The basic historical reason for Australia having higher minimum wage rates than say the US comes out of a labor law system that ultimately rested on an arbitration system (in effect a court deciding what wages should be instead of employer-employee negotiation which tends to prevail elsewhere except NZ) and in particular the Harvester case in 1907 which established the notion of the "living wage" in the Australian industrial relations system. The living wage was held to be what a male worker required to support a wife and three children "in frugal comfort". This has become embedded in Australian industrial law with obvious modern adaptions (e.g. it applies to women's wages too) and clearly sees employment as more than a narrow payment for labour but as part of what a civilised society should pay its workers to ensure they can raise a family etc. It is important to know this history in case we see Australia's wage rates as something that arises from simply current economic conditions or employers' beneficence, when it was the result of organised labour and other political forces combining to create a legal system that entrenched the concept in our law and culture.
Obviously, being set nationwide also helps businesses compete fairly, eliminating the race to the bottom effect of letting states set their own minimums.
Relatively high wages also means a lot of people have disposable funds to spend as they choose (instead of just the bare necessities). This, of course, is great for business and helps them be successful enough to be able to afford those relatively high wages.
@@RictusHolloweye Whether or not that is true the Harvester judgment did not concern itself with the capacity of businesses to pay those wages. It was about what a fair and reasonable wage was and focussed on the needs of employees and not on whether it was "good for business". "The conditions as to remuneration must be fair and reasonable whether the profits are small or great..." (from the decision) It is a landmark decision for these reasons.
Australians’ attitude towards Christmas decorations isn’t really about not being wasteful or being anti-capitalist. It’s simply because we mostly see a bunch of gaudy plastic stuff as tacky, or over the top. Understated, high quality decorations are fine.
Also it's summer here and generally Christmas decorations are rather winter-focussed in design. We're not looking for cosy cafes with Xmas ambience, just air conditioning.
@@mike-williams I have never understood why Christmas decorations are snow focused when Jerusalem is not renowned for snow in December. I think its temps are more like Melbourne's around Christmas day.
I learned to drive around Hobart and southern Tas. A hand brake start was literally the first thing I was taught. With so many hills and manual cars in Tas, using the hand brake/parking brake is a must and became second nature to me.
@@coffeeenut You will note that Walmart does not operate in Australia because they did not want to change their business model to comply with Australian labour laws.
@sigmaoctantism , I donlikr buying anything from Amazon because they treat their workers so poorly. My son informed me it's OK to buy in Australia because they have to comply with our labour laws. Decent wages and breaks. I guess Walmart didn't like that idea .
Australia saw the health issues of HFCS, the sweetener used in ketchup, especially its role in body inflammation, and banned its use here, so we haven’t been acclimatised to the extra sugary taste. We are an outdoor culture, especially since Christmas is in summer, so we don’t spend a lot on decorations.
Ketchup and tomato sauce are both made from apples primarily. The difference is the amount of real tomato in the mix. To be called tomato sauce it must have a certain high a percentage of tomato’s. Ketchup has much lower tomato content.
Australia’s wealth and prosperity and freedoms and health etc are built on the free market ideals. So if some here that you’ve run into are anti capitalist they really don’t appreciate what that has given them.
Another thing to consider, Aus has a huge sugar cane industry, IE, we use mostly real sugar as sweeteners in our foods, where the USA uses corn syrup. This will give you a change in taste, eg coke is different flavour here.
Yes! Food differences (even bagels :)! But also coffee - when most Americans say "coffee" they mean something different to what the rest of the world means (particularly Australians)...
Yeah, us Aussies tend to prefer coffee rather than dish water 😁. I lived in the USA for a year, took 6 x big jars of Moccona instant with me, because I'd had USA coffee before - it wasn't enough though, because the people I stayed with "took an instant liking to it lol".
@@roslynjonsson2383 I understand the Moccona thing - big part of my life during lockdowns :) But I found when I lived in the US it is actually possible to find decent coffee in most places... you'll just have to work really hard to find it. I got lucky where I lived - there was one cafe with a barista trained in Byron Bay - who could even make a passable Melbourne Magic. But that was the only decent coffee in a city of 200,000...
@@NigelSmith72 Lucky you, finding a decent coffee over there. I was there for work reasons, and was based in the middle of Illinois (Beardstown). Even though I travelled through 9 states, I didn't have the time to constantly search for a decent cuppa. Where ever I was, I would ask a local where I could buy a decent cuppa, but that approach wasn't successful, because they pretty much all sent me to Starbucks, which I can't stand lol.
@@coffeeenut Tasmania has a higher percentage of environmentalists living here. That's why you might be hearing that message, depending upon where you live and who you socialise with. Merry Christmas from sunny Hobart.
I didn’t think I was someone who’s environmentally conscious until I went to the states. We do basic things for granted here in Australia that would be considered “anti-waste” in the states, like recycling, turning off your lights and aircons when you leave home, not use your dryer in summer, bring your own grocery bags, and yes not buy excessive crappy junk for the sake of festivities. In the states I shuddered at the amount of gratuitous waste everywhere. Unnecessary packaging, loads of disposable cutlery and sauce packets for food that you’re eating at home. People leaving aircon on when going out. Shops leave all lights and even escalators on all night after they’re shut. Household owning multiple cars. Many people gave me a reaction like I was an eco-warrior for asking where the recycling bin was at their home. So yeah you might not realise it, but I can see that compared to what she’s used to in the US, I do believe her that we are more conscious about wastefulness in our festive culture. There’s only so much wasteful crap we’d buy before our conscience kicks in. Nobody here for instance would wrap their house in christmas lights that consume the electricity of a small town, and light it all week. And if we ever see one, our first reaction would be “that’s wasteful”.
I think for a lot of Aussies we simply can't be bothered with going over the top with decorating because it's generally too darn hot to fuss with all that. I mean imagine the level of effort it would take to set up all that cozy, cute decor when it's 38 degrees outside. I'm exhausted just thinking about it lol. I'm probably the worst, we have a christmas tree with plain wooden decorations and a few meters of branch bunting. My kids complained that it's a bit dull this year, but I think that's because my 'all out' holiday is Halloween. Outdoor lights, inflatable decorations, animatronics... The works! It's not as hot so you can decorate without feeling like you've had your brain drained out of your ear lol.
I totally agree with you. It's about a get together with the food you will enjoy, maybe a bit more special than other times. But forget the Turkey and the creamed corn they eat... We used to eat cold ham, prawns and cocktail sauce, maybe potato salad and Trifle and Pav... It's normally too hot to have the indoors things etc.. And as I've gotten older and the kids all left, then I did too!. I keep it simple
In Sydney we have individuals, sometimes streets that do the lights in a big way. As my kids where growing up, we did it every year. One year, we literally covered the whole house (small 3 bedder). That was the year my hubby got 2 degree burns on his bum while on the roof.
I think the older we get the better we get at this stuff... It needs simple things, not complex things... As for Halloween. NO.. Never going to happen as we are Aussie, and that isn't!!! and Never will make the grade!!! Same as their politics... Never ever gunna make the grade..!!! Twits!!!! I have other words here...
Tomato sauce and Ketchup are 2 completely different condiments. Not using the parking bake puts more pressure on the transmission "park" lock and no there's no extra braking system/device that locks your transmission. The parking/emergency brake holds all the pressure where it is meant to be held, at the wheels so there's no unnecessary pressure throughout your vehicles drive train. Great variants in your experiences and loved your review on the differences between this beautiful land as compared to America.
Ketchup is American but the word ketchup comes from southeast Asia. So it's a little strange that Australia has done away with ketchup. (The southeast Asian countries do not have an equivalent of ketchup. Each country has maybe a hundred condiments for various things and there's no equivalent of "the condiment for everything". )
Hmm. Interesting. I always assumed it was called parking brake because i was to brake your car whilst parked. What other reason could there be for it to be there ….. you don’t use it whilst driving.
Wikipedia description of ‘hand brake’. The primary use of a handbrake in a car is to stop the vehicle from rolling forward/backwards when parked/stopped. Apart from that, a parking brake can act as a hill-hold assist for uphill starts. Lastly, you can also use it as an emergency brake if the main brakes fail.
On the issue of festive decor, this is very much a cultural issue, not just about waste. That goes for the idea of 'seasonal' decor as well. It's just been a part of our historical practice to be modest about decorating for Christmas. I grew up with the tradition, for example, that trees went up on Christmas eve and early decorations were bad luck.. There can be a tendancy to think we are the same culture, but we're really not - and that's okay. All the best 🙂
@@coffeeenut The other thing about Christmas here is that it doesn't really make sense, It's hard to get into the swing of songs about snow when your skin is peeling off from the sunburn. Haha I do agree there's a balance between too much and not enough.
was the 1st of December that it became ok to put it up in my home as a kid. We had a "Christmas tree" in lights on our roof, attached to the tv ariel too, but it only went on occasionally, due ot the cost of running all the 25w coloured bulbs back then & came down again boxing day, cause storms at that time of year would smash the bulbs regularly, so the less time up, the less the cost. My parents actually saved money & bought 2-3 new bulbs to add to that "tree" each year for a decade or more, cause back then there wasn't the disposable money around that is today
Rounding to nearest five cents for cash payments is actually a law in Australia since the one and two cent pieces were taken out of circulation, but doesn't apply for cards or other epayments. It also helps to have built-in gst for a lot of products to cost rounded amounts.
On top of the weekly wage, the employer also pays the equivalent of 10% of the salary into the employees superannuation fund.Permanent employees are also entitled to 4 weeks annual paid holidays, ten days paid sick leave and workers compensation, if injured on the job or travelling to or from the place of employment.
Canada must be the same as the US - I was shocked at the cost of phone plans. Initially I thought I may have made a mistake - no, it was more than double my Australian plan with less data. I was expecting the opposite.
Placing the auto shifter in park only locks a pin inside the trans & not mean't to hold the car weight from rolling. In fact the correct way when you stop is to pull the handbrake to lock the wheel whilst your foor is still on the brake pedal and them put the auto shifter into park. This avoids putting load (tension) on the trans lock pin. If you don't do this procedure correctly you will sometimes notice a distinct "thud" when you go to drive off & put the shifter into either reverse or drive expecially on a slope.
The receipts are usually only rounded up (or down, if the cents amount is less than five) when one pays cash. If one is paying by card/phone-tap, the amount is left as is.
Enjoyed your video. As a general habit you should put the handbrake on when parking your car, whatever transmission it has. I can't speak for where you live in Tasmania, but there are plenty of houses that go all out with christmas decorations. Some streets get into it more than others, and it becomes a tradition to drive around the suburb with the kids to look at all the decorated houses. There are plenty of people that go all in for Christmas. I love Christmas like you.
Also, in Australia, when we order something from a server we are taught to use basic manners. "Could I please have a large flat white?", and when we get it we say "thank you". We also dont use our fork like its a shovel.
Im an Aussie living in USA, I have some USA Aussie comparative video plans, but I like your simple chat to the camera format which is easier for me to do and stop procrastinating.Maybe I can share footage with you for collaborative comparisons one day
I think there are several reasons why we haven't adopted the US's approach to Christmas just yet (though are increasingly doing so as we, like most western and non-western nations alike, become more Americanized). Firstly, Christmas here occurs in the middle of summer. It makes sense that you would want the warm glow of lights all around you when the world outside is dark and cold. But here we are celebrating during a time of year when it is full sunlight until 7pm. It is hot, it is fun. Everyone is out enjoying beaches and the outdoors, etc. It's a completely different vibe here at Christmas time. This is why we have "Christmas in July" now to try and capture that northern hemisphere version of xmas during our winter season. Second, we are a very multicultural country. The US is too but you have a very ingrained national identity. Which we also have but being a much younger country it is not quite as ingrained here. With a multicultural identity comes respect of other's views and beliefs. So we celebrate Christmas in a more subtle way here knowing that our population is not homogeneous. Further, only about 49% of Australian's identify as Christian vs 68% of Americans. So Christmas here for many people is more a tradition where we come together and celebrate family and friendship, enjoy our homes and good food, play games/swim and are thankful for all we have (similar to your Thanksgiving) rather than a religious observance. Again this means we each tend to celebrate in our own personal way (ie attending church if that is important to you or decorating inside the home, etc) rather than every shop and every street being adorned. Like another commenter said, we tend to do our decorations as quality over quantity. A few really nice key pieces is our way of enjoying the season without imposing or encroaching on everyone else with it. Thirdly, environmental impacts. The impact of light and noise polution from having signficant outdoor decorations at that time of year is real. Not just to your neighbours but also to wildlife. Although we're not at the same standard as a nordic country we are still quite conscious in Australia of how our actions affect our environment. I suppose that comes from the fact that we have such huge landscapes and are so dwarfed by the size of our surroundings comparitive to our numbers. So we are very aware of it. Also, our young age again comes into play here. We aren't born into cities that are already hundreds or thousands of years old. Most of our development is new. We actively see forests being cleared to make way for highways and shopping malls and housing developments. So we can see the impact our action has on our environment. Almost everyone I know tries not to have loud music or bright lights on at night because it disrupts their neighbours and our native wildlife. There are already so many areas where we infringe on nature & others for our own needs and I think we draw the line at bright/loud Christmas decorations because as fun as they are, they do have a significant impact and aren't strictly necessary in order to enjoy the season. There are plenty of public spaces that have big light shows on at that time of year. We just travel to those spaces to enjoy the lights if we want to.
I jetted into Boston on July the 4th. Picked up and taken to New Hampshire. I was blown away with bunting. I admit to liking bunting. During my lifetime I have seen Australia day slowly marketed and commercialised. I remember when it was novel and a day off with a BBQ with the family. Nowadays it is more red, white and blue stuff with a side of shame.
I remember when the Australia Day holiday was always the last Monday in January, without regard to the actual weekday that was the 26th. What better way to celebrate Australia than a long weekend?
I'm going to say that the Christmas lights and decor stuff is definitely a bigger thing in the other states. It might just be Tasmania that's more low key. Never heard anyone say festive decorations or whatever is wasteful. Sounds like you've unfortunately experienced some miserable people there. I've lived in both Sydney and various areas in south east Queensland. There's light projections on buildings and cathedrals, animated displays in stores windows, many twilight Christmas markets, Christmas parades and carols by candlelight and all kinds of festive things in both those cities. And in Melbourne too. And many suburbs have incredible Christmas displays on their homes and in their yards. It's a tradition here to go do a Christmas lights trail. There's websites and apps that have maps with many homes and streets listed. Even the smaller town I'm in now, i can go walking and see lots of homes with lights and displays.🎄 Carols by candlelight is also very much an Aussie tradition. All states and most towns have a version. We gather outdoors in parks with picnics and food trucks and sit on a blanket and watch a concert of Christmas carols. They're usually at night hence the name! I highly recommend experiencing a carols by candlelight. And I think if you experience Christmas time in Sydney Or Melbourne or Brisbane some time, you will definitely see there is more going on there. 🙂 The two televised carols by candlelight are in in Sydney and Melbourne. Many people gather and watch them live in the park and millions watch at home on TV. I once took a Canadian friend to the Sydney ones and she loved the atmosphere! Christmas lunch here is probably a bit different to what you're used to because it's summer.😆 My go to take away breakfast is a toastie. A lot of people will just go to a bakery for a quick grab and go. Like a pie or sausage roll or croissant. Or a cheese and ham roll or cinnamon scroll etc.
Your post illustrates an odd thing about Christmas in Australia. You use an 🎄. Christmas decorations come straight from the northern hemisphere winter tradition, whereas it is summer here.
Aussie here from the mainland ,love Chrissy decorations and surprised aussies bitching and complaining about them.Put up and decorate as much as u like😊
Here in WA there are lots of places where I can get breakfast to go - my local cafe does some great breakfast bowls as well as fresh bagels with whatever filling you want. And of course I can go to the bakery as well.
As far as Christmas decorations etc ,I can see at least 6 houses near me that you could see from the moon 😂 Emergency Brake /hand brake should always be used in an automatic , or you can do serious damage to your transmission .Also here in NSW, you can get takeaway breakfast in a lot of places . Great video .
On bank transfers, you didn't even TOUCH on the whole PayID system; where the federal government not only made laws governing how fast a BSB transfer had to be, but also designed a new system where your bank account deposit target is attached to your phone number, so that people can pay to your phone, and it goes straight into your bank. (I especially like it because you put in a number and THE SYSTEM tells you the name, so you can make sure you've typed in the right thing.) Small direct transfers in Australia MUST be reconciled within 1 hour.
With the bank transfer thing- we do have Pay ID through your bank which is an instant transfer- just usually need the ph number or email to transfer money
rounding of the coins works both ways when the final bill ends in 3/4/8/9 cents it will round up to the nearest 5 or 10 cent when the bill ends in 1/2/6/7 cents it will round down to the nearest 5 or 10 cent, but if you pay electronically by either credit or debit card it will charge you the exact amount on the bill no matter what denomination it is
It's the one thing i hate about electronic payment. I understand exact payment when paying with credit or debit card, but why doesnt atm card get the same benefit. ATM cards are electronic payments, so when used to purchase something, we should also get to pay the exact amount and not have the price rounded up or down.
Phone calls to USA 30 years ago were very expensive with a few more companies they halved with more carriers they halved until the phone card companies were only 2c a minute to USA. Breakfast on the go is often an Egg & Bacon Roll with Sauce - bloody beautiful - bacon is soft & tender with the egg just firm enough to mix in with other flavours.
I have never heard of a takeaway breakfast (unless it’s maccas). My Christmas decor is minimum because I live in Queensland and less gives me the vibe of a cool summer where as more seems to give me an overheated vibe. Like I don’t want cozy cause that would make me feel hot. But I feel like I’m a festive person that’s just how I like to celebrate it.
when you dont use the hand brake in an automatic , your relying on the gear box to stop the weight of your car , which puts unneeded pressure on the gear box . the gear box is not meant to hold the car still . thats why we have hand brakes . its also unsafe to rely on the gear box , it could jump out of gear and roll into something .
Sorry, are you saying that Yanks don’t apply the parking brake when they stop? That’s pretty much driving 101 over here. Always have a fail-safe - I am scratching my head wondering who it was that said you don’t need it. Perhaps it was the same bloke who said to the radar operators at Pearl Harbour “it’s just our returning bombers”!
Sorry for having so many separate comments; I just wanted to have each chapter's discussion as a separate thread. But on a separate note; you say you're in Tassie; have you been to Poatina? It's a BEAUTIFUL place; I spent 18 months there studying. You should definitely find an opportunity to go; they have a three-star chalet you can stay at. Just try and make sure you are there at least one weekday morning for the period between 9 and 11, so you can enjoy one of their morning teas.
The parking brake is actually in the road rules. You must apply the parking brake before leaving the vehicle unattended. Pretty certain this is a requirement nationwide.
Hi, first time to your channel and I really enjoyed watching your video. You have a really lovely way of talking to people. I wish I’d found you earlier, but now need to go back and check those out. Cheers.
Are you BSB and account numbers fundamentally different in the USA? It's basically just an address to send money to? Why would you be told to keep that secret if it's the main way to transfer money? It's like being told to keep your PO box address secret, how are you meant to receive anything then lol? As for receipt totals, it's always exact because a lot pay with credit/debit. so cash has to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, and that of course is indicated on the receipt.
Because they’re one of the pieces of information someone needs to set up a direct debit *from* the account. Banks in Australia, being fewer and more communicative with each other find it easier to reverse such transactions if anyone did go to the bother of making them, and any fraud is much easier to track down as they will only let known businesses perform direct debits. In the UK it’s similar, famously Jeremy Clarkson published his in the UK (making the argument you just did) and they were used to setup a charitable donation on his behalf. Oops. Doesn’t matter anymore these days since if you’re sending money to a friend instant payments work with just a phone number or email.
@@peter65zzfdfh No dude, if that were the case, major businesses wouldn't publish their BSB and ACC numbers lol. You need card numbers for direct debits. You are also guaranteed your money back if you didn't authorise it.
Hi Coffee nut, Yeah I'm in Adelaide, and I did not know that Ketchup was so different, Here we put Tomato sauce ( dead horse) Sic, on everything, pies pasties, hotdogs evt ect. Yeah we have a Christmas Pageant here a few month prior to Christmas, and many stores make a big to do about it, I still think we have a Santa's cave in one of the major stores mainly for the children to see Santa, and tell him what they want for Christmas. The place has probably changed a lot over the years as we are so multicultural now, many don't have Christmas - example Chinese and Middle East, but still much Christmas things to find. I don't know about Tazzie but Adelaide has some of the best food from around the world I can imagine. i believe we have the best coffee mainly Italian coffee and you can get about anything you want to eat. It makes a big difference to who your close to friend and rellies to what you do to make life better,. Thanks for posting it is good to hear from our American Brothers and sisters, cheers !
When putting a car in park and not using the parking brake, the car is being held by a small 5mm to 10mm pin, anchored into an aluminum case. It is not meant to hold the vehicle but is a backup to the parking brake.
With your comment about bank transfers. 1) Vemo etc were created due to the difficulties in interbank transfers in the USA, whereas our Reserve Bank has worked hard many years ago to ensure people could do interbank transfers consistently. 2) Our Reserve Bank has been driving the ‘New Banking Platform’, which allows a recipient of funds to provide an email, mobile number, etc and the payer enters that data and the amount and the payee will usually receive the funds in their account in under 30 seconds (unlike the BSB-ACCOUNT number where the payment is paid overnight). So with the Old system there was no benefit for a Vemo system here, and with the New Banking Platform, even less so. Hope that provides some of the context.
Take away breakfast, Rendesvous Cafe in Salamanca Square does take away breakfasts, when I used to work nearby i'd phone ahead and order mine and pick it up on the way to the office, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages - great coffee from there or Parklane Espresso in the alley next door.
Paying by card has become so ridiculously common here in Australia that a few years ago in Target I noticed the once priced $19.99 LEGO kits were now all $20.00 (if you pay by card you pay the exact listed price).
I normally buy Rosella Tomato Sauce for home so I bought a bottle of Heinz "New York style" Ketchup to try it (the only one I could find). The ketchup is sweeter with a bright red colour. Rosella is thicker and more the colour of tomato paste with a slightly more vinegary taste. Most take away food cafes seem to offer only Masterfoods tomato sauce because it's cheap. It's a lot thinner than Rosella.
6:57 i am a mechanic, yes there is a parking pin on an automatic transmission, but if you completely stop the vehicle, set your hand brake, and then select park, the car isn’t resting on that “pin” an affords extra protection against accidental rolling.. wear & tear? Arguably yes, but it’s an extra layer of safety (the reason it’s actually fitted) you should never rely on the parking pin alone..
Rounding should only apply when you pay with cash, example $1,99 will round up to $2,00 Rounding applies to the total bill, example 4 items at $1.99 will total $7.96 & round down to $7.95 When paying by card you should be charged the advertised price, example $1,99 will appear on your card statement as $1.99, although you may have to pay a fee for using your card John from Oz
If you’re still in Hobart in February 2025 you might go to the Wooden Boat Festival. It’s a sensational biennial festival and as relaxed as can be. Boars, music and food on the Hobart waterfront. I travel down from NSW and have been to at least 10 festivals. Enjoyed your comparison of US vs Aussie. Hope you continue to enjoy being in Australia
Ok - so now I'm going to prove you right: "Festive Decor"? Yeah it's not the same in Oz. But it was the phrase "Festive Decor" itself that made me roar laughing. You mean a Chrissy tree and some baubles?😂 Jeez, my kids decorated the Dining room with shoes one Xmas! So yeah there's the reversed weather conditions too - in most of the USA Christmas is on the Winter Soltice, so you need to be all cosy & warm and inside. Whereas our Xmases take place outdoors - even the opening of the pressies in some households. Though I imagine it can be a bit chilly over Xmas in Tassie? And if I do so much as drape a bit of tinsel over my screen, it shall be deemed "Festive Decor"☺
Australians do love Christmas; it depends on where you live and whether or not your street is filled with Christmas displays. Some people go all out with Christmas displays and lights timed with music. It just depends on where you live and whether or not you like displays in your front yard. Also, some people don't have decorations left out because other people will steal the decorations from their yards. (This does not happen to everyone, but it does happen.)
Its possible you wouldn't pass your driving test if you didn't put the parking break on in Australia. Its taught the same as wearing a seatbelt. At all times.@@coffeeenut
I'm in Western Australia, and use Kogan for my mobile. $16.95 per month gives me unlimited texts, unlimited calls Aussie wide, and 6GB of data. It does me fine 😁
@@coffeeenut lol yeah. You should go check out their prices. Kogan Mobile are Aus wide, so you might get a better deal than you have now. Worth a look to see 😁
In Estonia u can get unlimited/unlimited data with all eurozone calls included, nordics and Baltics unlimited/unlimited, EU data 25Gb, calls for EU numbers 200min 6€+Gst 1,2€. speeds are usually around 200Mps
Great to see you more regularly. Good luck with your job knterviews and hopefully your new collab. Love hearing your positive attitude to Australia and your love of seals. Have you been to seal island at phillip island victoria?
Phone plans aren't a state by state thing here. Telstra/Optus/Vodaphone etc. are across the whole country, pick the one that suits you and you're covered no matter where you live - unless you are in the outback where it's satellite phone access only.
I think Tassie is a bit different to some places in mainland Australia. Like not many people drive manual cars because they’re more expensive etc but maybe in Tassie they still have a lot of used manual cars. Also in Melbourne take away breaky is fairly common probably because of the large population it’s worth doing it.
Festive decor was funny... i think its up to the individuals. I dont bother apart from some fence lights, as im not home for Christmas day, used to have tree etc when the kids were small, however, i have friends who start decorating their entire yard on the 1st December and go for it! Train sets, reindeer, santa, you name it, its there. But they're of dutch heritage, maybe that explains it.
I live in Melbourne and as it now entering Christmas time you see lots of houses put up decorations i do think solar lighs have mad a differce due to the cost of power and yes running christmas lights is not as expensive as they used to be as the are LED's but they still do. THere it literally entire streets that do it here in most suburbs. i live in a Suburb called Williamstown and the houses over looking the bay which are extremely expensive put up some massive blow up decorations
With regard to the maintainability of the minimum wage, in Oz because everybody has to pay that wage no business is disadvantaged; whereas because everybody gets paid decently there's more money flowing in the consumer economy, so higher costs due to higher wages are offset by higher consumer spending (ergo higher revenue for retail) for the exact same reason. So low-end retail may cost slightly more, but people have more to spend.
Im born & raised in Aus & my mum(from NZ) & I have always LOVED decorating for Christmas & Easter, we keep all our decorations so dont 'waste' anything lmao, there are some good light displays but you gotta search for them & its more popular in certain areas, same with shops I'm in Victoria & shops like Chadstone, Eastland, The Glen have good seasonal decor (the Lunar New Year deco was on point this year!) but I think its also that Australia isnt as christian, so theres not as much public displays of it (idk I could be wrong)
The word Ketchup is originally derived from Asia for sauce likely China and moved through Asia hence Kecap in Indonesia. Traders (probably the East India Company) brought sauce back to Europe and England and then to America.
Our prices in Australia have tax added already into the price mate. We have a thing called GST(Goods & Services Tax) all goods and services have this tax already added to the price before you go to pay. I assume in the US you have the price for a good or service then whe you go to pay they add tax to the bill when you pay. We just like to have things simple. We just love doing easy going, its a massive part of our culture. Enjoy Tasmania 👍
So what I'm hearing is all the important things like, decent minimum wages, healthcare, communication costs and a banking system that doesn't require a third party company for something as basic as transferring money are the good things in Australia and the bad things are simply "It's not like America": Oh no the sauce is sightly different!, I can't get a breakfast meal on the run! They're not trying to out do each other with gaudy Christmas decorations. Probably because most of us are not Christians ..
Me thing Americans forget about wages here is that your boss doesn’t pay for private health insurance and they give you an additional 11% on top of your salary that goes into a “superannuation fund” of your choice until you retire. The hand brake thing ahah - we actually have road rules on this, properly securing a car includes putting on the handbrake and you will fail a driving test if you don’t do it - some states you will get a fine for it. And a handbrake that automatically comes on does exist. They’re usually in newer modern cars with electric handbrakes
Ketchup is not really American, the original ketchup, spelt kecap is an Malaysian word, but not the same as American , Malaysian kecap is a type of soy sauce. But the actual name is Malaysian.
Regarding Christmas decorations, it varies hugely suburb to suburb. Generally though it's the more working class outer suburbs where you'll find the most elaborate displays. Not always but broadly that seems to be a thing. Inner city and inner suburbs it's definitely less common. Also it's definitely a bigger thing in Adelaide than it is in Hobart. I've lived in both cities and in Adelaide there's a lot of homes with at least something up even if it's minor versus Hobart where it's more confined to a few suburbs, many of which have died out (in terms of Christmas displays) over the years.
Hi there, Love the list - always fun to hear different perspectives. 😊 Not sure if others have mentioned - "rounding" in Oz only applies to the total (of the whole bill) and only for cash transactions. This is because our lowest denomination is 5c. Prices like $1.99 are just a sales gimmick however, at least we know the full price including tax. 😊
The parking brake thing always floors me. Americans don't trust their government. They don't trust their fellow American. But they have completely unwavering, unfaltering trust, in the *tiiiiiny* metal pin from the parking gear to bear the weight of their entire car? It beggars belief.
Catchup originated in Indonesia. . Then England took it there and had to vchange one ingredient with mushroom. It then went to America and they changed the mushrooms to something else again.
The main reason for our wages are our non tipping culture. Servers get paid by the boss not the customer. We do have ketchup available but it’s unpopular Australian generally dont like anything with hfcs in it.
Have to admit that I buy a cream cheese and tomato bagel every morning with my coffee. Also get hand made bagels every week from a special baker. Just love them.... also have a smoked salmon one every now and then. Christmas.... love all the deccos and lights but don't get too carried away living by myself. There are lots of community based competitions for the best decorated house here in Brisbane and most other places around Australia which great as well. Enjoyed your post - made me smile. A very merry christmas to you down in amazing Tassie
Don’t use the parking break in the USA? That explains all the videos of cars rolling away from people when stopped coming out of the USA. I had wondered why there were so many.
Christmas decor is understated here in Australia, its an extension of the Australian personality, less is more. Around the world Americans are known for over the top. I lived in the US for many years, I have now adopted somewhere in the middle, Its also for home decor in general.
Hey, really enjoyed your vlog. I remember when we had 1 & 2 cent coins in Australia..... Showing my age 😅, there was a big up roar when they were taken out of circulation. What do ya mean I give you $1 it's $0.99! Was the cry of indignation across the country when it happened... Also I agree about Ketchup v Tomato sauce they're different for sure. Re festive decorations it depends, here in my home town Dubbo some people go all out with Christmas lights, trees the whole shebang🎉.
The thing Americans forget about wages here is that your boss doesn’t pay for private health insurance and they give you an additional 11% on top of your salary that goes into a “superannuation fund” of your choice until you retire (that’s the national minimum and its compulsory, I get 15.4% because I work in public administration). I’m 30 and already have $60,000 for my retirement.
Even $60 here is consudered quite expensive for just a mobile plan. I pay $30pm for 55gb and unlimited calls and texts, and that also includes unlimited international calls to about 20 different countries (including the US).
Yeah, agree - my $25 plan gives me more data and calls than I could ever possibly use! Last time I checked I had around 270 GB of rolled-over data just sitting there waiting... Also, a minor quibble: the rounding-up of a couple of cents (OR rounding down - you didn't mention that can happen) to the nearest 5c amount only applies if you're paying cash. Most Australians don't do that anymore as we predominantly pay by card or phone-tap, and then you get charged to the exact amount of your total. 😊
Inter-bank transfers were forced on the banks by the reserve bank to make it easier to not carry cash. There's no security risk because when you give bsb and account details it is the equivalent of giving a credit card number. The first digits on a credit card number are like a bsb and the rest of the number is like an account number. Your bank will also have a phone app which has a "pay anyone" feature too. The transfer is completely traceable from one verified bank account to another and you have the same high standard of fraud protection and legal rights on all your credit and debit accounts. If the banks refuse to help you, you contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and they will pull your bank back into line. Bottom line, chill about inter-bank transfers.
I love your accent! It's an interesting US/Aus hybrid. Re Christmas, we celebrate it to the max, but just not in an American way. People spend big on presents, intoxicants, Summer activities, visiting, fancy food but decor is kind of irrelevant. We're also less interested in peoples' religious affiliations, considering that personal and private. To me that also explains our lack of decorations.
Not to worry, most of the things you mention that you miss are more widely available on the mainland, also for payments Paypal is pretty popular here and item prices don't get rounded if you pay with your debit card. 😀
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention free to air TV stations and how you can by a new TV set, plug it in and view a channel without the need for a cable guy.
Ashleigh I have never heard the argument here in NSW that celebrating xmas by decorating everything is wasteful but then coming from Tassie that doesnt really surprise me as the place has always been greeny central.. Decorations here can go from over the top to nothing at all depending on how much xmas spirit you have. Residents in some suburban streets will even get together and agree to decorate their homes with lights etc. people from all over the city will take their young children there on the nights leading up to xmas to walk and enjoy the spectacle. We had a huge home near us that spent thousands $$$ on an incredible display of lights and decorations it became so well known that you couldnt get a carpark within a km of the place - even ice cream and coffee vans would set up on the street. The home was known as Gracelands because it looked like Elvis Presleys mansion unfortunately they had to stop when they became too old to bother. They donated all their lights and decorations to the Hunter Valley Gardens in the local vineyards and people now go there to see the xmas lights. I lived in Oman one xmas and even though they were devote muslems they still decorated their shops they even had a Santa at the mall for photos. They didnt celebrate xmas as a religious thing they just loved the idea of having another party. I;m sure some of the people around here got their inspiration from the Griswalds :)
@@coffeeenut Ashleigh we love Tassie and have close friends who live in Burnie. We have been over there 4 times and usually include a road trip around the island because we never get sick of the scenary or the slower pace of life that they enjoy..
I find some of your comments quite strange. Nearly all of my family and friends prefer a nice home cooked breakfast rather than take out. At home with grilled tomatoes and ham on toast with avocado and a poached egg is better than any take away. MY local supermarket has tomatoe sauce and ketchup. However, nearly always the tomato sauce shelf is nearly empty while the ketchup shelf is always full. The christmas lights - wow - I have just spent the 2023 Christmas with my family in Sydney - on Christmas eve we had a drive around the suburbs to see probably one or two hundred homes decorated with Christmas lights and people singing Christmas carols.
Cell phone plans are garbage here in the states. Also, there's a monopoly on cell phone brands now that basically doesn't give you any options on cell phones (I-Phone, Samsumg, and Motorolla).
The basic historical reason for Australia having higher minimum wage rates than say the US comes out of a labor law system that ultimately rested on an arbitration system (in effect a court deciding what wages should be instead of employer-employee negotiation which tends to prevail elsewhere except NZ) and in particular the Harvester case in 1907 which established the notion of the "living wage" in the Australian industrial relations system. The living wage was held to be what a male worker required to support a wife and three children "in frugal comfort". This has become embedded in Australian industrial law with obvious modern adaptions (e.g. it applies to women's wages too) and clearly sees employment as more than a narrow payment for labour but as part of what a civilised society should pay its workers to ensure they can raise a family etc. It is important to know this history in case we see Australia's wage rates as something that arises from simply current economic conditions or employers' beneficence, when it was the result of organised labour and other political forces combining to create a legal system that entrenched the concept in our law and culture.
ahhh interesting! thank you
Obviously, being set nationwide also helps businesses compete fairly, eliminating the race to the bottom effect of letting states set their own minimums.
Unionism has always been a big part of living wages.
Relatively high wages also means a lot of people have disposable funds to spend as they choose (instead of just the bare necessities). This, of course, is great for business and helps them be successful enough to be able to afford those relatively high wages.
@@RictusHolloweye Whether or not that is true the Harvester judgment did not concern itself with the capacity of businesses to pay those wages. It was about what a fair and reasonable wage was and focussed on the needs of employees and not on whether it was "good for business". "The conditions as to remuneration must be fair and reasonable whether the profits are small or great..." (from the decision) It is a landmark decision for these reasons.
I think many people in Australia who buy breakfast do so from bakeries.
Australians’ attitude towards Christmas decorations isn’t really about not being wasteful or being anti-capitalist. It’s simply because we mostly see a bunch of gaudy plastic stuff as tacky, or over the top. Understated, high quality decorations are fine.
Also it's summer here and generally Christmas decorations are rather winter-focussed in design. We're not looking for cosy cafes with Xmas ambience, just air conditioning.
That is true....
@@mike-williams I have never understood why Christmas decorations are snow focused when Jerusalem is not renowned for snow in December. I think its temps are more like Melbourne's around Christmas day.
@ianmontgomery7534 most Christian calendar events piggy back on northern hemisphere seasonal holidays so the snow is just part of that
@@mike-williams yeah I get that but isn't Christmas supposed to be about the birth of Christ?
I learned to drive around Hobart and southern Tas. A hand brake start was literally the first thing I was taught. With so many hills and manual cars in Tas, using the hand brake/parking brake is a must and became second nature to me.
Aust govt regulations favour the consumer/worker more. A business screaming 'but what about my freedom?' doesn't really get you far in Australia.
ahhh interesting
@@coffeeenut You will note that Walmart does not operate in Australia because they did not want to change their business model to comply with Australian labour laws.
@sigmaoctantism , I donlikr buying anything from Amazon because they treat their workers so poorly. My son informed me it's OK to buy in Australia because they have to comply with our labour laws. Decent wages and breaks. I guess Walmart didn't like that idea .
@@sigmaoctantis1892 is that why?? Good riddance then.
Compared to Europe Aussies get a rough deal. America is just pure exploitation of workers
Australia saw the health issues of HFCS, the sweetener used in ketchup, especially its role in body inflammation, and banned its use here, so we haven’t been acclimatised to the extra sugary taste.
We are an outdoor culture, especially since Christmas is in summer, so we don’t spend a lot on decorations.
so fair!
Ketchup and tomato sauce are both made from apples primarily. The difference is the amount of real tomato in the mix. To be called tomato sauce it must have a certain high a percentage of tomato’s. Ketchup has much lower tomato content.
Ketchup actually comes from Malaysia.
Australia’s wealth and prosperity and freedoms and health etc are built on the free market ideals. So if some here that you’ve run into are anti capitalist they really don’t appreciate what that has given them.
@@jasonfreestone9944 While I totally agree with you, I don’t see the relationship to the discussion above. Cheers.
Another thing to consider, Aus has a huge sugar cane industry, IE, we use mostly real sugar as sweeteners in our foods, where the USA uses corn syrup. This will give you a change in taste, eg coke is different flavour here.
yes!
And less sweet. Nearly all American food is disgustingly sweet, salty and greased up. I couldn't drink the Coke in the States it is so sugary.
Yes! Food differences (even bagels :)! But also coffee - when most Americans say "coffee" they mean something different to what the rest of the world means (particularly Australians)...
yesss so true! coffee is a whole different thing
Yeah, I pretty much don't drink "coffee" when I'm in the US. I don't know what that swill is, weak, burnt and nasty. Nothing like coffee should be
Yeah, us Aussies tend to prefer coffee rather than dish water 😁.
I lived in the USA for a year, took 6 x big jars of Moccona instant with me, because I'd had USA coffee before - it wasn't enough though, because the people I stayed with "took an instant liking to it lol".
@@roslynjonsson2383 I understand the Moccona thing - big part of my life during lockdowns :) But I found when I lived in the US it is actually possible to find decent coffee in most places... you'll just have to work really hard to find it. I got lucky where I lived - there was one cafe with a barista trained in Byron Bay - who could even make a passable Melbourne Magic. But that was the only decent coffee in a city of 200,000...
@@NigelSmith72 Lucky you, finding a decent coffee over there. I was there for work reasons, and was based in the middle of Illinois (Beardstown). Even though I travelled through 9 states, I didn't have the time to constantly search for a decent cuppa. Where ever I was, I would ask a local where I could buy a decent cuppa, but that approach wasn't successful, because they pretty much all sent me to Starbucks, which I can't stand lol.
As an Australian it's interesting about the wasteful comment re: festive decorating. I've never heard that argument.
Me neither. I think it's just that we don't go as OTT as Americans with celebratory stuff.
i’ve heard it soooo much in Tas. and also on tiktok, people immediately say how wasteful it is :/
@coffeeenut I'm in Tassie too.
@@coffeeenut Tasmania has a higher percentage of environmentalists living here. That's why you might be hearing that message, depending upon where you live and who you socialise with. Merry Christmas from sunny Hobart.
I didn’t think I was someone who’s environmentally conscious until I went to the states.
We do basic things for granted here in Australia that would be considered “anti-waste” in the states, like recycling, turning off your lights and aircons when you leave home, not use your dryer in summer, bring your own grocery bags, and yes not buy excessive crappy junk for the sake of festivities.
In the states I shuddered at the amount of gratuitous waste everywhere.
Unnecessary packaging, loads of disposable cutlery and sauce packets for food that you’re eating at home. People leaving aircon on when going out. Shops leave all lights and even escalators on all night after they’re shut. Household owning multiple cars. Many people gave me a reaction like I was an eco-warrior for asking where the recycling bin was at their home.
So yeah you might not realise it, but I can see that compared to what she’s used to in the US, I do believe her that we are more conscious about wastefulness in our festive culture. There’s only so much wasteful crap we’d buy before our conscience kicks in. Nobody here for instance would wrap their house in christmas lights that consume the electricity of a small town, and light it all week. And if we ever see one, our first reaction would be “that’s wasteful”.
I think for a lot of Aussies we simply can't be bothered with going over the top with decorating because it's generally too darn hot to fuss with all that. I mean imagine the level of effort it would take to set up all that cozy, cute decor when it's 38 degrees outside. I'm exhausted just thinking about it lol. I'm probably the worst, we have a christmas tree with plain wooden decorations and a few meters of branch bunting. My kids complained that it's a bit dull this year, but I think that's because my 'all out' holiday is Halloween. Outdoor lights, inflatable decorations, animatronics... The works! It's not as hot so you can decorate without feeling like you've had your brain drained out of your ear lol.
i see that but also i know so many people in the US in california, texas, florida, etc that are out in 40+ heat decorating 🤣
I totally agree with you. It's about a get together with the food you will enjoy, maybe a bit more special than other times. But forget the Turkey and the creamed corn they eat... We used to eat cold ham, prawns and cocktail sauce, maybe potato salad and Trifle and Pav... It's normally too hot to have the indoors things etc.. And as I've gotten older and the kids all left, then I did too!. I keep it simple
@@coffeeenut Texas winter is about 70f though which is about 21c. Very cool weather
In Sydney we have individuals, sometimes streets that do the lights in a big way. As my kids where growing up, we did it every year. One year, we literally covered the whole house (small 3 bedder). That was the year my hubby got 2 degree burns on his bum while on the roof.
I think the older we get the better we get at this stuff... It needs simple things, not complex things... As for Halloween. NO.. Never going to happen as we are Aussie, and that isn't!!! and Never will make the grade!!! Same as their politics... Never ever gunna make the grade..!!! Twits!!!! I have other words here...
Tomato sauce and Ketchup are 2 completely different condiments. Not using the parking bake puts more pressure on the transmission "park" lock and no there's no extra braking system/device that locks your transmission. The parking/emergency brake holds all the pressure where it is meant to be held, at the wheels so there's no unnecessary pressure throughout your vehicles drive train. Great variants in your experiences and loved your review on the differences between this beautiful land as compared to America.
Ketchup is American but the word ketchup comes from southeast Asia. So it's a little strange that Australia has done away with ketchup.
(The southeast Asian countries do not have an equivalent of ketchup. Each country has maybe a hundred condiments for various things and there's no equivalent of "the condiment for everything". )
Hmm. Interesting. I always assumed it was called parking brake because i was to brake your car whilst parked. What other reason could there be for it to be there ….. you don’t use it whilst driving.
Wikipedia description of ‘hand brake’.
The primary use of a handbrake in a car is to stop the vehicle from rolling forward/backwards when parked/stopped. Apart from that, a parking brake can act as a hill-hold assist for uphill starts. Lastly, you can also use it as an emergency brake if the main brakes fail.
On the issue of festive decor, this is very much a cultural issue, not just about waste. That goes for the idea of 'seasonal' decor as well. It's just been a part of our historical practice to be modest about decorating for Christmas. I grew up with the tradition, for example, that trees went up on Christmas eve and early decorations were bad luck.. There can be a tendancy to think we are the same culture, but we're really not - and that's okay. All the best 🙂
totally fair! thank you!
@@coffeeenut The other thing about Christmas here is that it doesn't really make sense, It's hard to get into the swing of songs about snow when your skin is peeling off from the sunburn. Haha I do agree there's a balance between too much and not enough.
was the 1st of December that it became ok to put it up in my home as a kid. We had a "Christmas tree" in lights on our roof, attached to the tv ariel too, but it only went on occasionally, due ot the cost of running all the 25w coloured bulbs back then & came down again boxing day, cause storms at that time of year would smash the bulbs regularly, so the less time up, the less the cost. My parents actually saved money & bought 2-3 new bulbs to add to that "tree" each year for a decade or more, cause back then there wasn't the disposable money around that is today
Rounding to nearest five cents for cash payments is actually a law in Australia since the one and two cent pieces were taken out of circulation, but doesn't apply for cards or other epayments. It also helps to have built-in gst for a lot of products to cost rounded amounts.
Yeah in my experience nothing is rounded if you are paying by card, only cash.
On top of the weekly wage, the employer also pays the equivalent of 10% of the salary into the employees superannuation fund.Permanent employees are also entitled to 4 weeks annual paid holidays, ten days paid sick leave and workers compensation, if injured on the job or travelling to or from the place of employment.
Canada must be the same as the US - I was shocked at the cost of phone plans.
Initially I thought I may have made a mistake - no, it was more than double my Australian plan with less data. I was expecting the opposite.
yesss so insane!!
I pay $9.00 a month and get an hour of free calls each month!
Canada is even worse than the US for phone prices. Mobile phone plans in Australia are so cheap by comparison.
@@shaunmckenzie5509 I paid $120 in the US and now pay $56 in Canada for a phone plan. I find it so much cheaper in Canada.
I pay $19 a month for unlimited calls & SMS. Only 5Gb of data, but it rolls over. Home NBN though is quite expensive at $100.
Placing the auto shifter in park only locks a pin inside the trans & not mean't to hold the car weight from rolling. In fact the correct way when you stop is to pull the handbrake to lock the wheel whilst your foor is still on the brake pedal and them put the auto shifter into park. This avoids putting load (tension) on the trans lock pin.
If you don't do this procedure correctly you will sometimes notice a distinct "thud" when you go to drive off & put the shifter into either reverse or drive expecially on a slope.
ahh gotcha!
The receipts are usually only rounded up (or down, if the cents amount is less than five) when one pays cash. If one is paying by card/phone-tap, the amount is left as is.
Enjoyed your video.
As a general habit you should put the handbrake on when parking your car, whatever transmission it has.
I can't speak for where you live in Tasmania, but there are plenty of houses that go all out with christmas decorations. Some streets get into it more than others, and it becomes a tradition to drive around the suburb with the kids to look at all the decorated houses. There are plenty of people that go all in for Christmas. I love Christmas like you.
thank you so much!
Also, in Australia, when we order something from a server we are taught to use basic manners. "Could I please have a large flat white?", and when we get it we say "thank you". We also dont use our fork like its a shovel.
Im an Aussie living in USA, I have some USA Aussie comparative video plans, but I like your simple chat to the camera format which is easier for me to do and stop procrastinating.Maybe I can share footage with you for collaborative comparisons one day
Lol why would you wanna live in that mess?
@@dcmastermindfirst9418 I married into it
I think there are several reasons why we haven't adopted the US's approach to Christmas just yet (though are increasingly doing so as we, like most western and non-western nations alike, become more Americanized).
Firstly, Christmas here occurs in the middle of summer. It makes sense that you would want the warm glow of lights all around you when the world outside is dark and cold. But here we are celebrating during a time of year when it is full sunlight until 7pm. It is hot, it is fun. Everyone is out enjoying beaches and the outdoors, etc. It's a completely different vibe here at Christmas time. This is why we have "Christmas in July" now to try and capture that northern hemisphere version of xmas during our winter season.
Second, we are a very multicultural country. The US is too but you have a very ingrained national identity. Which we also have but being a much younger country it is not quite as ingrained here. With a multicultural identity comes respect of other's views and beliefs. So we celebrate Christmas in a more subtle way here knowing that our population is not homogeneous. Further, only about 49% of Australian's identify as Christian vs 68% of Americans. So Christmas here for many people is more a tradition where we come together and celebrate family and friendship, enjoy our homes and good food, play games/swim and are thankful for all we have (similar to your Thanksgiving) rather than a religious observance. Again this means we each tend to celebrate in our own personal way (ie attending church if that is important to you or decorating inside the home, etc) rather than every shop and every street being adorned. Like another commenter said, we tend to do our decorations as quality over quantity. A few really nice key pieces is our way of enjoying the season without imposing or encroaching on everyone else with it.
Thirdly, environmental impacts. The impact of light and noise polution from having signficant outdoor decorations at that time of year is real. Not just to your neighbours but also to wildlife. Although we're not at the same standard as a nordic country we are still quite conscious in Australia of how our actions affect our environment. I suppose that comes from the fact that we have such huge landscapes and are so dwarfed by the size of our surroundings comparitive to our numbers. So we are very aware of it. Also, our young age again comes into play here. We aren't born into cities that are already hundreds or thousands of years old. Most of our development is new. We actively see forests being cleared to make way for highways and shopping malls and housing developments. So we can see the impact our action has on our environment. Almost everyone I know tries not to have loud music or bright lights on at night because it disrupts their neighbours and our native wildlife. There are already so many areas where we infringe on nature & others for our own needs and I think we draw the line at bright/loud Christmas decorations because as fun as they are, they do have a significant impact and aren't strictly necessary in order to enjoy the season. There are plenty of public spaces that have big light shows on at that time of year. We just travel to those spaces to enjoy the lights if we want to.
I jetted into Boston on July the 4th. Picked up and taken to New Hampshire. I was blown away with bunting. I admit to liking bunting. During my lifetime I have seen Australia day slowly marketed and commercialised. I remember when it was novel and a day off with a BBQ with the family. Nowadays it is more red, white and blue stuff with a side of shame.
I remember when the Australia Day holiday was always the last Monday in January, without regard to the actual weekday that was the 26th. What better way to celebrate Australia than a long weekend?
Commercialized
used to be green & gold rather than red white & blue too
@@byronchavarria4954 the US doesn't have a monopoly on commercialisation
@@mehere8038 yep China is pretty big on it in October when their National Day occurs. It is both Nationalistic and Commercialised.
Love your vlog! I am.a fellow American and enjoyed hearing about what it is like to live down under!
thank you so much! i appreciate it
I'm going to say that the Christmas lights and decor stuff is definitely a bigger thing in the other states. It might just be Tasmania that's more low key.
Never heard anyone say festive decorations or whatever is wasteful. Sounds like you've unfortunately experienced some miserable people there.
I've lived in both Sydney and various areas in south east Queensland. There's light projections on buildings and cathedrals, animated displays in stores windows, many twilight Christmas markets, Christmas parades and carols by candlelight and all kinds of festive things in both those cities. And in Melbourne too. And many suburbs have incredible Christmas displays on their homes and in their yards. It's a tradition here to go do a Christmas lights trail. There's websites and apps that have maps with many homes and streets listed.
Even the smaller town I'm in now, i can go walking and see lots of homes with lights and displays.🎄
Carols by candlelight is also very much an Aussie tradition. All states and most towns have a version. We gather outdoors in parks with picnics and food trucks and sit on a blanket and watch a concert of Christmas carols. They're usually at night hence the name!
I highly recommend experiencing a carols by candlelight. And I think if you experience Christmas time in Sydney Or Melbourne or Brisbane some time, you will definitely see there is more going on there. 🙂
The two televised carols by candlelight are in in Sydney and Melbourne. Many people gather and watch them live in the park and millions watch at home on TV.
I once took a Canadian friend to the Sydney ones and she loved the atmosphere!
Christmas lunch here is probably a bit different to what you're used to because it's summer.😆
My go to take away breakfast is a toastie.
A lot of people will just go to a bakery for a quick grab and go. Like a pie or sausage roll or croissant. Or a cheese and ham roll or cinnamon scroll etc.
aww interesting!
Your post illustrates an odd thing about Christmas in Australia. You use an 🎄. Christmas decorations come straight from the northern hemisphere winter tradition, whereas it is summer here.
Aussie here from the mainland ,love Chrissy decorations and surprised aussies bitching and complaining about them.Put up and decorate as much as u like😊
love it thank you!
About 40% of houses around me (regional Queensland) have lights all over them. Celebrate if you want to, forget the grinch.
same thoughts here from Sydney :)
@@murraya82most people near me put up a few and leave the up all years.
Here in WA there are lots of places where I can get breakfast to go - my local cafe does some great breakfast bowls as well as fresh bagels with whatever filling you want. And of course I can go to the bakery as well.
whaaa so lucky!
As far as Christmas decorations etc ,I can see at least 6 houses near me that you could see from the moon 😂 Emergency Brake /hand brake should always be used in an automatic , or you can do serious damage to your transmission .Also here in NSW, you can get takeaway breakfast in a lot of places .
Great video .
there is no GST on fresh produce in Australia. I don’t know if you know that I’m just throwing it out there. Merry Christmas.
haha thanks
Yes I hadn't really thought about take away breakfast. You'd probably just have to choose from the cabinet food at a cafe or go to a bakery.
yes!! just hard with dietary restrictions
@@coffeeenut Breakfast at home - much more healthy.
On bank transfers, you didn't even TOUCH on the whole PayID system; where the federal government not only made laws governing how fast a BSB transfer had to be, but also designed a new system where your bank account deposit target is attached to your phone number, so that people can pay to your phone, and it goes straight into your bank. (I especially like it because you put in a number and THE SYSTEM tells you the name, so you can make sure you've typed in the right thing.) Small direct transfers in Australia MUST be reconciled within 1 hour.
With the bank transfer thing- we do have Pay ID through your bank which is an instant transfer- just usually need the ph number or email to transfer money
i’ve never used that before!
@@coffeeenut Most banks use it. I'd be surprised if you didn't have it already. It's super useful when you're on the go
rounding of the coins works both ways when the final bill ends in 3/4/8/9 cents it will round up to the nearest 5 or 10 cent when the bill ends in 1/2/6/7 cents it will round down to the nearest 5 or 10 cent, but if you pay electronically by either credit or debit card it will charge you the exact amount on the bill no matter what denomination it is
It's the one thing i hate about electronic payment. I understand exact payment when paying with credit or debit card, but why doesnt atm card get the same benefit. ATM cards are electronic payments, so when used to purchase something, we should also get to pay the exact amount and not have the price rounded up or down.
@@namewithheldbygoogleforsec673 you do, it is only when you pay with cash that the total payment is rounded up or down, everything else is exact
In our suburb in Sydney lots of houses have quite elaborate light shows for Christmas.
In my family growing up it seemed at least 2 christmas decorations were missed being taken down each year & became permanent decore.
Phone calls to USA 30 years ago were very expensive with a few more companies they halved with more carriers they halved until the phone card companies were only 2c a minute to USA. Breakfast on the go is often an Egg & Bacon Roll with Sauce - bloody beautiful - bacon is soft & tender with the egg just firm enough to mix in with other flavours.
omg whaaa
5:30 there is ALOT of sugar in tomato sauce. I shudder to think how much there must be in ketchup
I have never heard of a takeaway breakfast (unless it’s maccas). My Christmas decor is minimum because I live in Queensland and less gives me the vibe of a cool summer where as more seems to give me an overheated vibe. Like I don’t want cozy cause that would make me feel hot. But I feel like I’m a festive person that’s just how I like to celebrate it.
yeah it’s not super popular in a lot of
Aus it seems besides bacon and egg rolls
Aussie girl here and I absolutely love Christmas too and fill my house with so much festive decor!
when you dont use the hand brake in an automatic , your relying on the gear box to stop the weight of your car , which puts unneeded pressure on the gear box . the gear box is not meant to hold the car still . thats why we have hand brakes . its also unsafe to rely on the gear box , it could jump out of gear and roll into something .
Sorry, are you saying that Yanks don’t apply the parking brake when they stop?
That’s pretty much driving 101 over here. Always have a fail-safe - I am scratching my head wondering who it was that said you don’t need it.
Perhaps it was the same bloke who said to the radar operators at Pearl Harbour “it’s just our returning bombers”!
Sorry for having so many separate comments; I just wanted to have each chapter's discussion as a separate thread.
But on a separate note; you say you're in Tassie; have you been to Poatina? It's a BEAUTIFUL place; I spent 18 months there studying. You should definitely find an opportunity to go; they have a three-star chalet you can stay at. Just try and make sure you are there at least one weekday morning for the period between 9 and 11, so you can enjoy one of their morning teas.
The parking brake is actually in the road rules. You must apply the parking brake before leaving the vehicle unattended. Pretty certain this is a requirement nationwide.
Hi, first time to your channel and I really enjoyed watching your video. You have a really lovely way of talking to people. I wish I’d found you earlier, but now need to go back and check those out. Cheers.
this is so sweet! thank you!
Are you BSB and account numbers fundamentally different in the USA? It's basically just an address to send money to? Why would you be told to keep that secret if it's the main way to transfer money? It's like being told to keep your PO box address secret, how are you meant to receive anything then lol? As for receipt totals, it's always exact because a lot pay with credit/debit. so cash has to be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, and that of course is indicated on the receipt.
Because they’re one of the pieces of information someone needs to set up a direct debit *from* the account. Banks in Australia, being fewer and more communicative with each other find it easier to reverse such transactions if anyone did go to the bother of making them, and any fraud is much easier to track down as they will only let known businesses perform direct debits. In the UK it’s similar, famously Jeremy Clarkson published his in the UK (making the argument you just did) and they were used to setup a charitable donation on his behalf. Oops.
Doesn’t matter anymore these days since if you’re sending money to a friend instant payments work with just a phone number or email.
@@peter65zzfdfh No dude, if that were the case, major businesses wouldn't publish their BSB and ACC numbers lol. You need card numbers for direct debits. You are also guaranteed your money back if you didn't authorise it.
Hi Coffee nut, Yeah I'm in Adelaide, and I did not know that Ketchup was so different, Here we put Tomato sauce ( dead horse) Sic, on everything, pies pasties, hotdogs evt ect.
Yeah we have a Christmas Pageant here a few month prior to Christmas, and many stores make a big to do about it, I still think we have a Santa's cave in one of the major stores mainly for the children to see Santa, and tell him what they want for Christmas.
The place has probably changed a lot over the years as we are so multicultural now, many don't have Christmas - example Chinese and Middle East, but still much Christmas things to find.
I don't know about Tazzie but Adelaide has some of the best food from around the world I can imagine.
i believe we have the best coffee mainly Italian coffee and you can get about anything you want to eat. It makes a big difference to who your close to friend and rellies to what you do to make life better,. Thanks for posting it is good to hear from our American Brothers and sisters, cheers !
When putting a car in park and not using the parking brake, the car is being held by a small 5mm to 10mm pin, anchored into an aluminum case. It is not meant to hold the vehicle but is a backup to the parking brake.
With your comment about bank transfers. 1) Vemo etc were created due to the difficulties in interbank transfers in the USA, whereas our Reserve Bank has worked hard many years ago to ensure people could do interbank transfers consistently. 2) Our Reserve Bank has been driving the ‘New Banking Platform’, which allows a recipient of funds to provide an email, mobile number, etc and the payer enters that data and the amount and the payee will usually receive the funds in their account in under 30 seconds (unlike the BSB-ACCOUNT number where the payment is paid overnight). So with the Old system there was no benefit for a Vemo system here, and with the New Banking Platform, even less so. Hope that provides some of the context.
While the BSB-Account payments don’t have to go through OSKO (instant bank payments) they usually do for payments of less than $1000 these days.
Prices are rounded when you pay cash. Prices are exact when you pay digitally (credit cards , bank transfers & c.).
Take away breakfast, Rendesvous Cafe in Salamanca Square does take away breakfasts, when I used to work nearby i'd phone ahead and order mine and pick it up on the way to the office, scrambled eggs, bacon and sausages - great coffee from there or Parklane Espresso in the alley next door.
Paying by card has become so ridiculously common here in Australia that a few years ago in Target I noticed the once priced $19.99 LEGO kits were now all $20.00 (if you pay by card you pay the exact listed price).
I normally buy Rosella Tomato Sauce for home so I bought a bottle of Heinz "New York style" Ketchup to try it (the only one I could find). The ketchup is sweeter with a bright red colour. Rosella is thicker and more the colour of tomato paste with a slightly more vinegary taste.
Most take away food cafes seem to offer only Masterfoods tomato sauce because it's cheap. It's a lot thinner than Rosella.
6:57 i am a mechanic, yes there is a parking pin on an automatic transmission, but if you completely stop the vehicle, set your hand brake, and then select park, the car isn’t resting on that “pin” an affords extra protection against accidental rolling..
wear & tear? Arguably yes, but it’s an extra layer of safety (the reason it’s actually fitted) you should never rely on the parking pin alone..
Rounding should only apply when you pay with cash, example $1,99 will round up to $2,00
Rounding applies to the total bill, example 4 items at $1.99 will total $7.96 & round down to $7.95
When paying by card you should be charged the advertised price, example $1,99 will appear on your card statement as $1.99, although you may have to pay a fee for using your card
John from Oz
Next time you visit Melbourne, check out the bagel shop in Glen Iris. It is for serious!
I think a lot of why we don't do 'cozy' Christmas stuff is because it's our summer, too
So we're out and about more, not home as often
If you’re still in Hobart in February 2025 you might go to the Wooden Boat Festival. It’s a sensational biennial festival and as relaxed as can be. Boars, music and food on the Hobart waterfront. I travel down from NSW and have been to at least 10 festivals. Enjoyed your comparison of US vs Aussie. Hope you continue to enjoy being in Australia
Ok - so now I'm going to prove you right: "Festive Decor"? Yeah it's not the same in Oz. But it was the phrase "Festive Decor" itself that made me roar laughing. You mean a Chrissy tree and some baubles?😂 Jeez, my kids decorated the Dining room with shoes one Xmas! So yeah there's the reversed weather conditions too - in most of the USA Christmas is on the Winter Soltice, so you need to be all cosy & warm and inside. Whereas our Xmases take place outdoors - even the opening of the pressies in some households. Though I imagine it can be a bit chilly over Xmas in Tassie?
And if I do so much as drape a bit of tinsel over my screen, it shall be deemed "Festive Decor"☺
yes but the amount of states in the US that live in 40+ degree weather and still go all out for christmas ♥️♥️
Australians do love Christmas; it depends on where you live and whether or not your street is filled with Christmas displays. Some people go all out with Christmas displays and lights timed with music. It just depends on where you live and whether or not you like displays in your front yard. Also, some people don't have decorations left out because other people will steal the decorations from their yards. (This does not happen to everyone, but it does happen.)
Park brake. Its part of learning to drive, and part of the licence test. Park brake is used all the time.
haha i was taught it was the “emergency brake”
My husband is always telling me to make sure the car is resting on the park brake instead of the gears. Easier to replace the park brake I guess.
Its possible you wouldn't pass your driving test if you didn't put the parking break on in Australia. Its taught the same as wearing a seatbelt. At all times.@@coffeeenut
I'm in Western Australia, and use Kogan for my mobile.
$16.95 per month gives me unlimited texts, unlimited calls Aussie wide, and 6GB of data.
It does me fine 😁
whaaaa so affordable!!
@@coffeeenut lol yeah.
You should go check out their prices. Kogan Mobile are Aus wide, so you might get a better deal than you have now.
Worth a look to see 😁
In Estonia u can get unlimited/unlimited data with all eurozone calls included, nordics and Baltics unlimited/unlimited, EU data 25Gb, calls for EU numbers 200min 6€+Gst 1,2€. speeds are usually around 200Mps
Great to see you more regularly.
Good luck with your job knterviews and hopefully your new collab. Love hearing your positive attitude to Australia and your love of seals. Have you been to seal island at phillip island victoria?
thank you!! and not yet but those
places are on my list!
Phone plans aren't a state by state thing here. Telstra/Optus/Vodaphone etc. are across the whole country, pick the one that suits you and you're covered no matter where you live - unless you are in the outback where it's satellite phone access only.
except vodafone doesn’t cover most of Tas 🤣
I think Tassie is a bit different to some places in mainland Australia. Like not many people drive manual cars because they’re more expensive etc but maybe in Tassie they still have a lot of used manual cars. Also in Melbourne take away breaky is fairly common probably because of the large population it’s worth doing it.
Festive decor was funny... i think its up to the individuals. I dont bother apart from some fence lights, as im not home for Christmas day, used to have tree etc when the kids were small, however, i have friends who start decorating their entire yard on the 1st December and go for it! Train sets, reindeer, santa, you name it, its there. But they're of dutch heritage, maybe that explains it.
The parking brake on the automatic transmission is the size if a 1/16 pin about 1 inch long. it can snap very easily. Always use the handbrake.
Our front yard Christmas display uses about 1000 watts of electricity. our town even has a directory of Christmas light displays
Re money transfers: no Venmo but there is Osko/Pay ID which you lets you send money to other people who have it via phone no or email.
Christmas lights and decorations are very common in Brisbane, Australia, but maybe Tasmania is different.
I live in Melbourne and as it now entering Christmas time you see lots of houses put up decorations i do think solar lighs have mad a differce due to the cost of power and yes running christmas lights is not as expensive as they used to be as the are LED's but they still do. THere it literally entire streets that do it here in most suburbs. i live in a Suburb called Williamstown and the houses over looking the bay which are extremely expensive put up some massive blow up decorations
With regard to the maintainability of the minimum wage, in Oz because everybody has to pay that wage no business is disadvantaged; whereas because everybody gets paid decently there's more money flowing in the consumer economy, so higher costs due to higher wages are offset by higher consumer spending (ergo higher revenue for retail) for the exact same reason. So low-end retail may cost slightly more, but people have more to spend.
Im born & raised in Aus & my mum(from NZ) & I have always LOVED decorating for Christmas & Easter, we keep all our decorations so dont 'waste' anything lmao, there are some good light displays but you gotta search for them & its more popular in certain areas, same with shops I'm in Victoria & shops like Chadstone, Eastland, The Glen have good seasonal decor (the Lunar New Year deco was on point this year!) but I think its also that Australia isnt as christian, so theres not as much public displays of it (idk I could be wrong)
The word Ketchup is originally derived from Asia for sauce likely China and moved through Asia hence Kecap in Indonesia. Traders (probably the East India Company) brought sauce back to Europe and England and then to America.
A lot of cafes have All Day Breakfasts which is a large meal, but not take out.
Our prices in Australia have tax added already into the price mate. We have a thing called GST(Goods & Services Tax) all goods and services have this tax already added to the price before you go to pay. I assume in the US you have the price for a good or service then whe you go to pay they add tax to the bill when you pay. We just like to have things simple. We just love doing easy going, its a massive part of our culture. Enjoy Tasmania 👍
What a great attitude , happy to have you as an Australian.
So what I'm hearing is all the important things like, decent minimum wages, healthcare, communication costs and a banking system that doesn't require a third party company for something as basic as transferring money are the good things in Australia and the bad things are simply "It's not like America": Oh no the sauce is sightly different!, I can't get a breakfast meal on the run! They're not trying to out do each other with gaudy Christmas decorations. Probably because most of us are not Christians ..
Me thing Americans forget about wages here is that your boss doesn’t pay for private health insurance and they give you an additional 11% on top of your salary that goes into a “superannuation fund” of your choice until you retire. The hand brake thing ahah - we actually have road rules on this, properly securing a car includes putting on the handbrake and you will fail a driving test if you don’t do it - some states you will get a fine for it. And a handbrake that automatically comes on does exist. They’re usually in newer modern cars with electric handbrakes
Ketchup is not really American, the original ketchup, spelt kecap is an Malaysian word, but not the same as American , Malaysian kecap is a type of soy sauce. But the actual name is Malaysian.
Regarding Christmas decorations, it varies hugely suburb to suburb.
Generally though it's the more working class outer suburbs where you'll find the most elaborate displays. Not always but broadly that seems to be a thing. Inner city and inner suburbs it's definitely less common.
Also it's definitely a bigger thing in Adelaide than it is in Hobart. I've lived in both cities and in Adelaide there's a lot of homes with at least something up even if it's minor versus Hobart where it's more confined to a few suburbs, many of which have died out (in terms of Christmas displays) over the years.
Hi there,
Love the list - always fun to hear different perspectives. 😊 Not sure if others have mentioned - "rounding" in Oz only applies to the total (of the whole bill) and only for cash transactions. This is because our lowest denomination is 5c.
Prices like $1.99 are just a sales gimmick however, at least we know the full price including tax. 😊
The parking brake thing always floors me. Americans don't trust their government. They don't trust their fellow American. But they have completely unwavering, unfaltering trust, in the *tiiiiiny* metal pin from the parking gear to bear the weight of their entire car? It beggars belief.
Catchup originated in Indonesia. . Then England took it there and had to vchange one ingredient with mushroom. It then went to America and they changed the mushrooms to something else again.
In the Philippines, xmas start September and goes on till February
The main reason for our wages are our non tipping culture. Servers get paid by the boss not the customer. We do have ketchup available but it’s unpopular Australian generally dont like anything with hfcs in it.
Have to admit that I buy a cream cheese and tomato bagel every morning with my coffee. Also get hand made bagels every week from a special baker. Just love them.... also have a smoked salmon one every now and then. Christmas.... love all the deccos and lights but don't get too carried away living by myself. There are lots of community based competitions for the best decorated house here in Brisbane and most other places around Australia which great as well. Enjoyed your post - made me smile. A very merry christmas to you down in amazing Tassie
i appreciate this so much!! where do you find bagels?
Don’t use the parking break in the USA? That explains all the videos of cars rolling away from people when stopped coming out of the USA. I had wondered why there were so many.
If you look on Google for areas and houses with Christmas lights. I know it is so in Melbourne.
Christmas decor is understated here in Australia, its an extension of the Australian personality, less is more.
Around the world Americans are known for over the top.
I lived in the US for many years, I have now adopted somewhere in the middle, Its also for home decor in general.
Every Christmas we paint our windows and decorate the whole house inside and lights on the outside of the house ❤️❤️
Hey, really enjoyed your vlog. I remember when we had 1 & 2 cent coins in Australia..... Showing my age 😅, there was a big up roar when they were taken out of circulation. What do ya mean I give you $1 it's $0.99! Was the cry of indignation across the country when it happened... Also I agree about Ketchup v Tomato sauce they're different for sure. Re festive decorations it depends, here in my home town Dubbo some people go all out with Christmas lights, trees the whole shebang🎉.
The thing Americans forget about wages here is that your boss doesn’t pay for private health insurance and they give you an additional 11% on top of your salary that goes into a “superannuation fund” of your choice until you retire (that’s the national minimum and its compulsory, I get 15.4% because I work in public administration). I’m 30 and already have $60,000 for my retirement.
Even $60 here is consudered quite expensive for just a mobile plan.
I pay $30pm for 55gb and unlimited calls and texts, and that also includes unlimited international calls to about 20 different countries (including the US).
omg! so affordable
Yeah, agree - my $25 plan gives me more data and calls than I could ever possibly use! Last time I checked I had around 270 GB of rolled-over data just sitting there waiting...
Also, a minor quibble: the rounding-up of a couple of cents (OR rounding down - you didn't mention that can happen) to the nearest 5c amount only applies if you're paying cash. Most Australians don't do that anymore as we predominantly pay by card or phone-tap, and then you get charged to the exact amount of your total. 😊
Inter-bank transfers were forced on the banks by the reserve bank to make it easier to not carry cash. There's no security risk because when you give bsb and account details it is the equivalent of giving a credit card number. The first digits on a credit card number are like a bsb and the rest of the number is like an account number. Your bank will also have a phone app which has a "pay anyone" feature too. The transfer is completely traceable from one verified bank account to another and you have the same high standard of fraud protection and legal rights on all your credit and debit accounts. If the banks refuse to help you, you contact the Australian Financial Complaints Authority and they will pull your bank back into line. Bottom line, chill about inter-bank transfers.
I love your accent! It's an interesting US/Aus hybrid. Re Christmas, we celebrate it to the max, but just not in an American way. People spend big on presents, intoxicants, Summer activities, visiting, fancy food but decor is kind of irrelevant. We're also less interested in peoples' religious affiliations, considering that personal and private. To me that also explains our lack of decorations.
Not to worry, most of the things you mention that you miss are more widely available on the mainland, also for payments Paypal is pretty popular here and item prices don't get rounded if you pay with your debit card. 😀
thank you!
@@coffeeenut 🥰
I’m surprised that you didn’t mention free to air TV stations and how you can by a new TV set, plug it in and view a channel without the need for a cable guy.
Ashleigh I have never heard the argument here in NSW that celebrating xmas by decorating everything is wasteful but then coming from Tassie that doesnt really surprise me as the place has always been greeny central.. Decorations here can go from over the top to nothing at all depending on how much xmas spirit you have. Residents in some suburban streets will even get together and agree to decorate their homes with lights etc. people from all over the city will take their young children there on the nights leading up to xmas to walk and enjoy the spectacle. We had a huge home near us that spent thousands $$$ on an incredible display of lights and decorations it became so well known that you couldnt get a carpark within a km of the place - even ice cream and coffee vans would set up on the street. The home was known as Gracelands because it looked like Elvis Presleys mansion unfortunately they had to stop when they became too old to bother. They donated all their lights and decorations to the Hunter Valley Gardens in the local vineyards and people now go there to see the xmas lights. I lived in Oman one xmas and even though they were devote muslems they still decorated their shops they even had a Santa at the mall for photos. They didnt celebrate xmas as a religious thing they just loved the idea of having another party. I;m sure some of the people around here got their inspiration from the Griswalds :)
that’s so interesting! any time in the past i’ve brought up decor people just immediately said it was too wasteful
@@coffeeenut Ashleigh we love Tassie and have close friends who live in Burnie. We have been over there 4 times and usually include a road trip around the island because we never get sick of the scenary or the slower pace of life that they enjoy..
That Christmas thing is probably a Tasmanian thing. We celebrate and display Christmas all over town in Toowoomba, Queensland.
I find some of your comments quite strange. Nearly all of my family and friends prefer a nice home cooked breakfast rather than take out. At home with grilled tomatoes and ham on toast with avocado and a poached egg is better than any take away. MY local supermarket has tomatoe sauce and ketchup. However, nearly always the tomato sauce shelf is nearly empty while the ketchup shelf is always full. The christmas lights - wow - I have just spent the 2023 Christmas with my family in Sydney - on Christmas eve we had a drive around the suburbs to see probably one or two hundred homes decorated with Christmas lights and people singing Christmas carols.
Cell phone plans are garbage here in the states. Also, there's a monopoly on cell phone brands now that basically doesn't give you any options on cell phones (I-Phone, Samsumg, and Motorolla).