What I’ve learnt about Australia from living overseas

SOMETIMES you really just don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. An Aussie expat reveals 14 things she has learnt about our sunburnt country.

Susie Moore talks about life in Australia.

IT’S an old saying that still rings true, sometimes you just don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone.

Now based in New York, expat and travel writer Susie Moore, 30, still looks back at her time in Australia fondly.

Here are 14 things she has learnt about our sunburnt country from leaving it.

I had the privilege of living in Australia for seven years. Sydney, specifically.

It was truly a life-changing time and one of the happiest experiences. I dream of Australia regularly and in these dreams I recall a lot of the things I miss about living there — the wildlife, the smells, the earthy and natural warmth of the people.

Memories of balmy evenings and chilled wine pervade my American winters, especially when I hail a taxi for a six-block distance (seven minute walk) as no layers of clothing or coats prevent the bite of the -10c February chill.

I grew up in the UK and, as well as Australia, I have lived in France, Canada and the US. Living in other countries has made me appreciate certain things about Australia that are natural to take for granted if it’s your lifelong place of residence. Far from just the consistent, delightful climate and the local, high-quality produce, Australia has many unique and brilliant qualities.

Here are 14 of them:

1. Everything is shortened

There’s something very charming about the Australian love of abbreviations — arvo, convo, journo. I also love the extremely common expression “no worries!” In France, the equivalent is “c’est pas grave”, (direct translation: it’s not dangerous) but this is not used with the same friendliness and ease. To me these differences encapsulate Australia’s low stress, easygoing values.

2. Coffee

It’s true, Australian coffee is insanely good. Ask any American who has travelled there. New Yorkers also love Toby’s Estate and Little Collins coffee that you can now buy here. My American friends talk often about a barista course they took in Melbourne and curse New York coffee ever since.

3. Equality

My friend, a travel writer who has been to over 82 countries, highlighted to me recently the egalitarian nature of the Australian people. Solo passengers sit at the front of taxis, as they don’t feel superior to the driver (unlike people who always sit in the back — in chauffeur fashion). He said it’s unlike any other country in the world. That makes me proud!

4. Sense of humour

Australians are one of the most likable nationalities on the planet for a reason! They are self-deprecating, sarcastic and don’t take themselves too seriously. This playfulness makes for a refreshing, fun and relaxed corporate and social culture. American work culture is much more politically correct.

5. Holiday vibe

The untouched nature of the natural beauty in Australia makes every weekend feel like a holiday. Balmoral beach in Sydney used to be a 45-minute walk from my apartment and I would spend almost all of my non-office hours there (as a Brit I never understood its lack of overcrowding) — and revelled in my good fortune.

City living, with the proximity to beaches, means you feel like you really have it all in one place (unlike in London, where you need to get away to Europe for sun, or in New York where you escape to the Hamptons to get to the water — a highly trafficked 3.5 hour drive). Since leaving Australia, I have never been impressed with a beach. And I have never taken for granted four weeks off per year as standard.

Susie at Palm Beach.

6. Cooking

There’s still a funny “throw a shrimp on the Barbie” perception about Australia if you speak to some Americans. The truth is very different. Urban Australian cuisine is sophisticated, contemporary and fresh. Due to the proximity of Eastern Asia, there’s also a delicious Australian-Asian fusion culture. Thai food in New York City is not as creative, fresh and authentic.

7. Price of education

Many of my friends owe six figures in college debt. This is not unusual whatsoever. It can (and often does) take a lifetime to pay off. People are in disbelief when you share the Australian equivalent and explain the HECS system.

Graduation.

8. Space!

Oh the space! The roads, the streets, the landscape. It’s freeing and awe-inspiring. Walking home from the office over the harbour bridge (across the vast expanse of sparkling water) always made me feel calm and disconnected from the workday. In Manhattan I stand on a jammed subway in my heels, asking myself why I always bring my laptop home, often accompanied by someone asking for money.

9. Entertainers

Australian celebrities have a special adorability factor — Naomi Watts, Liam Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman … Americans love them! Brits too, and after more than two decades, we still cannot get enough Kylie (although she is a relative unknown in the US). Being an Australian actor gives a certain je ne sais quoi and other countries find them especially attractive and intriguing (partly I think due to point number four). Did you see how funny Cate Blanchett was reading out a mean tweet about herself on Jimmy Kimmel live? Exactly.

Australian actor Liam Hemsworth in Sydney.

10. Customer Service

In Australia, the service in restaurants is excellent. In New York it can feel as though the server is doing you a favour (even though they ironically live on the tips — the hourly rate is $3-$4 and the minimum tip expectation is 18 per cent of the bill value). Often the restaurant adds the tip without asking.

Some servers go so far as to treat you like you are an idiot. At a trendy West Village brunch spot, I asked the waitress what the raspberry mojito was like. She replied, unsmiling, “Like a mojito. With raspberry”.

A lot of the wait staff in restaurants are Broadway or catwalk hopefuls and in more recent years, graduates trying to break the corporate sector. Their cynicism radiates in their approach to their jobs. In Australia, hospitality is taken seriously, staff are fairly compensated and this aspect of dining out is not a concern.

11. Surprising suburb names

Places like “Wahroonga”, “Turramurra” and “Woolloomooloo” are inimitable and distinctive. It’s hilarious when you observe a foreigner trying to pronounce them for the first time. In fact, after I finally knew them all correctly, nothing gave me greater pleasure than to watch new people trying to articulate the names of Sydney suburbs.

Susie at the lifesaving club.

12. Animals

When I first arrived in Sydney I went to Manly beach. I saw a sign, “Caution: Endangered Bandicoots”. Bandicoots! It sounded like something out of a movie or the zoo. The range and rarity of Australian animals is stunning — from waking up to the sound of kookaburras to seeing possums scurry around in the dark — Australian wildlife is unrivalled anywhere you go in the world. For visitors, it’s truly exotic!

13. Kangaroo meat

This was one of my favourite dishes. I used to love having English guests over and telling them steak was for dinner. After we were finished (and plates were empty) I told them what they consumed. Kangaroo meat is delicious, lean and very inexpensive. Americans are borderline mortified when you tell them you eat kangaroo, “those cute little bouncy animals?” It’s almost like saying you ate your domestic pet.

Yes, some Australians enjoy kangaroo meat.

14. Patriotism

Any country you go to always has pride in its people and history (July 4th in the US is a big example of this). Australians take it up a notch. I remember hearing, whenever something unjust or shocking happened, people, including news professionals, referred to it as “un-Australian”. This expression doesn’t exist for any other country and it always highlighted to me how proud Australians are of their integrity and fairness.

Australia is very multicultural and accepting and its beauty is tangible both physically and emotionally — from its stunning sights to the sincerity of the people.

As a proud Australian citizen (and happily married to a chilled, outdoorsy Australian surfie), we daydream about the lifestyle we had there. And we really look forward to one day returning.

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