US expat shares differences between US and Australian petrol stations

A US woman living in Queensland has shared the one word Aussies get “salty” about when referring to petrol stations in a viral clip.

If there is one thing American expats struggle with when moving to Australia, it’s our slang.

But for one US woman, who recently relocated to Queensland, it is our Aussie petrol stations that really left her baffled.

In a now-viral TikTok, Katy points out the key differences between US and Australian petrol stations – with our the lack of alcohol being top of the list.

She said while Aussie petrol stations aren’t that dissimilar from those in the States, there are a few big things that surprised her.

US expat Katy has been living in Australia for four months. Picture: TikTok/ameristralia

“At the pump in Australia you get the petroleum first and then you go inside and pay for how much you used,” she begins.

“In the US most of them are pay at the pump.

“You can also go inside and pre-pay and then go back to the pump and it will still dispense that much gasoline. There are a couple of rare areas in the US where people will pump the gas for you.”

She then explained how the servos in the US are much bigger than those in Australia, adding they even sell alcohol “or at least beer”.

“US gas stations are allowed to sell alcohol and a lot of them will have small cafes or places to get coffee and things inside,” she said.

“I wish our servos sold beer,” one Aussie responded, to which Katy said: “It’s convenient for a quick or last-minute buy!”

She also said in the US it’s called a gas station.

She shared a now viral TikTok about the key differences between US petrol stations and those in Australia – with a lack of alcohol at Aussie servos being one of them. Picture: TikTok/ameristralia

“Gas is short for gasoline, in Australia it’s a petrol station, petrol is short for petroleum you can also call it a servo,” Katy explained, adding Aussies get “really salty” when you refer to servos as “gas stations”.

“I’m sure there is some scientific difference between gas and petroleum,” she said, but encouraged viewers to look it up themselves.

“Gas is sold by the gallon and petrol is sold by the litre. The unit is a smaller unit of measurement so consider that when comparing price points,” she said adding one gallon is equal to about 3.79 litres.

Katy’s clip has been viewed 260,000 times attracting hundreds of comments from Aussies.

“Why would they sell alcohol at a place you are about to be driving?” one Aussie wrote.

“Aussie servos can still set a cash limit and some are bigger with cafes and stuff,” another added.

She said Aussies get ‘salty’ when you refer to petrol stations as ‘gas stations’.

Her clip sparked a debate on the difference between petrol and gas. Picture: TikTok/ameristralia

‘As an Aussie a big difference I noticed with some US stations is that you guys only had one nozzle and select the grade. We have one nozzle per grade,” a third pointed out.

However, the clip also sparked a heated debate on the difference between petrol and gas.

“Most cars in Australia run on petrol some cars are run on gas (LPG),” one person wrote.

“There is no difference between gasoline and petroleum except petroleum is the correct term,” another said.

“We call it petrol because it’s not a gas, it’s a liquid,” joked a third.

Last month, another expat was left “confused” after struggling to understand why Aussie servos didn’t have “petrol attendance”.

“There is no one here. You basically fill the tank yourself based on how much petrol you want and then you go inside and pay,” Mahle Majola, who relocated from South Africa to Sydney, said in a TikTok.

Meanwhile, an expat from South Africa asked why we don’t have fuel attendants. Picture: TikTok/mahle_majola

She said in South Africa they have someone who fills your tank for you. Picture: TikTok/mahle_majola

Mahle said she “doesn’t understand” how Aussies are “so trusting”.

“Like, why wouldn’t someone drive off?” she asked.

“The price of petrol is so high in South Africa and in Sydney [it] is ridiculous right now.”

In South Africa, petrol stations have fuel attendants who fill up your tank for you. Customers then tip the attendant and pay at the pump.

Aussies jumped in the comments section to tell Mahle that at Australian petrol stations there are “cameras everywhere”.

“Labour costs are just too much here to have attendants. Plus cameras track every inch of your car – so if you don’t pay they send the details to police,” one person wrote.

“There are cameras that watch the number plate of the cars in case someone drives off,” another pointed out, to which Mahle responded: “But isn’t it so much work to now search for those cars and open a police case?”

“With low crimes rates compared to [South Africa] the police here have the time to follow smaller crimes. Saying that most people in Australia are honest,” one TikTok user said.