Most Australians appreciate how lucky we are to live here. A big prosperous safe and friendly nation with lots of natural beauty. The locals are generally helpful and welcoming of visitors and usually interested to hear their stories
Hey Kaitlin, just a head's up. I don't think any of the locals you met really thought you were Canadian, but Australians have learnt from bitter experience, that if you ask a Canadian if they are American, they get really pissed off. And since we cannot tell the difference, we ask if they are Canadian first, just in case they are. It is so much safer, and makes the Canadian so, so happy that we recognise them as such. Loved that you are using Chock-a-Block. It's a great word. Remember though it is usually abbreviated to Chockers. Another great word used with feeling is "Cactus" . Anything stuffed, or broken, or beyond it's usable life span is "cactus" . People or things. Love watching you take this journey.
Come to Melbourne and spend a day or many wandering around Mt. Dandenong, Healesville Sanctuary, Olinda, Sassafras. The Dandenong Ranges make the eastern border of of the city so it's all really accessible and you feel like you're miles away from civilisation. Gorgeous fern forests, waterfalls, hiking trails, tiny mountain towns and heaps of native flora and fauna.
Starbucks failing in Australia is studied in business classes around the world. They just assumed because Australian's love coffee they would roll out stores without a problem. They didn't realise they were selling a completely different product to Australian coffee. A product that wasn't suited to our tastes. They failed to study the market.
thats not QUITE it Shaun..when an American wants to sus out a business opportunity in Australia..he gets off the plane..has a brief look around....says.YEP its just like home..then flys back with no idea of reality!
Kaitlyn, I'm an (older) Aussie who has travelled the world. I've lived in Canada & the UK. I also have a PNG & a NZ heritage. I've travelled throughout the US, Europe, Africa, Asia & even flown over Antarctica. Your posts are a breath of fresh air. To hear a young person experiencing life in this way is just wonderful. Remember though, Australia is by no means perfect. Looking at life through rose-coloured glasses can have its downside, so please take care.
Landed in Scotland in 2018 ( lived there in 1980) I went to several places even @ the airport Duty Free, asked for Bourbon whisky they were insulted, showed me the door.
Hello Kate, Im a 4th generation Aussie. I love your honesty and candid obversations. May I make a couple of comments to add to yours. About the Asians, Chinese came to Australia during the gold rush era, 150 years ago by the thousands, so there are generations of Asians in nearly every Australian town, every Australian kid has grown up with chinese food as an option for the night out meal on weekends and the more recent Asian cultures are loved. Next, Australia is the most successful multicultural country in the world, so we just love the incredible variety of new people tryingto speak Ozzie. Love you, John
Interestingly, while you are right about Chinese coming here for the Gold Rush, Chinese restaurants were fairly rare until around the second half of the 1950s. i had Chinese friends in school who had more Aussie accents than mine, because their great grandparents had come here for gold, then stayed as farmers. I think that the first generation initially focuses on integrating, so they don't put a lot of emphasis on bringing their culture to the wider community. Later, they or their children make that shift. I lived in very multicultural Marrickville for 36 years, and my father used to complain every time they visited that, with so many nationalities, Marrickville had so few ethich foodshops. He didn't live to see that changing through the early 2000s,
As an Aussie, knowing that the slang is a massive part of our culture, hearing our slang in foreign accents is actually one of my favourite things. Yes, it can sound a little silly but that's part of the fun. I see it as them enjoying our culture, embracing it and making it a part of themselves, as if they genuinely feel at home - or at least comfortable in their visit here.
Hi Kaitlyn. Re Medicare, we have reciprocal agreements with some countries (listed below) where visitors from those countries have Medicare whilst in Australia and likewise Australians are covered when visiting their countries. They are Finland Norway Slovenia U.K Belgium Italy Malta The Netherlands New Zealand Sweden Ireland.
I literally broke my leg 4 months ago (compound fracture Tib and Fib), total cost including ambulance, stabilising the break, 2 nights in Hospital, Surgery to insert rod in Tib and a moonboot) was $137.00 - Breakdown = $30 to buy the crutches, $7 for pain meds to take home, $100 for the snack hamper I sent to the ward nursing station when I got home.
when you look at where Switzerland is on the map, are you even surprised? Try Norway. Northern euro countries have better snow than swiss and Australia combined.
@@Elviladia I don't care, I live in Brisbane and if I never see snow again I will die a happy man. Snow melts, becomes slush, wets your shoes and is bloody cold.
That was very enjoyable, thank you. I'm an expat Aussie, who's been living in NY for about six years now. I've had a great time here, but I'm really starting to miss my "home" You mentioned most of the reasons, but I also miss other things like the music, the NRL, potato scallops, eating outdoors, and not dealing with -30c.
Our health care is very good when you have an emergency. I did last year and it didn't cost me a cent. that includes a major operation. 11 days in hospital and 4 days in ICU. No complaints here.
What a lovely video, thank you for appreciating the simple things Australia has to offer. You could add to your list “tipping not required’ and prices as they are stated, you don’t have to figure out the tax value when you purchase an item, when your deciding on how much to spend
@@iggyblitz8739 Australians get paid much higher wages than Americans,Americans who work at McDonalds get paid $5 an hour that is a disgrace.I don't think anyone needs to tip in Australia,better to put the tip in a charity tin imo
My dad was born in Philli. You are right about our beaches but the best beaches are the ones less frequented by visitors. Standing on a beach being able to look in both directions and not see anything else but sand and not see another person is just amazing and they’re so beautiful. The fishing is usually pretty good too. As for our wildlife you may get the idea that a lot of Australians take our wildlife for granted but I have hit more kangaroos, emus, owls, blue tongues, sheep and the odd echidna with the front end of my vehicle than I have seen in a zoo. And don’t get me started on koalas. Until you have them mating in your back yard or scratching at your water tank all night you will always think they are cute and cuddly, they told me it was going to be a holiday.
Wow! Most Australian cities don't have to face serious weather on a regular basis. We get occasional storms with flooding and parts of Queensland are tropical with hurricanes/tornados.
Ok, a bin chicken is a small ibis - very much a Sydney thing - they do browse the bins I guess. I remember standing at the National Gallery of Australia one afternoon and watching a flock of pelicans wheeling around a thousand feet above me - so beautiful. Also, Canberra is rich in bird life, various cockatoos and oddly seagulls even though we’re 300 kilometres from the coast. How did they end up here? They live on chips I think - they probably all have cardio vascular disease.
Well done, you nailed that. You did highlight all the great things Australia has to offer and it's ashame that some Aussie can't see it. I have been watching what has been going on in the US from politics, workers right and medical prising and alike for many years, and I must say you both made a far better decision living here, sorry to say. So having said that and having watch all your previous videos, I feel you're going to get your dream life. You've set yourself up well already and I think your dad will be proud when he comes over. P.S. Distance will hurt, but be strong.
Chockablock is actually a nautical term. It means that 2 blocks (pulleys) on a rope are to close to each other, and there is no more room to move them. Ute is short for utility vehicle, which is what they used to be called. This became shortened to utility, then just to ute. You don't say whether you have a yard or not. But if you have a yard, you could plant various shrubs that will attract some native birds. Google, or a local bird watching club could be your friend here. And enjoy those wines!
And the "ute" was actually developed here by Ford and released in 1934 supposedly as a result of a letter from a farmers wanting something that would take the family to church on Sunday and pigs to market on Monday. But overall Henry Ford rejected the design and it never took off in the USA. He had already invented the first pickup in America in the 20s. Australian based manufacturere General Motors (Holden) released theit version about a year later Sedans and utes use the same chassis so they were cheap and stayed cheap, and was possibly why Holden was able to take 50% of the market share in the 50s.
I have family who Live in LA and they came here to Sydney for a month and they all loved taking the train. They didn't want to travel the city any other way. i suggested hiring a car and they said no because they loved the train system so much.
A brilliant analysis, we are not at all like the folk in the 1971 film "Wake In Fright" with Jack Thompson, Chips Rafferty and Donald Pleasence. School teacher John Grant loses all his money in a two up game and gets stuck in the "Yabba" which is really Broken Hill.
That was a great list👍. Love how knowledgeable you're getting! And nice use of "servo" hehe 🙂 I hope your Dad and family are able to come visit soon, with borders opening to international travellers from next week. I bet you can't wait to show them around. That's very true about the transport. It's all perspective. Every American I've ever met or known will say how good our public transport is. And most Australians who've travelled through parts of Asia or Europe, will probably point out how much better *their* public transport is.
Thank you for loving our country! My son's father is American and although he did like some things about Australia, he ragged on it so much, I was glad when he left! I hope the rest of your stay is just as wonderful. :) N
Great stumbling across your channel. Australia takes it's enjoyment of life, food, music, alcohol, coffee, sports and beaches incredibly passionately - life is so just so much to be lived and celebrated. Yes we can work hard but we wind down well too. We shorten names better and more frequently than probably any other nation that has ever existed. Our sense of self and our humour is unique. I find Australia is rather safe (the people - not the wildlife in the remote bush), clean and friendly and more unprocessed or under capitalised - it still has quite a soul and originality to the land and its people. We are a welcoming society where folks of different backgrounds fuse into something new, vibrant and exciting. It is really cool watching how you see us through your eyes! So welcome to Australia - and if you think we are nice - travel to New Zealand one day!
Hi Kaitlin, I am an aussie who has an american partner and like watching your videos of the differences. I see you are from Philly and like meat pies, well my daughter and partner moved there couple of years ago and now have a bakery in Royersford selling meat pies and just had a favourable review in a Philly mag. So if any of your friends want to try some Aussie pies send them there
OMG I almost visitors your store!!! You opened the day I flew out unfortunately, but when I go back to visit hopefully this year, I was going to take my high school friend and my goddaughter there! Cheers!
Fun fact: Our tallest mountain, Mount Kosciusko, is snow capped in winter. In summer you can hike to the top. Hike, no climbing required. There's actually a walkway from Threbdo, And it's worth it. Magnificent views.
Glad you're loving living here 😊 We're lucky to have a pretty good lifestyle! As for slang, we don't shorten words to be cute, but because we're pretty casual (some may say lazy 😛). So utility truck becomes ute, tradesman becomes tradie, bottle shop becomes bottle-o etc.
Talking of apple pies, visit Ryde, just in land from the North Shore. The famous "granny smith" apple was an accidental mutation that first occurred here. I hope you will also hear the lovely resonant call of the Butcher Bird.
Coffee is good because we had so many Italian and Greek immigrants and were accepting of new things and supportive of their businesses. Same with Asian foods… yum
Great stuff! I'm a proud Melbournian but I have to say Sydney and it's surrounds are magical - spent a lot of time working there...Regarding red wine, try basically any Heathcote Shiraz...amazing! Cheers
One small thing I grealty missed when I visited the US for an extended business trip was a nice bit of lamb, very hard to find. Couldn't wait to tuck into a BBQ chop when I got home.
I saw a video by an American who was here on a temporary visa, he was in the process of getting a permanent visa and received a Medicare card so was covered, he broke his leg and he didn't pay a cent. I just thought that might be useful. Just subscribed, nice vid! Thanks
Have you visited Perth yet? Many people who have moved from Sydney to Perth have told me that Perth is much cleaner than Sydney. I traveled to Paris and Rome and loved those places for many reasons, but not for their cleanliness. I remember appreciating Perth's cleanliness coming home, and the fact that there were much fewer smokers than in Europe! Great video, by the way, it's nice hearing people's appreciation for this land Downunder.
I reckon white cockies are the most Australian bird. They are madder than a two bob watch. (An old Australian saying 😄 two bob was two shillings, or twenty cents as it is now)
As an Aussie, I believe this video to be one of the best endorsement of this country I have ever viewed. Goodonya Kaitlyn. I hope you get to see first hand the real Australia, West of the Great Dividing Range. I travelled extensively in the US, I remember spending a Day in New York and a day in LA and nobody even spoke to me. In saying that, it was not my experience in many other US cities and towns.
I worked in LA and NYC and both places were god awful. Food was terrible and they were full of arseholes. I always recommend visiting New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana!
G'day there Kaitlin! Awesome you love our pies. I'm from Adelaide and in my family we have slang that's used for pies and pasty's. Nelly Bligh's and Nasty's. We love our pies and pasty's
I’ve been to America and two of my favourite cities are New York and New Orleans but as incredible, iconic and exciting as they both were they weren’t clean at all, so I understand what you’re talking about re clean cities. We are pretty lucky here
I don't know if you've been to Melbourne or not, but we are spoilt with great public transport with Trams, buses and trains going everywhere, and the food and wine is amazing.
When the border opens up, you should look into getting over to WA and doing the drive from Perth to Augusta/ Margaret River. It has got to be one of the few parts of Australia that you'd definitely short list to visit but some people in the east never get to or make the mistake of only planning to be there for a very limited timeframe due to spreading their time too thin with time spent in Perth etc. Most people I've met on the east coast who've been there regret not allocating more time and plan to go back "one day". There is a lot to see, do and explore. Its hard to determine the best time to go because every season has its pros and cons. The summer can be hot, and the winters are fairly mild. Most people avoid the winter, however I had one of the nicest meals with my partner at Leeuwin Estate on a week day and we were the only people there, so I wouldn't write off winter, spring or autumn either if you want to avoid tourist season and competition for accommodation. I'd still suggest having a good look at Perth, Fremantle, the quokkas at Rottnest Island, the zoo etc but if you wanted to bypass it due to time etc., there are normally very affordable flights into Busselton from Melbourne, which is a great town and really where things start to get the most interesting. The beaches are amazing and go from being very serene in the bay to the best surf beaches in the world when you turn past Dunsborough to all the towns that exist along the way to Augusta at the tip of Cape Leeuwin. Snorkelling around Dunsborough way is fun. Yallingup is my favourite beach of all time, especially when the surf is up, but Margaret River is the most famous due to surfing competitions etc. There are just random things I can remember to this day, like having a drink with my dad on the nicest day, overlooking the beach at Gracetown. Its probably best to plan to spend a bit of time there and have a fairly loose structure, as you will see all sorts of signs for attractions and produce like wine, breweries, restaurants, chocolate, ice cream, cheese etc. that will cause a lot of diversions. It is one of the best places for farming and agriculture in the country. If you need pointers, there is loads of tourist information available when you're there. You might notice an appreciable variance in the landscape, plants etc. from the east coast. Vast numbers of unique native plants used in gardens originate from WA. All I can say is, take a look on the internet at the map and some of these places if you are curious and I hope you get over there at some point. I'd definitely love to see you post some videos of your trip if you ever end up going and it would be great content for your channel. If you wanted to extend your trip, you could cut inland a bit to check out the forests and landscape around Manjimup and Pemberton, or go all the way down to Albany, but that is a fair drive.
I'm really hoping WA will open up soon! I have a conference in Fremantle I'm hoping to go to in August and I loved Perth when I was there a couple of years ago ❤️
There is a winery in the south west of WA called Lost Lake Wines and they make a honey merlot that is to die for. It’s amazing. They’re a very small producer based in the town of Pemberton. If you can find a bottle, you should try it.
One thing I'll have to pick you up on, the bird life, sure there are a lot of beautiful parrots and lorrikeets, but you wont see a Macaw in the wild, if you do it's an escape from an aviary. The average Macaw here is worth around $6,000 to $8,000. Your settling in very well.
Agree. No macaws here Kaitlyn. Parrots of all shapes and sizes and colours and lorikeets and rosellas and budgerigars (budgies) in the central deserts. But no macaws.
Our whiskey and gin is also good too, check out Dobsons whiskeys, gins or vodkas if you don't mind spirits every now and again, the town or community where Dobsons is from is called Kentucky, near Walcha in the New England Tablelands, they're not the only distillery either, there is Archie Rose in Sydney, plus heaps in Tassie, Victoria, WA, but our spirits are also good, but not cheap because they've got a reputation.
With the trains I missed a train in Brisbane. I was devastated. I was told another one would be around in 15mins. Up North I would have a 2 day wait. All good.
mate of mine fell asleep on a train, woke up in lithgow, the station master had to leave the waiting room open for him to sleep in. he never got home, hte first train of the day could get him to work on time.... just.
Sometime you want to visit the wine & beer wharehouses like Dan Murphy or Harry Browns, more variety there in one shop than most cities have in America.
Re Australian wines. I once read of an Australian couple who opened a restaurant in Bali, mostly aimed at Aussie tourists, but almost immediately ran into an insurmountable problem with importing Australians wines into Indonesia. They have some pretty savage import duties on alcohol there, so much so that almost nobody was willing to pay what they would have had to charge for a bottle of Margaret River wine. Undeterred, they did their homework and discovered that while the import duty on wine was pretty onerous, there was absolutely no duty on grape juice. So they built a winery and began importing juice direct from the best vineyards in Oz and made their own! Last I heard, their business is booming!
a Ute and PickUp truck are different but kind of look the same. Ute is short for a utility vehicle or coupé utility. Coffee is the Italian version because the Italians started Cafes and improved on instant powder coffee or filtered coffee.
You'll have to come up to the Hunter Valley, Pokolbin. Plenty of wineries around here and lots of places if you like treking, Barrington Tops, Yengo. It's only a couple of hours up the the M1. On the comment of dirty cities most are pretty clean but there are those odd places, like Spencer Street station in Melbourne where it's a bit rough looking. Try walking the beach from Anna Bay to Newcastle.
I love that the advertised price is exactly that! I struggled when travelling in USA working out what costs were and that they change depends which state you in! I’d just get used to one state then we’d move states and I’d start all over 😂😩
There is a tame macaw that escapes often and goes for a bit of a fly from Windsor NSW ( owned by the Windsor seafoods guy near the Macquarie Arms ) so its viable that you did see a macaw
You can thank Ian Kiernan for the clean cities. He introduce Clean Up Australia Day in 1989 and became an annual event. Sydney George street back in the 80s was like junk food packaging up to your shin with a heavy peppering of Cigarette butts, so much so that in the years leading up to 1989 the garbage issue keep popping up in the news paper.
When I was at university one of my good mates went on exchange to Bowling Green University in Ohio. He loved his experience. But the first thing he did when he got back..... bakery for a meat pie 🥧......lol. Glad you have discovered these delicious Aussie treats 😋
You've hit on the perfect solution! Australia could export Bin Chickens to New York City to clean up all the rubbish. I love New York, but in summer the smell is terrible.
Re Medicare/Universal healthcare, it depends where you are from. Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with some countries. These include The UK, Ireland, Malta, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Netherlands and of course New Zealand. Each country may differ in exactly what you're covered for. It won't be everything. But certainly for emergency care that cannot wait you are covered. New Zealanders are a little bit different, if they're living/working here, they can apply for a Medicare card after 6 months, even if they're not yet permanent residents.
All the others, I've heard before but liked your perspective on our public transport system. Many complain but really it's a comprehensive system if you know it and apps like Tripview make it way better to use. Also your mention of meat pies made me want to get one. Glad you like them and I appreciate them more now. Where did you stay at a farm?
Dont forget we also get Long Service Leave. As far as I know ( and I have lived in 4 countries) we are the only place that has this. If you work for the same company, or within the same government service ( eg work for Dept of Education in state schools) you get additional paid leave after 7 years of service, this is over and above the normal annual leave. It is government mandated. Many of us bank this up and use it at around 10 years, to go travelling for 2 or 3 months. Or older workers use it to take a day of per week in the last years before retirement. Best. Invention. Ever. Ive used some to travel for 6 weeks through Japan. Then more for 3 weeks in British Columbia. This year using another 3 weeks to travel through Malaysian Borneo. 😊
Kaitlin, you think Philadelphia's public transport system is bad, you should go to Melbourne, Australia. It is even worse. The line that services where I live is the Frankston stopping all stations line. In peak hour the trains for stations between Caulfield and Cheltenham the frequency is 20-30 minutes while the express trains which bypass stations between South Yarra and Caulfield and Caulfield and Cheltenham get 7-10 minutes. Often there are major delays affecting that line. Also the Frankston line is currently in a re-building process: level crossings are being removed, new railway track is being installed, new stations are being built and a new "Metro Tunnel" will go under the city centre. Most weekends buses replace trains on the Frankston line, and the frequencies are even worse and it takes more than an hour to get to the city from Ormond (which is my station) on these buses.
Thank you, Kaitlin - having grown up here and feeling isolated from the rest of the world (pre internet) I forget just what an amazing place this is. Yes, it is flawed socially and politically but it is beautiful and we do get the odd thing right. Thanks. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and welcome aboard the good ship; ‘lollipop!’
@@swcarp not heard that one. i grew up around Tradies so i know a lot of tool phrases. a Chock and chocked being actual words was one of the suprising ones to learn. I liked learning Black is the hottest colour metal you will ever burn fingers on. Cause no dickhead is that dumb to as to pick up metal that is any colour other than black or metalic.
Hi Kailin, have been subscribef for a while now and i love how you have embraced our country. So glad you are doing tjese videos. Welcome to the aussie family.
Australia has almost 12,000 beaches along its 60,000-kilometre (37,282-mile) coastline. If you visited one per day, it would take more than 32 years to see them all.
We don't say "hey mates" 🤣🤣🤣 Do yourself a favour, get to the Hunter Valley for a wine tour, you'll love it! Only a couple of hours north of Sydney. Or if you want a weekend away head to Albury Wadonga and go to Rutherglen, about 20 mins from Albury....best fortified wines in the world.
There is a freshness to the cities here. Yes, people wash here. Regularly. Some new immigrants don't tend to do so (not a personal attack but a cultural difference - washing in drinking quality water is a luxury in many parts of the world where water security is scarce) but mostly they eventually get with the program. Like everywhere you do get a few people who just don't care what anyone else thinks, but this is very very rare. Although we're on the whole a desert nation we do try to ensure that our cities have plenty of very high quality clean water for personal hygiene. You don't need to drink bottled water either, our water from the town water systems is also excellent.
I enjoyed the video except for the bit about the disgusting bin chickens. They are actually Australian White Ibis and we have moved into their habitat and they need to eat. Have you ever seen the mess a sulphiir crested cockatoo can do to someone's wheelie bin?
As an Aussie I want to thank you for reminding me what an awesome country I live in 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Aww, thanks for your comment! You definitely made me smile at that 😊💚💛
Yep the most beautiful country on earth,beautiful friendly happy people,and yes I am an Aussie and absolutely biased.🤣🤣🤣
We hate Starbucks coffee.
100% true! When you're an Aussie, you have won the lottery of life.
@@tmhgdh the most important part though is that being Australian isn't about being born here, it's about the spirit
Most Australians appreciate how lucky we are to live here. A big prosperous safe and friendly nation with lots of natural beauty. The locals are generally helpful and welcoming of visitors and usually interested to hear their stories
Hey Kaitlin, just a head's up. I don't think any of the locals you met really thought you were Canadian, but Australians have learnt from bitter experience, that if you ask a Canadian if they are American, they get really pissed off. And since we cannot tell the difference, we ask if they are Canadian first, just in case they are. It is so much safer, and makes the Canadian so, so happy that we recognise them as such. Loved that you are using Chock-a-Block. It's a great word. Remember though it is usually abbreviated to Chockers. Another great word used with feeling is "Cactus" . Anything stuffed, or broken, or beyond it's usable life span is "cactus" . People or things. Love watching you take this journey.
LOL I did not know that about Canadians here! Good to know 😆
I solve that problem by asking “which part of North America are you from?”
I do exactly the same re Canadians/Americans 🤣🤣🤣
Ameri'cadian!... Even if I think someone is from the U.S, I always ask "Are you Ameri'cadian"? The Canadians really appreciate it! lol
@@KindaAustralian Ask a Canadian to say About, and it sounds like that thing enveloping your foot.
Come to Melbourne and spend a day or many wandering around Mt. Dandenong, Healesville Sanctuary, Olinda, Sassafras. The Dandenong Ranges make the eastern border of of the city so it's all really accessible and you feel like you're miles away from civilisation. Gorgeous fern forests, waterfalls, hiking trails, tiny mountain towns and heaps of native flora and fauna.
I agree, awsome place!!!
Starbucks failing in Australia is studied in business classes around the world. They just assumed because Australian's love coffee they would roll out stores without a problem. They didn't realise they were selling a completely different product to Australian coffee. A product that wasn't suited to our tastes. They failed to study the market.
It's a lesson well learned, for sure! No coffee beats Aussie coffee ☕
Happy St. Valentines day to you Kaitlin and Mark.....from Tassie in Tasmania.....:>)
@@tassiesinclair6068 Happy Valentines Day to you too! ❤️
thats not QUITE it Shaun..when an American wants to sus out a business opportunity in Australia..he gets off the plane..has a brief look around....says.YEP its just like home..then flys back with no idea of reality!
Starbucks biggest problem is that they don't make coffee.
Australia, one of the best and safest places to live, so much to see and visit
@Rodney 1984 Still a lot better than some other countries
Come back some time mate. Always welcome!
@Rodney 1984 not for me 👍
@Rodney 1984 still feels the same when I woke up this morning💁🏽♂️ 🤦🏽♂️🤣
@Rodney 1984 bullshit!!
Kaitlyn, I'm an (older) Aussie who has travelled the world. I've lived in Canada & the UK. I also have a PNG & a NZ heritage. I've travelled throughout the US, Europe, Africa, Asia & even flown over Antarctica. Your posts are a breath of fresh air. To hear a young person experiencing life in this way is just wonderful. Remember though, Australia is by no means perfect. Looking at life through rose-coloured glasses can have its downside, so please take care.
Landed in Scotland in 2018 ( lived there in 1980) I went to several places even @ the airport Duty Free, asked for Bourbon whisky they were insulted, showed me the door.
Aww, she said "mates". She's already one of us.
Chocablock, shortened to chockers mate.
Hello Kate, Im a 4th generation Aussie. I love your honesty and candid obversations. May I make a couple of comments to add to yours. About the Asians, Chinese came to Australia during the gold rush era, 150 years ago by the thousands, so there are generations of Asians in nearly every Australian town, every Australian kid has grown up with chinese food as an option for the night out meal on weekends and the more recent Asian cultures are loved. Next, Australia is the most successful multicultural country in the world, so we just love the incredible variety of new people tryingto speak Ozzie. Love you, John
Interestingly, while you are right about Chinese coming here for the Gold Rush, Chinese restaurants were fairly rare until around the second half of the 1950s.
i had Chinese friends in school who had more Aussie accents than mine, because their great grandparents had come here for gold, then stayed as farmers.
I think that the first generation initially focuses on integrating, so they don't put a lot of emphasis on bringing their culture to the wider community. Later, they or their children make that shift.
I lived in very multicultural Marrickville for 36 years, and my father used to complain every time they visited that, with so many nationalities, Marrickville had so few ethich foodshops. He didn't live to see that changing through the early 2000s,
As an Aussie, knowing that the slang is a massive part of our culture, hearing our slang in foreign accents is actually one of my favourite things. Yes, it can sound a little silly but that's part of the fun. I see it as them enjoying our culture, embracing it and making it a part of themselves, as if they genuinely feel at home - or at least comfortable in their visit here.
Yeah it still cracks me up with their efforts on "G'day"
Hi Kaitlyn. Re Medicare, we have reciprocal agreements with some countries (listed below) where visitors from those countries have Medicare whilst in Australia and likewise Australians are covered when visiting their countries. They are
Finland
Norway
Slovenia
U.K
Belgium
Italy
Malta
The Netherlands
New Zealand
Sweden
Ireland.
But we could not afford to hammer one out with the US. Our Budget is only about $400Bn
thats cool!
Very articulate and interesting presentation by this young lady. Not hard to look at either.
Outstanding to see you have nailed the slang term "Bin Chicken" for our local Ibis.
In Victoria we used to call ibis tip turkeys lol
@@louiserawle8999 Another fantastic name for this bird. Very aptly describes its behaviour.
The Hunter Valley (New South Wales) & the Barrossa Valley (South Australia) are both rated in the Top 10 Wine regions in the World, now.
I literally broke my leg 4 months ago (compound fracture Tib and Fib), total cost including ambulance, stabilising the break, 2 nights in Hospital, Surgery to insert rod in Tib and a moonboot) was $137.00 - Breakdown = $30 to buy the crutches, $7 for pain meds to take home, $100 for the snack hamper I sent to the ward nursing station when I got home.
Wow... I can't wrap my head around that!
WHAT? They charged u for crutches??
Yep, always send the nurses a thankyou card and something yummy!
And, if you want to you can hire crutches from your local pharmacy for very little per week too.
@@triarb5790 true but I'm wondering y I've never been asked to buy them or hire them. Not even the moon boots which can't b returned or re-used.
One thing most people don’t realise Australia has more snow than Switzerland at least in winter.
when you look at where Switzerland is on the map, are you even surprised? Try Norway. Northern euro countries have better snow than swiss and Australia combined.
Do we ? I never knew that
@@Elviladia I don't care, I live in Brisbane and if I never see snow again I will die a happy man. Snow melts, becomes slush, wets your shoes and is bloody cold.
That was very enjoyable, thank you.
I'm an expat Aussie, who's been living in NY for about six years now. I've had a great time here, but I'm really starting to miss my "home"
You mentioned most of the reasons, but I also miss other things like the music, the NRL, potato scallops, eating outdoors, and not dealing with -30c.
We're all still here if you want to come back mate 👍
Our health care is very good when you have an emergency. I did last year and it didn't cost me a cent. that includes a major operation. 11 days in hospital and 4 days in ICU. No complaints here.
What a lovely video, thank you for appreciating the simple things Australia has to offer. You could add to your list “tipping not required’ and prices as they are stated, you don’t have to figure out the tax value when you purchase an item, when your deciding on how much to spend
Yes but you can still tip for good service, great that it's optional though.
@@iggyblitz8739 Australians get paid much higher wages than Americans,Americans who work at McDonalds get paid $5 an hour that is a disgrace.I don't think anyone needs to tip in Australia,better to put the tip in a charity tin imo
My dad was born in Philli.
You are right about our beaches but the best beaches are the ones less frequented by visitors. Standing on a beach being able to look in both directions and not see anything else but sand and not see another person is just amazing and they’re so beautiful. The fishing is usually pretty good too.
As for our wildlife you may get the idea that a lot of Australians take our wildlife for granted but I have hit more kangaroos, emus, owls, blue tongues, sheep and the odd echidna with the front end of my vehicle than I have seen in a zoo. And don’t get me started on koalas. Until you have them mating in your back yard or scratching at your water tank all night you will always think they are cute and cuddly, they told me it was going to be a holiday.
Richard B, hope it wasn't in Kensington!!!!
I absolutely love that you call Ibis bin chickens ! you are fitting in so well haha
Wow! Most Australian cities don't have to face serious weather on a regular basis. We get occasional storms with flooding and parts of Queensland are tropical with hurricanes/tornados.
Ok, a bin chicken is a small ibis - very much a Sydney thing - they do browse the bins I guess. I remember standing at the National Gallery of Australia one afternoon and watching a flock of pelicans wheeling around a thousand feet above me - so beautiful. Also, Canberra is rich in bird life, various cockatoos and oddly seagulls even though we’re 300 kilometres from the coast.
How did they end up here? They live on chips I think - they probably all have cardio vascular disease.
Well done, you nailed that. You did highlight all the great things Australia has to offer and it's ashame that some Aussie can't see it. I have been watching what has been going on in the US from politics, workers right and medical prising and alike for many years, and I must say you both made a far better decision living here, sorry to say. So having said that and having watch all your previous videos, I feel you're going to get your dream life. You've set yourself up well already and I think your dad will be proud when he comes over. P.S. Distance will hurt, but be strong.
If you like a fecking awesome Cab Sav get a Taylor's Cab Sav from Claire South Australia. My fave.
you are right chockablock is a beauty...
I think you really nailed that list. Love that you’re enjoying our beautiful country so much!
Chockablock is actually a nautical term. It means that 2 blocks (pulleys) on a rope are to close to each other, and there is no more room to move them.
Ute is short for utility vehicle, which is what they used to be called. This became shortened to utility, then just to ute.
You don't say whether you have a yard or not. But if you have a yard, you could plant various shrubs that will attract some native birds. Google, or a local bird watching club could be your friend here. And enjoy those wines!
And the "ute" was actually developed here by Ford and released in 1934 supposedly as a result of a letter from a farmers wanting something that would take the family to church on Sunday and pigs to market on Monday. But overall Henry Ford rejected the design and it never took off in the USA. He had already invented the first pickup in America in the 20s. Australian based manufacturere General Motors (Holden) released theit version about a year later Sedans and utes use the same chassis so they were cheap and stayed cheap, and was possibly why Holden was able to take 50% of the market share in the 50s.
I have family who Live in LA and they came here to Sydney for a month and they all loved taking the train. They didn't want to travel the city any other way. i suggested hiring a car and they said no because they loved the train system so much.
A brilliant analysis, we are not at all like the folk in the 1971 film "Wake In Fright" with Jack Thompson, Chips Rafferty and Donald Pleasence.
School teacher John Grant loses all his money in a two up game and gets stuck in the "Yabba" which is really Broken Hill.
You make a wonderful addition to our country,glad to have you here
That was a great list👍. Love how knowledgeable you're getting! And nice use of "servo" hehe 🙂
I hope your Dad and family are able to come visit soon, with borders opening to international travellers from next week.
I bet you can't wait to show them around.
That's very true about the transport. It's all perspective. Every American I've ever met or known will say how good our public transport is.
And most Australians who've travelled through parts of Asia or Europe, will probably point out how much better *their* public transport is.
Adelaide has the best beaches. Welcome and well done great review from a new Aussie Lass.
Pffff ever heard of Bondi mate?
Best beach on the planet!
Thank you for loving our country! My son's father is American and although he did like some things about Australia, he ragged on it so much, I was glad when he left! I hope the rest of your stay is just as wonderful. :) N
Great stumbling across your channel. Australia takes it's enjoyment of life, food, music, alcohol, coffee, sports and beaches incredibly passionately - life is so just so much to be lived and celebrated. Yes we can work hard but we wind down well too. We shorten names better and more frequently than probably any other nation that has ever existed. Our sense of self and our humour is unique. I find Australia is rather safe (the people - not the wildlife in the remote bush), clean and friendly and more unprocessed or under capitalised - it still has quite a soul and originality to the land and its people. We are a welcoming society where folks of different backgrounds fuse into something new, vibrant and exciting. It is really cool watching how you see us through your eyes! So welcome to Australia - and if you think we are nice - travel to New Zealand one day!
Hi Kaitlin, I am an aussie who has an american partner and like watching your videos of the differences. I see you are from Philly and like meat pies, well my daughter and partner moved there couple of years ago and now have a bakery in Royersford selling meat pies and just had a favourable review in a Philly mag. So if any of your friends want to try some Aussie pies send them there
OMG I almost visitors your store!!! You opened the day I flew out unfortunately, but when I go back to visit hopefully this year, I was going to take my high school friend and my goddaughter there! Cheers!
Fun fact: Our tallest mountain, Mount Kosciusko, is snow capped in winter. In summer you can hike to the top. Hike, no climbing required. There's actually a walkway from Threbdo, And it's worth it. Magnificent views.
Glad you're loving living here 😊 We're lucky to have a pretty good lifestyle! As for slang, we don't shorten words to be cute, but because we're pretty casual (some may say lazy 😛). So utility truck becomes ute, tradesman becomes tradie, bottle shop becomes bottle-o etc.
Talking of apple pies, visit Ryde, just in land from the North Shore. The famous "granny smith" apple was an accidental mutation that first occurred here.
I hope you will also hear the lovely resonant call of the Butcher Bird.
Coffee is good because we had so many Italian and Greek immigrants and were accepting of new things and supportive of their businesses. Same with Asian foods… yum
Great stuff! I'm a proud Melbournian but I have to say Sydney and it's surrounds are magical - spent a lot of time working there...Regarding red wine, try basically any Heathcote Shiraz...amazing! Cheers
One small thing I grealty missed when I visited the US for an extended business trip was a nice bit of lamb, very hard to find. Couldn't wait to tuck into a BBQ chop when I got home.
I saw a video by an American who was here on a temporary visa, he was in the process of getting a permanent visa and received a Medicare card so was covered, he broke his leg and he didn't pay a cent. I just thought that might be useful. Just subscribed, nice vid! Thanks
Thank you again ❤️🇦🇺 I never take my beautiful country for granted but to hear your love for our country well it makes me feel so blessed ❤️
Have you visited Perth yet? Many people who have moved from Sydney to Perth have told me that Perth is much cleaner than Sydney. I traveled to Paris and Rome and loved those places for many reasons, but not for their cleanliness. I remember appreciating Perth's cleanliness coming home, and the fact that there were much fewer smokers than in Europe! Great video, by the way, it's nice hearing people's appreciation for this land Downunder.
Yes! I loved Perth. I'd move there in a second but we have family and my partner's work here in NSW
Choc a block is often reduced to chockers. A ute is short for utilility, so it would in the long form be a utility truck.
I reckon white cockies are the most Australian bird. They are madder than a two bob watch. (An old Australian saying 😄 two bob was two shillings, or twenty cents as it is now)
I love your coffee ☕️ mug 🍵 at your back. Thank you 😊 for loving 🥰 Australian products
Hi Kaitlyn your content is getting better each time. Your opening line “Hi Mates” You are fitting in nicely.
Aw, thank you!
Maybe try "Good day Mates" if you think G'day does not sound right with the accent. I am sure we will accept the non abbreviated version
Its good to watch this and appreciate the good things. Thanks. From an Aussie.
As an Aussie, I believe this video to be one of the best endorsement of this country I have ever viewed. Goodonya Kaitlyn. I hope you get to see first hand the real Australia, West of the Great Dividing Range. I travelled extensively in the US, I remember spending a Day in New York and a day in LA and nobody even spoke to me. In saying that, it was not my experience in many other US cities and towns.
I worked in LA and NYC and both places were god awful. Food was terrible and they were full of arseholes. I always recommend visiting New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana!
LOL @ bin chickens getting a mention.
I grew up on that headland you show, it's covered in Kangaroos lazing in the sun.👌
You are right about the bin chickens; they do help keep the city clean. I hope your cats make the trip to
Australia safely.
This is hilarious. As an American, I would like to offer Australia an official apology about Starbucks. Meat pies are the best. Loved them.
Thanks very much I just found out I was getting complacent about my country
G'day there Kaitlin! Awesome you love our pies. I'm from Adelaide and in my family we have slang that's used for pies and pasty's. Nelly Bligh's and Nasty's. We love our pies and pasty's
I’ve been to America and two of my favourite cities are New York and New Orleans but as incredible, iconic and exciting as they both were they weren’t clean at all, so I understand what you’re talking about re clean cities. We are pretty lucky here
Ute is simply an abbreviation of the word utility as in 'utility vehicle'
I don't know if you've been to Melbourne or not, but we are spoilt with great public transport with Trams, buses and trains going everywhere, and the food and wine is amazing.
And of course Melbourne's coffee is far superior!
When the border opens up, you should look into getting over to WA and doing the drive from Perth to Augusta/ Margaret River. It has got to be one of the few parts of Australia that you'd definitely short list to visit but some people in the east never get to or make the mistake of only planning to be there for a very limited timeframe due to spreading their time too thin with time spent in Perth etc. Most people I've met on the east coast who've been there regret not allocating more time and plan to go back "one day". There is a lot to see, do and explore. Its hard to determine the best time to go because every season has its pros and cons. The summer can be hot, and the winters are fairly mild. Most people avoid the winter, however I had one of the nicest meals with my partner at Leeuwin Estate on a week day and we were the only people there, so I wouldn't write off winter, spring or autumn either if you want to avoid tourist season and competition for accommodation. I'd still suggest having a good look at Perth, Fremantle, the quokkas at Rottnest Island, the zoo etc but if you wanted to bypass it due to time etc., there are normally very affordable flights into Busselton from Melbourne, which is a great town and really where things start to get the most interesting. The beaches are amazing and go from being very serene in the bay to the best surf beaches in the world when you turn past Dunsborough to all the towns that exist along the way to Augusta at the tip of Cape Leeuwin. Snorkelling around Dunsborough way is fun. Yallingup is my favourite beach of all time, especially when the surf is up, but Margaret River is the most famous due to surfing competitions etc. There are just random things I can remember to this day, like having a drink with my dad on the nicest day, overlooking the beach at Gracetown. Its probably best to plan to spend a bit of time there and have a fairly loose structure, as you will see all sorts of signs for attractions and produce like wine, breweries, restaurants, chocolate, ice cream, cheese etc. that will cause a lot of diversions. It is one of the best places for farming and agriculture in the country. If you need pointers, there is loads of tourist information available when you're there. You might notice an appreciable variance in the landscape, plants etc. from the east coast. Vast numbers of unique native plants used in gardens originate from WA. All I can say is, take a look on the internet at the map and some of these places if you are curious and I hope you get over there at some point. I'd definitely love to see you post some videos of your trip if you ever end up going and it would be great content for your channel. If you wanted to extend your trip, you could cut inland a bit to check out the forests and landscape around Manjimup and Pemberton, or go all the way down to Albany, but that is a fair drive.
I'm really hoping WA will open up soon! I have a conference in Fremantle I'm hoping to go to in August and I loved Perth when I was there a couple of years ago ❤️
WA is Awesome.
@@KindaAustralian Even if you’re not a sports fan, you need to check out Optus Stadium (they do tours)
Our Sydney Trains, Buses, Trams & Ferries are all mostly Public owned. There are private Buses & Ferries, but they all run to Government controls.
There is a winery in the south west of WA called Lost Lake Wines and they make a honey merlot that is to die for. It’s amazing. They’re a very small producer based in the town of Pemberton. If you can find a bottle, you should try it.
Kelvin Hill of LOST LAKE WINES ,well done Kevin
@@keithmitchell3282 I’m not sure what you mean.
One thing I'll have to pick you up on, the bird life, sure there are a lot of beautiful parrots and lorrikeets, but you wont see a Macaw in the wild, if you do it's an escape from an aviary. The average Macaw here is worth around $6,000 to $8,000. Your settling in very well.
Yeah, it probably wasn't a macaw then 😆
Agree. No macaws here Kaitlyn. Parrots of all shapes and sizes and colours and lorikeets and rosellas and budgerigars (budgies) in the central deserts. But no macaws.
Ute is simply a shortened version of a utility or utility vehicle.
We haven’t always called them a Ute; but it’s pretty much the norm these days.
Our whiskey and gin is also good too, check out Dobsons whiskeys, gins or vodkas if you don't mind spirits every now and again, the town or community where Dobsons is from is called Kentucky, near Walcha in the New England Tablelands, they're not the only distillery either, there is Archie Rose in Sydney, plus heaps in Tassie, Victoria, WA, but our spirits are also good, but not cheap because they've got a reputation.
With the trains I missed a train in Brisbane. I was devastated. I was told another one would be around in 15mins. Up North I would have a 2 day wait. All good.
mate of mine fell asleep on a train, woke up in lithgow, the station master had to leave the waiting room open for him to sleep in. he never got home, hte first train of the day could get him to work on time.... just.
I'm Soo proud of U for referring to the ibis as a bin chicken, very Aussie ✌️❤️🇭🇲
A "ute" is a utility vehicle. They come in a great variety of sizes and capacities. 2WD, 4WD, petrol or diesel engine.
Sometime you want to visit the wine & beer wharehouses like Dan Murphy or Harry Browns, more variety there in one shop than most cities have in America.
Re Australian wines. I once read of an Australian couple who opened a restaurant in Bali, mostly aimed at Aussie tourists, but almost immediately ran into an insurmountable problem with importing Australians wines into Indonesia. They have some pretty savage import duties on alcohol there, so much so that almost nobody was willing to pay what they would have had to charge for a bottle of Margaret River wine.
Undeterred, they did their homework and discovered that while the import duty on wine was pretty onerous, there was absolutely no duty on grape juice. So they built a winery and began importing juice direct from the best vineyards in Oz and made their own! Last I heard, their business is booming!
a Ute and PickUp truck are different but kind of look the same. Ute is short for a utility vehicle or coupé utility.
Coffee is the Italian version because the Italians started Cafes and improved on instant powder coffee or filtered coffee.
You realise that all Aussies love you as well 😘
You'll have to come up to the Hunter Valley, Pokolbin. Plenty of wineries around here and lots of places if you like treking, Barrington Tops, Yengo. It's only a couple of hours up the the M1. On the comment of dirty cities most are pretty clean but there are those odd places, like Spencer Street station in Melbourne where it's a bit rough looking. Try walking the beach from Anna Bay to Newcastle.
I love that the advertised price is exactly that! I struggled when travelling in USA working out what costs were and that they change depends which state you in! I’d just get used to one state then we’d move states and I’d start all over 😂😩
I agree about the transportation...We take it for granted, but it IS very good compared to some other countries
You are a beautiful person. New subsciber. Wish you and your partner all the best.
There is a tame macaw that escapes often and goes for a bit of a fly from Windsor NSW ( owned by the Windsor seafoods guy near the Macquarie Arms ) so its viable that you did see a macaw
You can thank Ian Kiernan for the clean cities. He introduce Clean Up Australia Day in 1989 and became an annual event. Sydney George street back in the 80s was like junk food packaging up to your shin with a heavy peppering of Cigarette butts, so much so that in the years leading up to 1989 the garbage issue keep popping up in the news paper.
When I was at university one of my good mates went on exchange to Bowling Green University in Ohio. He loved his experience. But the first thing he did when he got back..... bakery for a meat pie 🥧......lol. Glad you have discovered these delicious Aussie treats 😋
Mate we get our Cafe culture from the wogs that migrated here in the 60s
Love your Douglas Adams meaning of life. 😎😎 Good onya mate yr a top sheila. 😉😉
You've hit on the perfect solution! Australia could export Bin Chickens to New York City to clean up all the rubbish. I love New York, but in summer the smell is terrible.
Re Medicare/Universal healthcare, it depends where you are from. Australia has reciprocal health care agreements with some countries. These include The UK, Ireland, Malta, Italy, Sweden, Belgium, Finland, Norway, Netherlands and of course New Zealand.
Each country may differ in exactly what you're covered for. It won't be everything. But certainly for emergency care that cannot wait you are covered.
New Zealanders are a little bit different, if they're living/working here, they can apply for a Medicare card after 6 months, even if they're not yet permanent residents.
All the others, I've heard before but liked your perspective on our public transport system. Many complain but really it's a comprehensive system if you know it and apps like Tripview make it way better to use.
Also your mention of meat pies made me want to get one. Glad you like them and I appreciate them more now.
Where did you stay at a farm?
Dont forget we also get Long Service Leave. As far as I know ( and I have lived in 4 countries) we are the only place that has this.
If you work for the same company, or within the same government service ( eg work for Dept of Education in state schools) you get additional paid leave after 7 years of service, this is over and above the normal annual leave. It is government mandated. Many of us bank this up and use it at around 10 years, to go travelling for 2 or 3 months. Or older workers use it to take a day of per week in the last years before retirement.
Best. Invention. Ever.
Ive used some to travel for 6 weeks through Japan. Then more for 3 weeks in British Columbia. This year using another 3 weeks to travel through Malaysian Borneo. 😊
it is as you say, some of these things are taken for granted.
A lot of us over here call the IBIS the Osama Bin Chicken. Hahaha.
Spot on about the hustle. I spent five weeks travelling about the US and the constant hustle from people wore me down
Kaitlin, you think Philadelphia's public transport system is bad, you should go to Melbourne, Australia. It is even worse. The line that services where I live is the Frankston stopping all stations line. In peak hour the trains for stations between Caulfield and Cheltenham the frequency is 20-30 minutes while the express trains which bypass stations between South Yarra and Caulfield and Caulfield and Cheltenham get 7-10 minutes. Often there are major delays affecting that line. Also the Frankston line is currently in a re-building process: level crossings are being removed, new railway track is being installed, new stations are being built and a new "Metro Tunnel" will go under the city centre. Most weekends buses replace trains on the Frankston line, and the frequencies are even worse and it takes more than an hour to get to the city from Ormond (which is my station) on these buses.
at least Sydney has a reliable public transport system:5-10 minutes during the day and 15 minutes at night.
There are Australian bakeries in the states and you can get them delivered to your door
Thank you, Kaitlin - having grown up here and feeling isolated from the rest of the world (pre internet) I forget just what an amazing place this is. Yes, it is flawed socially and politically but it is beautiful and we do get the odd thing right. Thanks. I’m glad you’re enjoying it and welcome aboard the good ship; ‘lollipop!’
Compared to many countries eg America,Australia has NIL flaws politically or socially.It is simply a great place to be.
chock a block is a technical term that refers to when 2 block & tackles are drawn together and can go no further
cause the block has been chocked.
@@julesmasseffectmusic unlike rack a tackle...
@@swcarp not heard that one. i grew up around Tradies so i know a lot of tool phrases. a Chock and chocked being actual words was one of the suprising ones to learn.
I liked learning Black is the hottest colour metal you will ever burn fingers on. Cause no dickhead is that dumb to as to pick up metal that is any colour other than black or metalic.
Hi Kailin, have been subscribef for a while now and i love how you have embraced our country. So glad you are doing tjese videos. Welcome to the aussie family.
Australia has almost 12,000 beaches along its 60,000-kilometre (37,282-mile) coastline. If you visited one per day, it would take more than 32 years to see them all.
We don't say "hey mates" 🤣🤣🤣
Do yourself a favour, get to the Hunter Valley for a wine tour, you'll love it! Only a couple of hours north of Sydney. Or if you want a weekend away head to Albury Wadonga and go to Rutherglen, about 20 mins from Albury....best fortified wines in the world.
There is a freshness to the cities here.
Yes, people wash here. Regularly. Some new immigrants don't tend to do so (not a personal attack but a cultural difference - washing in drinking quality water is a luxury in many parts of the world where water security is scarce) but mostly they eventually get with the program.
Like everywhere you do get a few people who just don't care what anyone else thinks, but this is very very rare.
Although we're on the whole a desert nation we do try to ensure that our cities have plenty of very high quality clean water for personal hygiene. You don't need to drink bottled water either, our water from the town water systems is also excellent.
You need to come to Brisbane.
I enjoyed the video except for the bit about the disgusting bin chickens. They are actually Australian White Ibis and we have moved into their habitat and they need to eat. Have you ever seen the mess a sulphiir crested cockatoo can do to someone's wheelie bin?