American expat reveals the culture shocks she’s experienced while living in Australia

An American expat has shared her views on one of Australia’s favourite drinks, saying she’s “concerned” by the amount we consume.

An American expat, who moved to Australia from Iowa in 2019, has listed some of the biggest culture shocks she’s found since moving Down Under.

Katie Payne left Iowa in August 2019 to spend a few months living in the seaside city of Newcastle in NSW.

But after enjoying her time so much, she decided to return to Australia just before the Covid-19 pandemic began. This time around, the 22-year-old moved to Melbourne which is where she really started to see the difference between her home country and Australia.

RELATED: Things expat wishes she knew before moving to Australia

Katie Payne has listed the differences she’s noticed about Australia since moving from the US.

The US expat’s coffee consumption has risen dramatically since she moved to coffee capital Melbourne.

RELATED: Expat slams Australia’s public transport

In a recent video posted to her TikTok account, Ms Payne said that while Australians and Americans have “very many differences” – she wanted to highlight a few that really stood out.

Before moving to Melbourne, the 22-year-old said she was “warned” about Australia’s obsession with coffee and that she would likely drink a lot more with Down Under.

“I was like, ‘Nah I don’t drink that much coffee,’” she said in her TikTok clip.

“Wrong! I drink five a day and it’s not even by choice. I’m just concerned for your kidney health.’”

Ms Payne has joined her new countrymen with the national coffee addiction.

But she’s baffled by the differences in states when it comes to speed limits.

One of the other differences she’d noticed was on the road – and the lack of regard Aussie drivers have for speed limits.

“I went on a road trip around Queensland and those motherf***ers were going 20 to 30km over the speed limit,” she said.

“I get to Melbourne and it seems as if no one’s in a rush, ever. Not one time. I’m in a 70 [km/h] zone and everyone’s going 50,’ she said.

Ms Payne’s video has been viewed almost 160,000 times on the social media platform, but it’s not the first time the US woman has shared her views on Aussie culture.

Last year, Ms Payne went viral after sharing a video praising Kmart, labelling the discount department store the “only shop you will ever need”.

In a TikTok video that’s been viewed more than 500,000 times, Katie filmed herself going shopping at her “absolute favourite store in this country”.

Ms Payne has previously revealed her favourite parts about Australia – including Kmart.

While Katie is a fan of Kmart, the expat can’t say the same for one of its biggest rivals, which she says doesn’t compare to the American version.

“I’ve been to Target, which Target in the US slaps way more, not going to tell a lie,” she said.

People on TikTok also loved Katie’s fascination with Kmart, with her video getting hundreds of comments.

“Target is America’s Kmart. When I lived in America I went to Kmart with such high expectations haha,” one Aussie who had lived in the US helpfully explained.

“You don’t go to Kmart with a list. You go to Kmart and let it decide what you need,” another person joked.

“As an Australian this is now my favourite video on here,” one follower also commented.