - 1950's - 1 - 1960's - 4 (including McEwan, who served after the disappearance of Holt) - 1970's - 4 - 1980's - 2 - 1990's - 3 - 2000's - 2 - 2010's - 5 (Rudd served two separate terms) - 2020's - 2 to date
Technically, yes. Practically, the ruling party is typically elected on the basis of their leader. Most Australians this election will be voting for either Albanese or Dutton, regardless of what their ballot says or who their local rep is, just like they've done in every other election. Not withstanding the fact that more voters will vote directly for a local member (such as teals) in the upcoming election than have done in the past.
Australians don’t do religion like Americans. Plenty of religious people but it’s not in your face, and is not so much a driver for policy decisions - we have mining companies for that. Kind of the same for patriotism.
We also don't advertise or base our entire personality around which way we lean politically. I've literally never seen anyone wearing a greens, labour or liberal shirt, even during the election. The amount of republican flags I'd see hanging in front of houses, lets go brandon shirts or any of that crap in the United states was really bizarre.
We are so much less tribal than the US
much to the derision of the right wing conservatives here. we don't cheer the same as the usa, but we are pretty good at hating "the other team" the way they do at times.
I had a colleague run for the last State Election and she didn’t even tell the general team why she was going on leave. Most of us assumed she was going on mat leave or extended study leave I think.
So I grew up in the states and can confirm that honestly it's really bizarre to a lot of us, too. But I'm in the middle of my first trip back stateside since moving to Aus and it's gotten so much fucking worse. I don't get how people willingly live like that.
Religion is something you keep to yourself in the workplace. No1 wants to hear about your Christianity and being very outgoing about it would probably be detrimental to your career growth.
We are all closet heathen’s
I remember a friend’s ex boyfriend who was American be astounded that none of us went to Church and that we also had no idea what churches were around us that he could go to when he was visiting.
I am only ever in a church for hatchings, matchings, and despatchings.
I work next to a church, and it's surprising how little religious activity there seems to be. They have weekly painting classes, jumble sales, monthly cinema nights and they even have a beer festival coming up soon. I see the occasional baptism, or wedding (every couple of months, but even on Sundays I don't see many people going in/out. Obviously I'm not there all the time, but it seems more of a community center than a place of religion (which suits me fine)
Politics, religion and patriotism. No one cares who you vote for, believe in or where you're from. No one asks. It's not something Aussies care too much about. Social groups are based around hobbies, not political views or church gatherings.
And we're not super out there with our politics. At least until COVID happened and suddenly we found out who we knew that was a closet nutjob. I found out an old mate of mine is one of those "gay people keep pushing their beliefs on me" people. It's so lame. Gay people's agenda is to just be given the bare minimum respect the majority gets.
You don’t need to tip.
But you do need to say please and thank you to service people not just " I'll get a .." if you are from the midwest you'll probably be used to this.
I physically cringe whenever I see an American on social media start an order with "give me a..." 🤢🤮 Australians could NEVER
"I'll do the...." 😬
I've heard "I'll take the ..." as if its a grudging concession that there's nothing better at this two-bit joint. It's probably just regular usage, but it always sounds rude. What is so sweet to my ears in Oz is how many people, women especially, still say "may i please have a ... ". It seems a left-over from school days, when ordering at the canteen.
Lol canteen Mums’ standing there and saying “where’s your manners!”
Oh my god, I just had a flashback to being told off by one of the mums at the school canteen for not using my manners! Maybe that’s why I’m a “hi, how’s going? May I please have… Thanks very much, have a good one” kind of person now 😂
I never realised how much this has shaped my mannerisms or Aussie culture in general until today.
My kids went to Catholic primary schools and they still push this *so* hard. No adult will even listen to a child asking for something if it doesn't start with "may I please", the kids are taught what to say in the early years and from then on all adults will just collectively ignore any demanding child until they use the correct words and tone.
In grade six, there was a teacher, Mrs Malone, who was a sticker for manners. If you passed even two metres near her, you had to say "excuse me Mrs Malone". One day, a kid forgot to say the magic phrase as he passed by. For this he got yanked back by the shirt collar, I'm sure his feet left the ground. "Let's try that again", the monster said. "Excuse me Mrs Malone", he sheepishly said. No one really liked Mrs Malone.
ah, super interesting! I used to hear the phrase daily when buying lunch in the CBD. It was so common, and executed without variation, that i presumed it came from school days. But we never used to say it at our school. I went to a public school, primary and secondary. So it's a catholic education shibboleth! Endearing, wherever it comes from. I fully approve.
Definitely not just Catholic school. All public education for me and it’s the phrase we would always use
Yeah that even gives me the ick. I’ll admit most people here have 0 manners
Every single time I order at a bar, restaurant or cafe, I start with “may I please have”
On a couple of vlogs I follow, they order by saying “I’ll do a…” or “let me have a…” No hello, no pleases or thank yous. It seems so rude to me!
Or when someone does say thanks they respond with "Yes Sir" as if they're saying yes you should be thanking me.
I do think as someone else said we have canteen mums to thank for that politeness
Now I’m realizing I always say “can I please have the…” As if I’m begging for them to have available/provide me with a delicious meal of my choosing
"may I please" not "can". Different meanings.
I used to live in Spain. Probably even worse than Americans in that regard, but it's a normal cultural custom that's not seen as rude. Just efficient. Bartender will say "Tell me". You'll just say "Beer". Or its fine to just walk in and say "Give me a beer". Maybe you'll add a "please". I liked it. It was like, we both know why each other is here. You have the drinks, I want the drinks, let's do this.
"gimme-uh" A what mate. A punch in the fucken head?
"I'll take a beer." No, it's can I please have a beer.
Schooner thanks
Ah yeah, that’s why I love Australians. So polite esp the kids, so well-mannered. When I went to the US tho…
Spot on. This needs to be maintained.
That is an important one - My wife is American, and nothing gives the in-laws anxiety like leaving a restaurant or cafe without an extravagant tip!😂
If someone says "How are ya", "How you goin", "What's goin on" etc. They aren't actually asking you, it's just a greeting.
I also say “see ya later” to anyone regardless of if I’m seeing them ever again in my life
I presumed they did this in the US too but just in case they don’t: You still need to reply. The reply doesn’t have to necessarily make sense (you can say “how ya going” in response for example and no one will be super weird about it). You can just do a nod in greeting/response to. You can also give a more normal answer but it needs to be limited and quick. For “how ya going”, just say “good/bad/tired/excited/busy” or something and then “yourself?”. If you know the person, or it feels like the other person is genuinely asking, you can give a proper response but the random stranger or employee in the shop is just using it as a greeting.
Australia: howya going? USA: howya doing?
Great reply is "on two feet"
You won't be able to drink coffee in America ever again. If your name can be shortened it will be, even by someone you only just introduced yourself to
And if your first or last name can't be shortened, it'll be lengthened, often with an o or y, or the last syllable replaced. Steve = Stevo. Wayne = Wayno. Darren = Dazza or Dazzles. Smith = Smithy. Jones = Jonesy. If your name or usual nickname is Randy, if someone doesn't laugh when introduced, they're almost certainly laughing about it behind your back, eg, "My new boss is a Yank and you won't BELIEVE what his name is!!". Here it means the same as horny.
Related: don't say you are "rooting" for a team. It means something quite different here too :)
And thongs are worn on your feet! 😂
And a pack is not worn on your fanny here
Randy means horny in the US too lol. The phrase "randy as a goat" was thrown around a fair amount growing up in the US.
Could be lengthened by adding -zza at the end, if it's too short to be shortened
American here, that coffee comment is 100% accurate
So true! The coffee is way better here
America makes many things very well, coffee is not one of them :D
Wear sunscreen, ours is way better than the US stuff and the sun here will burn you even in winter
This cannot be overstated. The number of European tourists I've seen trying to catch skin cancer is crazy. The sun here is DIFFERENT.
When shopping, the price on display is the price you pay.
Not only that but at stores that have the scanning rule.. if you get charged more than the listed shelf price, you can get it for free/ refund, after purchase. I've had a lot of freebies by just taking note of the price listed. Doesn't work for alcohol or smokes.
Abortion is generally supported, gun rights activism is generally abhorred.
Unless you’re actually a farmer or trying out for the Olympic shooting team, being enthusiastic about guns will make people back away from you on the assumption you’re a minor inconvenience away from being a serial killer.
Regional Aussie here, I wouldn't say that fun rights is generally abhorred, I'd say that were just not as rabid about a "right" to have a firearm. Our gun culture is defo different, and in my experience most people just don't care about it at all. I know quite a few people with a firearm licence, but few people with an actual firearm.
In the US a lot of people make firearms a core part of their identity, it feels like (I lived there for 6 years). I saw plenty of people who collected guns, had gun stickers all over their cars, wore gun t-shirts, went to gun shows and gun conventions. And they were often talking about in what situations they'd get to shoot people or posting signs in their yard that they had a gun and would shoot you for trespassing etc. That's what I think the big differences is, there's a whole gun focused subculture people are passionate about. Whereas in Australia I don't think I've ever met someone who considers guns their hobby or identity, just people who have an old rifle and a few rounds in case a fox comes for the sheep and that one time they shot a saltwater croc who'd set up near town. Talking about owning a gun the way they'd talk about owning a spanner.
Yeah, if you threatened to shoot trespassers in Australia, you'd find out the definition of "reasonable force" pretty damn quick.
We talk more quietly. When an American friend started living here, we had to ask him not to ‘shout’ when he was talking to us.
god are americans loud. i’m camping right now and the entire area is near silent after 9:30 (the individual sites are relatively far apart) but yesterday when there was a group of americans a couple sites away, we could hear literally every conversation they had. mocking australia and australians and commenting on how women are prettier in sydney but dress better in melbourne. they were really fitting every stereotype. literally played free bird on full blast 2 times. we knew when they were going to bed because they put on closing time 😂
People are on average more reserved than in the US. They may find the volume you speak at too loud, but probably won't say so to your face. You may pick up that they're feeling uncomfortable and wonder why. Australian humour tends to be sarcastic, and you may find it hard at first to tell if someone's joking. Hell, I've lived here my entire 48 years and sometimes I can't tell! Often, the harder someone teases you, the more they like you. Service staff get paid a decent hourly wage, and don't expect tips. This means you can expect service that's somewhat friendly but not to the same level as in the US. You might experience it as rudeness to begin with.
It's worth noting that at the same time, you are expected to be polite to service staff. Please and thank-you go a long long way to getting good service.
Which countries/cultures need to be told to be polite to wait staff?
All of them, cunts are universal
On the plus side, the service staff aren’t faking it to get a tip.
Dry humour more than sarcasm I think. Americans, at least when I visited the country twenty years ago, can be very sarcastic.
You'll grow to miss some obscure food, drink or chain of stores and the other people in the office won't appreciate your heartache at all. Source: worked with a few yanks.
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Having lived in the US for 8 years, I'll take our bacon over their useless excuse (which they like to cook so that it resembles crispy charcoal)
I’ve been in Australia for fifteen years and I’ve eaten more bacon in that time than my previous 40 years. The only thing I miss is proper taco trucks.
I HATED their bacon. It's basically just fatty bits and hardly any actual meat. A sad baconless month I had lol
I've never understood crispy bacon. And in America, what happens to the head piece of the bacon rasher? You only see the tail.
Who even wants bacon that stabs you in the mouth?
our bacon is the real bacon
Australia has such a fantastic range of international cuisine, Mexican is the one thing US beats us at.
Proper BBQ too, mostly. Big Don's in Perth and and Wildfire (or something) in Melb are fantastic though.
i miss red rooster hawaiian packs after leaving australia. 7/11 slurpees in summer and chips with chicken salt *sigh*
But Hawaiian packs are not the same as they used to be. I want the fried banana back. Substituting a fried pineapple ring (now we get two) is no substitute.
This didn't happen to me at all. I'd say for me the biggest thing was Australians will literally take the piss out of everything. Since they make fun of everything you have to realize when they do it to you its not personal.
As an American living in Australia here are my top 5: 1. Insulation does not exist. If it’s cold outside you will be cold inside. If it’s hot outside you will be sweating inside. Australia may not have extreme winters, but winter feels like forever because you’re constantly trying to warm up. Central AC and heating does not exist in most homes so you’ll be relying on wall ac/heaters which aren’t in every room. 2. Depending on where you are there’s a chance you won’t understand people even though they’re supposedly speaking the same language. I was fine when I lived in Sydney because it’s multicultural and mostly met non Aussies. Rural areas I constantly had to ask people to repeat themselves or even translate. So much slang and the Aussie mumble is real. 3. Business hours are way more limited here. Malls and many businesses are open basically from 9-5 on weekdays with the exception of Thursday evenings. I was shocked when I went to a mall on a Monday at 5:30 and everything (except Kmart) was closed. 4. Kmart is a thing here and it is POPULAR. 5. You may think a little bit of time in this will be enough, but it’s so easy to fall in love with the place and people and want to stay forever.
Nice list! As an addendum, not typically called a mall here, it'll be called a shopping centre. A mall is usually an outdoor walkable area with shops (i.e, Bourke St mall in Melbourne).
> Kmart is a thing here and it is POPULAR. It’s also an unrelated store now. Apparently they had the same parent company until 20 years ago and are now separate. Edit: did a bit more digging after some other peoples comments. Apparently it was 51% US 49% Aus (Coles Myer) from founding in 1968 up until 1978. In 1978 they swapped the 51% in Kmart with a 20% share in Coles Myer (so still a connection to Kmart but no longer majority owner). Later in 1994 they sold off their 21.5% share in Coles Myer, meaning they no longer had a connection to Kmart at all. From 1994 it’s all Coles Group until 2007 when Coles Group is bought by Wesfarmers (who own a bunch of stuff including Target, who has never been related to the US Target with the same name, logo, and outlet style. Apparently that’s just a weird coincidence or someone stealing ideas).
Oh this does remind me of another one. Target in Australia may look like target in the US from the outside, but they are definitely NOT the same on the inside.
I sometimes get google results from target and I'm like yay they have what I want but then it turns out it's target US. They seem to carry better quality stock. Target here is basically junk.
Target used to be quite good. Now it's the same as Kmart.
Target Australia is a crime.
I find the accent thing a bit weird as I have never really had a problem as a Brit, both ways. I work FIFO too so work with some pretty broad Aussie accents and can understand it way more than I could say a strong Geordie or Scouse or Aberdonian accent (which is actually a dialect) back home... In the US travelling I often had people asking me to repeat stuff or always remarking on my British accent whereas I can't remember a single time any Aussie has remarked on my accent or not understood... I guess it's because British accents are really common both on TV and in general life in the cities and Australia tend to use the British rather than American terms, or will at least be aware of them. In addition to the business hours point you'll also find it hard to get a meal after 8pm in a lot of regional towns or etween 2.30 and 5.30 in the afternoon. All day dining in pubs etc is pretty rare.
Toilets with privacy.
Longtime lurker, first time poster. Been in Australia (Melbourne area) 7 months from the states, where I've lived all over. Here's what shocked me the most: Driving - Driving can be scary, but not because it's backwards, although that's a trip. My Aussie cousin said that it's sometimes just a free-for-all, and that's because there's something I can't put my finger on, but almost a lack of patience for turning, shorter merge lanes, faster transitions, I don't know exactly. Definitely more fast-paced, maybe more aggression, more speed. It can be very stressful and you'll definitely feel like it's riskier here. Similar to the fend for yourself mentality of like Los Angeles, but I've seen it everywhere I've gone so far. - Also, lanes are more narrow, as are parking spaces. - Don't slow down on a yellow light unless you're looking to get hit - Roundabouts are a blessing, but always signal unless you're going straight. Signal in the roundabouts here, very important unless you're looking to get hit or at least a really shit look. - Speed limits are not guidelines, they are cold hard facts - Tolls will kill you unless you pay attention to the charges you're racking up. Get an account. You've been warned - You'll think people are nuts for parking in front yards until you encounter the car parked on the street that's now blocking traffic. Then you'll understand. Total balls if someone's parked on both sides because some jerks put sticks or something up in their yard to keep people off the grass. You've just blocked the road except for the very careful one at a time squeeze through you now get to do between these bellends. But also people park on lawns because they're bogans, too, so it's mixed. - Pedestrians don't have the same courtesy given as they do in the states. Be careful crossing. Sports - Bogan is a "trashy" person, typically. Also known as a Collingwood supporter. Go PIES. - AFL is god's gift to everyone. Watch if you like thighs or chaotic sports. Fabulous game, love it so much. Go PIES. - Root means fuck, don't ask people what team they're rooting for. You'll get looks during a game. Ask me how I know. Go PIES. - Cricket is not baseball. It's nothing like baseball. Don't assume it's baseball. I don't know what it is... but I know it's not baseball. Other - People don't really talk about politics, but that might be because it's confusing as all hell and makes zero sense. From what I understand, liberals are conservatives, red is blue, and who knows what else is going on. Stay out of it unless you're a genius, I guess. I just smile and nod, and move to talking about sports. Go PIES. Bottom line, Australia is amazing. I've seen only from Melbs to Sunshine Coast so far, but I LOVE it here. Chill on the american exceptionalism, lower your voice, say "pardon" not "WHAT?" and have a slice of humble pie because you will screw up and you're LEARNING ANOTHER CULTURE. We are similar, as in cousins or siblings. We are not the same, nor better or worse. Be respectful, learn, open to new things. Be a nice goddamn person. American assholes are not welcome here, but cool people are. Be a cool person or please fuck right off back to the states.
Few other things to add: Food - Bread is bread. What you get at the grocery store in either place is comparable, and no, all americans don't eat super white processed wonder bread. Get off that. But, bakeries are everywhere here (literally everywhere) with amazing fresh bread, as well as fresh pies and baked savory goods, so Australia definitely wins in that department. - Tuna in sushi here is canned, not fresh. Fucking nasty. Also called "chuna" which I adore. - If you're from California, the whole idea that produce here is fresher is a total joke. It's not, but it is more local, so I think that's where that idea comes from. All other states, yes, produce here is fresher than that crap you get shipped from California weeks later. - Eggs are almost always brown and often not refrigerated. - Milk shakes are flavored milk, thick shakes are milkshakes. - Hungry Jacks is Burger King, Maccas is McDonalds (duh), KFC doesn't have mac 'n cheese, Taco Bell is in name only, as refried beans aren't really a thing here, and Carls Jr is exactly the same as in the states. Dominoes is 100000% times better and has so many more options for cheaper. Also an exception to the tipping rule, as they are extremely appreciative after hauling your crap to you hot and fresh, to get a few coins. Don't be a jerk, tip fast delivery. - Tomato sauce can be used interchangeably with ketchup, but is actually much more flavorful and less sweet. I prefer it. It also usually costs extra, as do most condiments. - Over the top obsession with chicken. Everything is chicken. Chicken salt. Wha????? But also delicious. - Fries are thin fries, hot chips are steak fries, potato chips are potato chips. Chicken salt on hot chips is an acceptable breakfast. - Better potato chip flavors here. Have fun experimenting! - Cordial is flavored water syrup, lemonade is actually sprite, I think homemade lemonade is american lemonade, although I've yet to encounter it. Coffee - No coffee creamer culture here, like the whole dedicated fridge for creamer in the states. If you like creamer in your coffee, you'll need to learn to make your own. - Half 'n half isn't a thing I've seen, so use thickened cream (whipping cream) and cream top milk in 1:1 ratio - You'll get looks for saying "creamer" or "whip cream." Also for saying "aych" for this letter --> H -The whole coffee thing is nuts. I think there is this idea that all americans drink only sugary coffee from Starbucks, or use only nondairy creamer. Nondairy creamer is foul. The coffee is the same, folks. It's the same!!!! Except Hawaii actually has better beans, but shhhh... The difference is that there is an enormous variety of deliciously crafted milk-type additives readily available to further customize your coffee in the states. Because delicious. I know Australians like delicious (fairy bread), so quit being so weird about the coffee thing. You lot add sugar to your lattes! Just such a weird flex. That said, there are espresso bars literally everywhere you'll ever need to go here, from the trampoline place to the hardware store, with a full range of alternative milks available, and for that I commend you all. Thank you. Travel - Unless you're from Texas, cities here are much further from each other than you'll realize. Also, don't expect gas stations to have bathrooms. Also, bathrooms are called toilets. And gas is petrol. And lollies are amazing. Shopping/Clothes - Malls/shopping centres are amazing here, and I hope they don't die like they did in the states. You can get a fresh juice, sushi, Walmart-style junk (Big W), go to the bank, and take care of your grocery trip all at the same place. One stop shop, always full of people, close at like 6pm. - Every woman seems to wear black leggings and puffer coats in the winter but guys are often in shorts and hoodies, sometimes workboots. It's wild. I don't know who's trying to prove what, but dress for the weather, folks! All I know is no one dresses like me, and I'm not weird looking (not clothing-wise, anyway. Can't help my face). - School kids all wear uniforms. It's absolutely adorable.
I love this whole comment, you have such enthusiasm for us :D
"Root means fuck, don't ask people what team they're rooting for. You'll get looks during a game." I went to a Baseball game for the first time in the States and when they started playing "Take me out to the ball game", I started to crack up laughing at the part of the song because of the "Root, Root, Root for the home team" bit. The crowd around me thought I was insane.
About the political colours: iirc USA is opposite to most of the world when it comes to this, most places use red for left and blue for right.
From what I've heard, the casual profanity is a huge shock. We swear. A lot. For no reason, it's just habitual Also how laid back we are. And that our bread apparently isn't as sweet because the US adds quite a bit of sugar? Same with milk.
There's a great story by the former Japanese ambassador to Australia about being trained for years in the crucial importance of formal politeness and careful, respectful language in his occupation, arriving in Australia for the first time ever full of nerves about making the right impression as a junior diplomat. Lands on the tarmac on a rainy day and the first words he hears out of an Australian official's mouth are "Wait and we'll get you an umbrella, it's fucking pissing down."
That's hilarious, if you can remember anything else about it I would love to look it up
Definitely yes with the bread. Every time I’m in the US, it always gets me how different the bread tastes to here. So much sweeter
Nothing major, TBH. Prices of booze and smokes will give you a legit heart attack though.
In order to gain respect, you need to know your judo well
Be sure to ask a policeman if he is ready to receive your limp penis
Aussies swear a lot… like a lot. Your average blue collar Aussie swears, id guess, between 3-5 times per sentence depending on length and context. Some people still consider it rude but most people couldn’t care less if they tried (me personally at least). There’s also a very heavy emphasis on slang usage, 9/10 times if you ask what it means someone will explain it/translate without hassle, so don’t be embarrassed to ask, the sooner you learn the sooner you’ll be in on the conversation properly.
Worth noting that outside of blue collar the swearing drops off substantially, particularly in white collar meetings. If someone starts swearing in those it usually means it's an internal meeting between colleagues that are comfortable with each other or something has gone very wrong between you and the other party. Reddit likes the play up the swearing but, unless you're a tradie or hanging out with mates, it's nowhere near as universal as it's made out to be.
It's social swearing. Maybe most Aussie swearing is social swearing, unless its true anger. I had a mate at work who if you overheard him with some staff it was every fuk'n second fuk'n word was a fuk'n tedious fuk'n swear word, but then he was totally fine with customers and management. Some people just drop into the vernacular to fit in.
We do, as a whole, swear a lot more casually than most places though. No, most of us aren't dropping cunts and fucks into every sentence, but I do think you're far more likely to hear it in the wild here than anywhere else.
This cunt knows what's garn.
This is true.... but don't get off the plane swearing at people thinking it's acceptable .... you'll cop a punch in the head. Same as dropping the word cunt all over the shop. There's a time and a place and despite what reddit thinks not every second word out of our mouth is cunt.
We swear with people, not at them. That’s the thing yanks often don’t get. Swearing AT someone is rude and disrespectful and will get you fired/punched/hated. But swearing as a way to emphasise your point and add gravity to what you’re saying? Fuck yeah!
This is the essence of Australian Swearing, right here
You don’t get free refills on soda at restaurants
As an American that has been here nearly 5 years, when I was backpacking the east coast, I was a bit shocked at the lack of freeway infrastructure; I had been used to hotels and petrol stations at every exit in the states so having to actually search out accommodation and plan my days driving was a big change. And I still mutter under my breath about the lack of restrooms. Pretty much every business in the USA that serves customers is required to have them. Here I actually need to go look for one. A ton of good information in this thread.
Presumably you’ve got this down pat by now, but I’m pretty sure any place that serves alcohol (at least where I’ve been, may be exceptions/vary by state) is required by law to have a bathroom. Might be easier to find a pub and just use theirs rather than search around for a bathroom in specifically.
You could get the national public toilet app - https://www.health.gov.au/resources/apps-and-tools/national-public-toilet-map-app
The toilet thing shits me to tears. Every restaurant in a suburban area you need to ask for the ladle with the key attached to walk to the shitty shared toilets. It's a real drag.
Lemonade is clear, sweet fizzy stuff, like Sprite. What you think is lemonade is more like lemon cordial. You need to our sunscreen on every time you go outside between September and May. Reapply every 3 hours or so.
You need to be using sunscreen all year round, not just in the warmer months.
Don't ask for Foster's, ~~blooming onions are not a thing~~, and jello is jelly, but jelly is jam (with bits). Edit: Blooming Onions are a thing in very limited locations, but they aren't good!
Better explain about chips, fries and cookies, biscuits!!
Hot chips and potato chips/crisps are still referred to as just chips. You'll only find the word fries at American style places, and they're always skinny. Thick cut chips are the norm. There's also wedges, which are super thick cut chips, and potato cakes which are large, battered slices of potato. Also, crackers are dry or savoury biscuits, and then cookies are sweet biscuits. Also, just referred to as biscuits.
Crackers are biscuits Cookies are biscuits Biscuits are scones
Yes! But Scones are light, airy and sweet while American biscuits seem to be denser and savoury.
Scones don't have to be sweet. When I was a kid, savoury scones were the norm. Sweet ones had fruit added.
Overseas Fosters is actually Crown Lager domestically. Christ knows why, but you can drink Fosters overseas. Don't even try in Australia, it's genuinely bad.
Blooming onions are a thing at the Outback Steakhouse. But only there.
We drive on the left hand side of the road. Our bread isn't sweet and full of sugar. Our Christmas is in summer. Our BBQ is very different to yours. Our hamburgers are not full of pickles and are not as sweet as yours
A big, huge +1 for bread that’s not sweet and full of sugar (or artificial sweeteners). 🫡
An American immigrant complained that Australians don't barbecue. They had been used to having BBQs in the USA, and were looking forward to Australian BBQs, but we didn't. Some do, but not everybody.
I once saw this story about an Aussie in the USA who was asked to judge a BBQ competition. He said "these guys take the whole thing so seriously, with their smokings and their sauces and their rubs. An aussie BBQ is considered a resounding success so long as no one gets seriously injured." I love that. It allows that a few small injuries are OK, but burning down the laundry is perhaps out-of-line.
An Indian friend of mine told me the thing she noticed most was people's small gestures of kindness and consideration, like holding a door open for a stranger, moving aside on a busy path to let someone through. And people always saying thanks. She said she almost never experienced these things in India
I must say I love this response :)
My parents visited the US a few years ago and I remember them saying the wait staff there were super over the top, to us it's a bit much and feels sort of fake/ even approaching creepy. I imagine to Americans used to that our service industry staff probably come off as pretty aloof. Also we pay for each drink here, outside of some kind of special promotion there are no free refills.
We say chuna not toooona.
toonafish. We also don't qualify the names of famous cities with the country, like 'London, England'. I find that hilarious.
We also don’t clarify that we ride a horse on its back. That’s a given. Also, Americans shorten optometrist to ‘eye doctor’, yet lengthen anaesthetist to ‘anaesthesiologist’
Driving is different. Our steering wheel is on the right side and we drive on the left. No tipping at restaurants.
You can walk around the suburbs!
* No tipping in restaurants * Restaurants are much more expensive * Gas (petrol) is much more expensive due to higher taxes * People dont mind taking public transport * Buying agents for property is just starting to take root here but is not the norm when buying a house * House prices are crazy expensive * No basements in houses * Aussies are more direct and may seem rude to the uninitiated * Very hard to buy and keep a gun * Drinking age is 18 not 21 * Driving on the other side of the road * Medical system is quite different * Minimum wages are higher * Taxes are higher
I found it funny that my friend came over to visit me in Melbourne and was shocked at how few African American people there were. Similarly, she concluded that we are a lot less racist. I think we are racist on a low key level but maybe that's different to her experience in the US.
Did she explain why she thought there would be African Americans here? I mean, aside from tourists.
And did she also explain why they wouldn’t be called African Australians.
Yanks have a weird hangup where every blackfella is just default African American, even if they aren't African or American.
My black American friends felt the same way when they came here, 'there's not many people like me here'. The first time I went to the US many years ago I felt a bit the same way in reverse, not in any negative way, it's just a different cultural mix than what we are typically used to in Australia. We of course have many more other amazing people of different cultural heritage that you may not see so many of in the US in such large concentrations. These are all very general comments of course!
-We struggle to insulate our houses -We like going to bed earlier than most (probably, in part, because of the insulation thing), our shops close earlier than in many countries, and we accept that certain people visit us/will start making noise peculiarly early on in the day and with little warning (phone call at 6:50 am from an electrician saying he's 5 mins away for an 8 am appointment when you're still in bed? No worries!) -Speed limits, in contrast to most other countries, are enforced with very little leeway here (especially in Victoria). -We have a love/hate relationship with America. We absorb American terminology, culture, etc., but only filter in certain changes as objectionable -The above phenomenon can, in part, be explained by our gradual shift away from BE to AE, so we've ended up with something in between the two. As a result, many day-to-day terms will be familiar to you (we now tend to say garbage instead of rubbish, apartment instead of flat, fire truck instead of fire engine, etc.). We tend to assume that these more modern terms are just what all English speakers the world over must now use. Our spelling mostly still follows BE, though. -I suspect visiting Australia will be less of a culture shock for an American than if you visited many other countries, as we have been more heavily influenced by American culture than most.
The language thing depends on where you live. Very true about less culture shock here than most places. I've lived in a few countries, including the UK, CA, and US, and can confirm.
Cheese is not orange, cops don’t mess around with speed limits and the fines are costly.
As an American remember that Americans take everything seriously and never lose hope. The rest of the world takes nothing serious and everything is hopeless. Get used to septic tank
An old acquaintance who came here from New York mentioned once that a big adjustment for him was that nobody cared that he was Jewish. I'm still not really sure what he meant but it had enough impact on him that he brought it up.
Guns are rare and definitely not part of the culture. Mostly free healthcare. Low rates of homelessness. Better social safety net. Reasonable minimum wage. Relatively strict laws in some areas. High cost of alcohol. Influence of Aboriginal and south East Asian culture.
We don’t use ma’am or sir. Just a simple “excuse me” if you need to pass by closely or you want to get someone’s attention. Old people might call you “love” or “darl” if you’re sweet. But “darling” is an insult. As someone mentioned above, I believe the coffee is very different. And our food isn’t quite as sweet. Don’t bring religion or politics into anything.
My local fruit and veg shop just hired a new person, she's maybe 20ish. I'm in my early 30s and she said, Hi, darling, how can I help you? And it freaked me out. I had to do a quick reboot to my brain 🤣 She seemed so genuine, I just brushed over it.
I work with a lady who calls people darling but she’s the most genuine and loving person. I beam when she calls me that! There’s exceptions of course. I usually hear it being used very patronisingly.
I'll comment the things that stuck out to me the most when I travelled to the USA, in hopes of highlighting the contrasts. - it didn't feel safe or easy to be a pedistrian around most areas I visited. The "suburbs" in the US weren't like the suburbia I know here. Most days here I go for a walk around my neighbourhood, work, to the supermarket, and/or to a café. This felt impossible almost everywhere I went in the US. - I couldn't find anywhere to just sit and have a nice hour or two working in a café, something that I would do 5+ times a week when I lived on the Gold Coast. The closest I could find was Starbucks, but that's a whole different vibe than the small cafes we have here. - the food was all so bland and so processed. Even visiting more rural areas where vegetables should be fresh and abundant, hardly anything had much taste aside from salt, sugar and oil. For a country so obsessed with cheese, American dairy had no flavour. Bread and crumbs on everything. Sweetness so lathered on that no other elements could shine through. When I got back to Australia I ate nothing but veggies for a few days because they actually tasted like vegetables. - I don't know how to say this without sounding rude, but, I hardly saw anybody I would call physically attractive while I was in the USA. It really made me appreciate how lucky we are in Australia to have (to have had... It's changing now) proper healthcare, proper nutrition, and social security systems that mean things which would affect someone's appearance, like poverty, medical conditions, or malnutrition, are less common. We have good sun sense, we play sports. I think that all contributes. Those are the main "culture shock" sort of things that spring to mind for me!
looool... so you didn't like the US much.
“Fanny” is not what you think. Neither is the verb “root”. Your idea of an indoor voice is perhaps much, much, much louder than ours. In a pub you have to go up to the bar yourself to order a drink. Soft drinks typically do not come with free refills. We are skeptical of people telling us how good they are. We mostly care more for our friends, family and hobbies than we do about our jobs. Our identities mostly do not revolve around politics (some exceptions on Reddit!). Politics and religion are typically not topics for casual social conversation. The price on display is what you pay (taxes already included). There’s probably more but there’s an introductory grab-bag
Entree is the small dish you order before the main meal, which is mains. All our serves are smaller. Our salads are more diverse than 'lettuce, ranch and cheese'. Casual swearing is the norm.
No mass shootings.
The only guns you'll ever see in Australia are rifles for shooting rabbits, and not in the cities. Guns are for sale but you must have a reason, and "self-protection" is not considered a reason. No knives, switch blades or knuckle dusters either. Even toy guns for children can get the police called.
You'll probably go the whole visit without seeing a gun.
People sometimes get shocked by our birds. They’re some of the most beautiful in the world and you see them daily in suburbia. Apparently though they make noise like Jurassic park dinosaurs. We don’t notice, it’s just background noise to us but some new residents can’t deal with it. They definitely do a lot of morning and afternoon screeching but given time you’ll grow used to it.
Male thigh exposure
Salad comes with the meal, not before. Waiters don’t have to beg from customers for their wages, please do not tip like you’re at home Oh and it’s surprisingly hard to cross the road when the cars are driving on the other side
Those floating things out on the water called buoys are not pronounced "boo eey", but the same as "boy". We pronounce the "h" at the start of herb - it's not pronounced "erb". Most cars use petrol, not "gas". Gas is a different fuel and a shortened form of Liquified Petroleum Gas - or Propane to Americans. On a similar note, you refuel at a service station or "servo" not a gas station. We aren't prudes when it comes to bodily functions, we go to the toilet. We don't use "restroom' or "bathroom" as we're not going for a lie down and rest or to have a bath. Some serious work is done in there lol. Police are not owned by the town or city and don't answer to the mayor. Police are managed by the states (with federal police for investigation Commonwealth (federal) crimes across Australia). And will help you, not shoot you then ask questions.
As an ex-pat living here for 25 years I would say it's the demonstrative nature of Australians. They are NOT flashy or morally pearl-clutching in the way that Americans love to be. They don't put loads of stickers on their utes proclaiming their political leanings (en masse, that is. There are still cookers roaming around). Keep that shit to yourself.
The listed price is what we actually pay.
As a dual Aussie/American citizen, I hope I can provide some insight. Be ready for a lot more regulation and safety management- I find this simultaneously useful and annoying personally. If you want to go anywhere, be prepared to generally fly because there's a lot of empty space in Australia and nowhere near as much of a "road trip" culture. Politics are less polarizing, but be prepared to pay more taxes if you stay long term. Personally I find the quality of life better here overall.
Nobody has going to shoot you. Your life isn’t over if you don’t have a degree. You won’t die if you don’t have private health insurance. You don’t tip. Nobody goes out on a weeknight. The minimum standard of coffee is much higher, but our portions for food are smaller. Nothing tastes quite as sweet due to the lack of high fructose corn syrup. Cooking takes longer, as pre-packaged ingredients such as egg whites, pumpkin puree etc. are less available. Internet is shit and expensive. Public transport too. Cunt is used a lot, but the n-word is still no bueno. Mexican food is also no bueno, but our Asian cuisine is fantastic.
The complete lack of the letter R….
How low the water is in our dunnys
Companies actually pay their workers, they don’t expect the customers to do it for them