*Disclaimer * These observations are purely things I noticed after wandering Australia for 5 weeks and may not be entirely accurate. If you have any explanations or stories, please share away.

Also, to prove we’re not (too) biased I’ll be doing a list of US observations after our cross-country drive in September!

13. Crickey! Strange grammatical differences.

On top of the abbreviations, there are also some strange grammatical differences between Australian English and other forms of English, and while “G’day Mate” appears to be fading in popularity, I found “How ya going?” to be equally charming.

14. Australian-ifications of foreign words.

To make things even more complicated for the ambling North American visitor, many of the ways in which Australian English speakers pronounce foreign words is confusingly different. The Spanish dish “paella?” Pie-el-ah. The French meat cut “fillet?” Fill-it. The Korean car “Hyundai?” He-un-day.

15. There are tons of candy stores.

There seems to be even more of a penchant for sweets than back in the States. I was particularly surprised to see row upon rows of Willy Wonka sweets lining the shelves of every convenience store.

16. There are very few options for food customization.

Maybe they size up customers as they enter the door, or maybe because they make such damned good food. Either way, I was surprised at how little food customization there was. Whenever we ate at a Thai or Indian restaurant we were never asked how spicy we wanted our food. Similarly, no one asked us how we wanted our meat cooked.  

17. There are animals everywhere.

Australian animals have almost no natural predators, except for the dingo, and foxes which were brought over by the British. As such, there are TONS of animals once you get outside of the city, and tons of road kill – especially in less populated places like Tasmania.

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Mrs. Selfish and I left Japan on a plane bound for Australia – the Land Down Under! For the next 35 days we visited the country’s east and south coasts, seeing Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Tasmania, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, and Melbourne.

So what was it like?

Outside of America, Australia is probably the most American country we’ve ever been to. Not only are a lot of the companies the same as at home (hello Blockbuster!), but many of the customs and culture are very similar. That being said, we spotted many differences in the good ol’ Land Down Under.

*Disclaimer * These observations are purely things I noticed after wandering Australia for 5 weeks and may not be entirely accurate. If you have any explanations or stories, please share away.

Also, to prove we’re not (too) biased I’ll be doing a list of US observations after our cross-country drive in September!

1. Australia is like America in the 90’s.

Visiting Australia is like taking a visit to pre-911 America. The average internet speed is ~50% that of the States, so Netflix hasn’t really taken off, so video rentals (or “hires”) are still popular. Phone booths dot the countryside. Amazon hasn’t destroyed retail businesses, since it doesn’t exist locally. Travel agents still have a job.

That being said, people do carry around iPhones and Androids, and credit cards are basically accepted everywhere, so it’s very much like the States in that respect.

2. Australia has amazing domestic airport security laws.

Not taking off your shoes is pretty standard anywhere outside of the States, so that wasn’t a big surprise. What WAS a surprise was the outstanding liquid laws – there are almost no limits on liquids! You can bring up to 6 bottles of wine on a domestic flight and no one bats an eye. And remember meeting people at the airport as they depart the plane? Yep, you can still do that in Australia.

3. EVERYTHING is more expensive in Australia.

Everything. Especially in Sydney, where buying a cup of coffee is like a punch in the gut. Donut prices start at $3. Cabs count up by 5 cent increments immediately after you board them. A McDonald’s chicken sandwich costs $5. A movie ticket costs $21. Your average lunch? Closer to $15-$22.

I suspect the higher cost of things is due to the minimum wage, which is an amazing $18 an hour. Australian residents are largely unaffected, but as a tourist, Australia was easily the most expensive place we’ve ever visited – including England and Japan.

4. …But the Food is really, really good.

It’s almost impossible to eat a bad meal in Australia. Finding a great meal requires minimal research, while finding a good meal simply requires you to walk into the closest restaurant. Produce is fresh, meat is delicious, and baked goods are as good they are in Europe.

And while there aren’t many native Australian specialties (vegemite! anzac biscuits! kangaroo meat! Aussie pies!), the spin they put on standard fares like hamburgers and breakfast make me sad that I’m back in the States.

5. Australia is the Manliest Country in the World.

Men and women are on average 1 inch taller than in the US, and who knows how much beefier. Stumbling around Sydney, it felt like everyone was surfing, lifting, and jogging – all at once!

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