I first arrived in Australia back in 2004.
After flying in from Boston, my body and mind exhausted and weary from 20 hours of travel, I finally got to my Sydney hotel and called my future wife Holly — the woman I was madly in love with & traveled halfway around the world to see.
Me: “Here I am. I made it!”
Holly: “So, what do you think so far?!”
Me: “Pretty cool so. But let me get this straight… Down here, Burger King is called ‘Hungry Jacks’? What the hell is up with that?”
And that, my friends, is the perfect metaphor to sum up the differences between Australia and The United States of America. The two cultures are just a little bit different; but these differences are big enough that you definitely notice them.
The fact is, when I first arrived, I was struck at how similar it was to the US. It’s not like I had never been outside of America — far from it. And it’s not like I expected to to see kangaroos riding emus or anything like that.
It was just that, after months of anticipation and 24 straight hours of travel, I just expected Australia to be, well…different. After all, I was on the other side of the freaking world! (Not to mention in a different hemisphere.)
But from what I could tell, there really weren’t any major cultural differences between Aussies and Americans; at least not at first glance.
Sydney was a clean, bustling city. Not unlike Manhattan, Chicago, or San Francisco. People looked the same. They moved the same. They acted the same. They talked a bit different, but hell, it was still English. Maybe it was the jet lag, but I remember thinking I had traveled all this way for a slightly friendlier & warmer version of the US.
What I quickly came to realize, however, is all the little things that make Australia such a special place.
?? RECOMMENDED AUSSIE READING ??
– World’s Largest Dictionary of Australian Slang
– Beginners’ Guide to Visiting Australia
– Visa Free Countries for Australian Passport Holders
– Uncommon Sydney Activities
– Top Reasons to Move to Melbourne
Over the nine months I lived down under, it dawned on me that there isn’t one single reason I love Australia so much. I fell completely in love with the country and its people for a whole bunch of smaller reasons.
Australia has been called many things, among them “The Lucky Country.” I couldn’t agree more.
- This is a country that never had to fight for its independence, but rather were handed the keys by Britain, the most powerful country in the world at the time.
- A country with a natural, shark-infested moat that extends for thousands of miles in nearly all directions.
- A country blessed with copious amounts of natural wealth; fantastic weather, beaches and natural beauty, not to mention bountiful natural resources and rare-earth minerals
The result is an affluent, well-educated, carefree, happy, healthy & proud culture that appreciates life and shines their beacons of brightness towards anyone willing to listen. It’s as if they managed to retain the best traits of the British people (work ethic, humor, calmness, modesty, and of course music, drinking, and playing music while drinking) while managing to get rid of the worst (pessimism, obsession with money & class, etc.)
Remember that sunny optimism that Americans are “famous for”, but you haven’t really seen much of in the past 10 years?
Australians have it.
And for good reason, too: Alongside cities in New Zealand, Switzerland, and Canada, Australia’s five major cities are continuously ranked in the World’s Top Ten Best Cities to Live. And if you factor in weather, which these studies never do because it’s “subjective”, Aussie cities are all pretty much the best in the world, period.
One of the first things I noticed is the friendliness. In Silicon Valley, people are generally friendly, but it’s a bit fake and self-serving. New York and the east coast? Ha! Fugghetabatit. The Midwest & South are probably the friendliest parts of the US, but even there it’s hit & miss.
Throughout Australia, people generally approach each other with smiles and trust — and it’s all genuine. Whether in the cities or in the “bush” (rural countryside), Aussies are on par with the friendliest people in the world. This fact hits you right away.
Another thing that hits you right away is the quality of food and drinks. The entire food system is catered not towards quantity, but towards quality. The central markets, the restaurants, the corner markets, the food stalls, the home-cooked meals, everything. Food generally tastes fuller & richer, and is of a higher quality than what you find in most of the US. Beef, veggies, chicken, especially the eggs… The difference is palpable. It’s a combination of higher quality standards, but more importantly a lower tolerance & demand for shitty food. This is a nation of foodies. They eat well, drink well, and enjoy the good life.
Now to be fair, America has plenty of good food & wine as well, but it’s primarily enjoyed in specific pockets of the country, and even then it’s primarily enjoyed by the upper classes. It’s not built into the structure of the system like it is in Australia. This is one of my favorite things about the country. And don’t even get me started on the differences between American and Australian coffee. (My first job in Australia was actually as coffee shop barista. Boy do they take their coffee seriously! I have no idea why they hired me. The entire experience completely blew my mind.)
I don’t mean to give the impression that every aspect of Australian culture is superior to America’s — that is not the case at all. The Australian tech scene is nowhere near where it is in the US (let alone where it is in Silicon Valley). This especially bothers me because I work for a California tech company.
Take e-commerce, for example. Like shopping online? Me too! Well sorry, the Australian experience is a disgrace. Major retailers have abysmal e-commerce engines. Amazon doesn’t even ship most goods there. And if small local retailers have their own website, it’s considered a miracle. The entire society seems to be about 2-4 years behind the US in terms of tech adoption, and I have no idea why. It’s absolutely pathetic as far as I’m concerned. However like I said, as we speak Australia is building an enormous, nationwide broadband network that should help kick things into high gear.
One of the most important cultural differences is with the politics. On the whole, Aussies are much more progressive and liberal than Americans. The entire political discourse is on a much higher level than it is in the US. Sure Australia has a left wing party and a right wing party, with different ideas about the proper role of government in society, just like any western democracy does. But they also have a good-sized green party, which is unheard of in the United States. Because they have a Parliamentary system of politics, this means coalitions with “the greens” must be formed in order to pass legislation.
The average US Republican would probably be considered far to the right of the majority of people in Australia. The average US Democrat would probably be considered a centrist. And the average far-right, Limbaugh-loving dittohead would be so far off the political map it’s not even funny.
You think I’m exaggerating? The main democratic party is called the “Labor party”, and the main conservative party is the “Liberal party”. Yes, you read that correctly — the Republican party in Australia is called the Liberal party. (They aren’t kidding about everything being upside-down.)
But it needs to be said: Australia has an extremely effective, well-run government & economy. Like Dan Holliday says here, the numbers just don’t lie. While American politicians spend their time debating whether or not climate change is real or whether Obama’s birth certificate was forged, Australia has passed a carbon tax, a mining tax, is investing in new schools, construction and in a massive, country-wide broadband network.
Don’t get me wrong, the country isn’t without its problems. But they pale in comparison to what other western countries are facing right now. While the US and other countries struggle with lost decades, Australia essentially completely avoided the global recession, and is considered to have one of the strongest economies in the world.
The reason for this is that Australians have managed to do something Americans have not — keep capitalism in check.
They have a strong, robust economy, sure. But they also understand there is a limit to lassiez faire economics; and that limit is best kept in check by a strong central government. This combination of a strong private sector and a competent, responsible government is truly palpable, and translates directly to the culture.
You feel it in all aspects of society… It means:
- A higher standard of living
- High purchasing power
- Lower unemployment
- Better safety nets & social services
- More intelligent people working in government
- More trust that government will do things right
- More vacation time
- Less special interest groups & political corruption
- Better healthcare
- Less anxiety about the future, and
- Just an overall healthier, happier society.
For example, one of the big places this is felt is in media — specifically news & radio. I’m a huge music fan, and as any American who isn’t a 7th grade girl can tell you, American radio sucks. It’s just absolutely horrible. Everyone seems to know this, and yet nobody can do anything about it. Why? Because Clear Channel owns the fucking airwaves! And they’re still losing money! (Uh-oh, better de-regulate some more so they can get out of the red!)
Australia’s news & radio stations on the other hand are fantastic — there is more public ownership, they give you real, unbiased news with no BS & great music. Check out Triple-J radio, which is publicly owned by ABC — the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Now, many people have called Australia a “racist” country. While I wouldn’t go that far, I will say that Australia is by far one of the whitest countries I have ever been to, and while most people are friendly (as stated above) there is a brewing undercurrent of racism that is beginning to rear its ugly head… It’s a mixed bag and a difficult topic to cover in one essay.
So, what causes all these cultural differences?
I’ve thought about this a lot, and at the end of the day, I really think what drivesmany of the differences between Australians and Americans is one simple thing: population.
When you look at a map, Australia seems like a big country. Size-wise it certainly is — it’s about the same size as the continental US. But Australia has just 22 millionpeople, and maybe 7-10 major cities, depending on where you draw the line. Compare this to 314 million people in the US. (There is currently a hot debate over how big they should let the population get. Check out the “Big Australia” policy for further reading).
But in the meantime, you have a country with far fewer people than the US. This smaller population means it’s much, much easier to have and maintain a well-oiled machine. Things are more in control, there is more trust & less outcry when changes need to be made.
An Aussie mate of mine once put it this way: “Look, it’s not that we don’t have crazy people here in Australia, it’s just that nobody bloody listens to them! I mean if someone gets on TV and says something stupid, everybody makes fun of them and the next day it’s all forgotten. But when that happens in America, the next day you have millions of dollars pouring in from all these groups. Suddenly they’re buying airtime. Suddenly you have a Tea Party. Out here we wouldn’t let idiots on the air for too long, because who wants to hear what an idiot has to say? In America, they’re given their own bloody shows!”
Aussies just do what makes sense, particularly with regard to politics. They care much less about principles for their own sake, and much more about outcomes. They don’t buy homes they can’t afford using zero-down interest-only loans, because it wouldn’t make sense. And the banks would never offer them, because they are responsible. And they are responsible because they know the Government wouldn’t bail them out.
In the past twenty years, the Government has introduced a VAT (known as the Goods & Services TAX, or GST) and got rid of the penny. Sure, a few people complained. And maybe there were a few upset groups. But there weren’t millions of Wal-Mart lobbying dollars fueling “Save The Penny” campaigns.
There was no enormous political outcry over a value-added tax, no claims of “big gub’mint” interfering in their lives, because Aussies see that it benefits everyone. No big deal, no reason to freak out, they did it because it just made sense.
But enough about political culture. Perhaps one of the most important cultural differences are those that have to do with the environment. Aussies are more environmentally conscious than Americans. The streets are cleaner, littering is truly frowned upon, people recycle more, they use less water, create less waste…
I remember my first time in an Australian movie theater — I was thinking how odd it was that nobody was stuffing their face with 40-oz tubs of popcorn, and also howclean the theater was upon exiting after the movie was over. I also remember my wife’s first time in a US theater — she couldn’t believe how people left their trash everywhere. “Why wouldn’t you just clean up after yourself?” she asked me. I couldn’t answer her. And I was embarrassed for my country. Her entire outlook on life, her entire mentality is fundamentally different than the American one. It’s the little things…
(Note: I had a paragraph here about firearms & America’s gun culture here, but I deleted it. This is something that has affected me on a personal level, as it does with tens of thousands of Americans each year. But I want to keep the tone of this piece generally positive for now, and if I get into guns it will get very dark.)
Of particular interest to me is the Australian Inferiority Complex. I think it stems from a having a big landmass along with a low population, and the nation’s relative isolation in relation to much ofthe rest of the world. These factors combine to give Aussies a subconscious mentality that says, “We’re here, we’re big, we’re happy, we’re living well, and we have a beautiful country. So how come nobody knows about us?!” (Kind of like the short kid at the back of the class with his hand stretched high, wanting the teachers attention. Nobody pays much attention, but he’s a happy little kid all the same.)
But every time I go back to Australia I notice something small, and it usually brings a smile to my lips. Last year I was caught in an infamous Sydney downpour, which soaked my wife and I to the bone. Upon returning to the house we were staying at, I collected our wet clothes to put in the dryer. Before I could do so, however, my aunt-in-law told me not to worry about running a load — she would just put them on the clothesline outside tomorrow… “Sure,” I replied.
Using a clothesline to dry clothes — of course. What a concept! Not because they have to, not necessarily because it’s better for the environment, but because why turn the dryer on for just a few items? Because you can’t improve on nature. Because sun-dried clothes just smell better. Because it’s not like you need either of those shirts tomorrow. Because it makes sense. Because why the hell not.
That’s the mentality I’m talking about.
A few years ago I read about some residents in some city in Silicon Valley actually objecting to apartment residents mounting clotheslines, and petitioning the city council for a ban ordnance. Their complaint said it ‘made the neighborhood look like a third-world shanty town’.
This was one of the stupidest things I’d ever heard. But it turns out that Clothesline bans are actually fairly common in the US. That’s right folks, we have a right to own guns, but not clotheslines. Insane. (Check out “The Battle Over the Right to Dry”)
Australians know they have one of the driest countries in the world, with limited water resources and a very fragile ecosystem. They seem to understand this delicate balance, and what it means for their country and its future. They understand that what you do affects your neighbors, and vice-versa. They understand that A leads to B, which leads to C. At the end of the day, they understand that everything is related.
In my opinion, all of this ultimately results in a less selfish culture. Australians just care more more for the well being of their neighbors and fellow citizens. You see this in lots of European countries as well, but in Australia it feels different… There is a sense of mutual camaraderie; It feels more like a giant family, vs a country of 300+ million people only interested in themselves.
At the end of the day, Australia has plenty of statistics on it’s side. But statistics are only one way to measure a society. They don’t measure the little things, because there aren’t really many good ways to measure these little things. You just feel them. These things are tough to put into statistics, but easier to put into words.
Hopefully with this essay I’ve done just that.