‘Unheard of’: US expat’s surprise list about Australia

A US expat has shared a list of things about Australia that would shock Americans – but not all Aussies agree on the observations.

From roundabouts to guns, a US expat in Sydney has shared a list of Australian things that would shock Americans.

Hannah Shuman, who moved to Sydney four years ago, shares her Aussie observations on TikTok. But she often riles people up with her controversial opinions, such as when she said Target was better than Kmart, or when she said she stopped drinking coffee when she came to Australia because it was too strong.

In her latest viral video, viewed by more than 250,000 people, Ms Shuman joined a TikTok trend and shared her list of, “Things in Australia that would send Americans into a coma”.

She started with the much-talked about issue of gun laws.

“You can’t just go into Walmart and buy a gun or really anywhere. There’s not a total ban on guns in Australia so you can get one but it is so much harder than in America,” she said.

Next was the lighter topic of roundabouts, with the US expat saying it was “crazy” how many roundabouts there were in Sydney.

US expat Hannah Shuman started off her list with the topic of gun control. Picture: TikTok/@beachbabytravels

The observation Aussies disagreed with most was the lack of airconditioning. Picture: TikTok/@beachbabytravels

On the theme of driving, Ms Shuman also spoke about speed cameras.

“So instead of just having cops sit on the side of the road and wait for you to drive by speeding, they just have cameras up everywhere that catch you while you’re speeding and they just send you a ticket automatically based on your number plate,” she said.

Ms Shuman was also shocked to find most buildings didn’t have central airconditioning (which she confirmed later she was referring to ducted airconditioning) and instead have either wall units or nothing at all.

“Growing up in Florida this would have been unheard of,” she said.

The American also said she was shocked at how uncommon ranch dressing was, and when she did find it in restaurants, it tasted like a “watered-down version”.

“It is not ranch dressing, let me tell you,” she laughed.

Ms Shuman, originally from Florida, moved to Sydney four years ago. Picture: Instagram/@beachbabytravels

She finished off her list with “universal healthcare”.

“I know we pay for it in our taxes but it is unbelievable to go to the doctor and they’re like, ‘OK, bye,’ and you don’t end up with a $1000 bill in the mail,” she said, speaking of Australia’s Medicare scheme.

Australians were quick to disagree on a few points, mainly that most buildings don’t have ducted airconditioning.

Others took the opportunity to celebrate their country.

“That’s why Australia is called the ‘Lucky Country’ especially by Australians,” one user commented.

“Feels good being able to go to school where the only fear is if you have a test,” another wrote.

“Ranch dressing we have, but our food has actual flavour so we don’t use it often,” added a third.