Though it's not generally realised, Australia is a Social Democracy, hence why 'compulsory voting'; Who gets elected we are all responsible for. We also have Preferential Voting, which means we have more than one voting choice in all our elections. Also Australia puts the freedom and choice of the collective over the American idea of freedom of the individual over the collective. Also we don't have an actual residential Aussie Head of State, but rather a Governor General as representative of King Charles III. A very high percentage of our citizens now are of migrant stock from 1945 onwards, and their off spring.
I would add that the underlying political philosophy that underpinned Australia was Benthamite Utilitarianism, not Lockean Liberalism. Hence, the Commonwealth of Australia.
U live in Richmond? My mom's family home was in Richmond, her dad was Clerk of Works and one time Lord Mayor. His little brother was mayor like 12 times or something. You gotta check out Burnley Horticulural Gardens and the Barkley Gardens Park, I've played there as a kid.
Not a social democracy. It’s not even a democracy no western country has what an actual democracy is. The Greeks had democracy basically perfected. Everyone else has just corrupted it. Preference voting ensures only major parties stay in power.
I have a mate who raises chickens, and he told me that when the hens lay the eggs, they have a protective coating, which keeps them sealed. If you wash the eggs, which many industrial producers do to make them look nicer for sale, this removes the protective coating and opens up the egg pores. The eggs then need to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria.
That and the American freedom of having quite a lot of Salmonella, which necessitates refrigeration, while we EuroCommie nations tend to keep weeding out our chickens if they get infected. 😃
I like the Australian system of school holidays. There’s six weeks in summer with most of it after Christmas, so five weeks to play with your Christmas gifts. Two weeks at Easter to enjoy the last bit of summer, two weeks mid winter to break the cold and flu infection cycle and two weeks in spring when the weather is just warming up again.
I came to Australia from London many years ago. One of the first things I did was to go on a canoeing trip - with zero sunscreen. I'm a blond fair-skinned Pom. Decades later I still have the marks on my hands from the damage the Aussie sun inflicted. Slip Slop Slap!!!!!!
I have funny reverse story. I came to Australia on a working holiday originally and was almost religious about slip slop slap. Met my man, who followed me back to the UK where he promptly got sunburnt on a beach in my home town of Bournemouth because he didn't believe 'the UK' sun was as strong so didn't think he needed sunscreen. 😂 35 years on, nope I will never let him live it down.
Now you know why you are called a Pom....Like a Pomegranete...you turn red in the Sun. Of course....90% of Australia's people originate from the UK or Germany, so yes, we are all Poms.....😂
Regarding the eggs, in the US the eggs are washed and a protective coating is removed which shortens their shelf life. The eggs in Australia aren't treated at all so they don't need to be refrigerated.
I work in a school, not a teacher, but I see in the US teachers and school personal have to get a 2nd job sometimes.. where as in Aus, our pay is evened out over the year, even for the school breaks... and we get "leave loading"
Most supermarkets are already cooled via air con so the eggs are fine, but once you get them home, the Egg Board recommends keeping them in the fridge to protect them from varying temperatures, because in the warmer months, your house can reach 30C and in colder months, the heating system can get the indoor temp up to 35C, depending on how much heat your house is leaking through cracks and crevices. The US cleans their eggs so they need to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria getting in through the porous shells. In Australia, our egg farmers use an approved process that keeps the protective film on the egg formed during laying, so the eggs are packed into paper pulp cartons and stored cool and dry until sold. Same in UK.
Australia’s coffee culture arrived here with the Italians and Greeks during the war years, when they migrated here and set up family businesses like fruit and vege shops, or cafes and restaurants, businesses they knew very well from back home and quickly adapted to Australian life. In doing so, they taught us how to make espresso and how to buy good coffee blends and what it meant to have different roasts with different flavours and aromas. So we were hooked! We took it seriously and began training baristas everywhere! Decades later, Starbucks tried to set up their stores here but no one was interested, we had a look, we may even have bought something, but we preferred our local cafe to Starbuck’s strange looking desserts! They were forced to close up about two thirds of their stores and go back to square one. Their big mistake was in assuming Australians were like Americans and would love their drinks. They didn’t do any market research whatsoever.
It was not until after the war that the Italians arrived here, the ones that lived here during the war were all put into internment camps, as they were fighting on the side of Germany
@@georgecopley3403 I had three or four Italian girls in my kindergarten class, they stayed all the way through high school. “Italians are among the earliest European immigrants to Australia. A wave of Italian migration occurred during the gold rush in the 1850s. Migration from Italy continued throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, often as Italians sought better economic opportunities in Australia.” “Germans and Italians were also interned because of their nationality, particularly those living in northern Australia. Around 20 per cent of all Italians living in Australia were interned.”
I grew up in Perth in the very ealy 1950's, we never had coffee shops here and I cannot remember any one drinking coffee, we had tea rooms everywhere I had two Italian girls in my class at State school and also I went to high school with them, they were both cousins, we knew their parents very well as my mother was a good freind of , both of their parents before WW2 and they were interned here in Western Australia at internment camps for Italians, the internment camps were run by the federal government of Australia. The girls parents used to run vegetable shops, coffee shops did not start to become popular until the late 1970's here in Perth as full scale Italian migration did not start in Australia until 1948 and the Italians came as displaced persons, but they taught us a lot more than coffee, we started to get broccoli and celery and we learnt how to eat squid 😃
The coffee culture in Melbourne only really hit towards the end of the 80s, and Sydney a little later. If you're travelling through regional areas, you need to check how the coffee is served. I went through Cobar, on the way from Broken Hill to Sydney, had a look and said, "tea, no milk, no sugar, thanks". Nowadays, you go into Melbourne into one of the old bistros like Pellegrinis (the early ones who got the big Gaggia machines) and tell them how bad you thought the Italian coffee was in Italy, and they're all over you in agreement. I think their simple espressos are fine but don't expect the (caffe) lattes or flat whites to be great. But I remember being sat next to an Italian boy in primary school and wondering what the smell was. Of course it was garlic, but we Anglo-Celts weren't used to it.
The main advantage of compulsory voting is that it is also illegal to prevent people from voting. Therefore we don't have any of the voter suppression tactics as is common in the US. You aren't going to rock up to vote only to discover you are no longer registered or that you are unable to find a polling station nearby. Last Federal election I had around a dozen polling stations within a 10 minute drive from home with the closest being a 10 minute walk.
Should actually clarify this. It is mandatory to cast a ballot - it is not mandatory to cast a valid ballot. If you have some personal objection to voting for any of the candidates, you can leave the form blank or draw smiley faces or something ..
@mddawson1 you can look up polling stations on line. Keep the 1 vote per person system, "have you voted before" and give fines for that, for people that do the wrong thing, ie multiple votes, but do not give fines to people that don't get checked off an electoral roll.
@scooter2099 The number of people who actually do that is significantly lower than the number of people who say they do that, by the way. Spoilt ballots/ donkey votes are almost negligible. I believe that's because when it comes to standing in the booth most of us realise we do take it more seriously than we tell our friend's that we do.
@petermcculloch4933 The cup day is for Melbourne, Bendigo has a picnic day holiday on the same day, but it is not a Melbourne Cup day. Most regions of Victoria have similiar days but on different dates.
I will be saying this if ever disaster Dutton gets elected .He makes Netanyahu and Trump (both would be his heroes) look like Sunday School teachers Covered up of course. But he is a mysogynist through and through, Dont even start on racism and the black indiginous population
🇦🇺amaerica was an agrarian culture that needed its kids off school for a long time in summer to help with harvest and farm work. That’s the origin of our school year there. Here in Australia, as you pointed out, people are in coastal communities and the school system grew up around different requirements.
>>Commercially sold eggs in America go through a washing and sanitizing process that clears contaminants, but also removes the natural protections that eggs have against bacteria. Because of this, eggs are refrigerated during processing and must remain chilled in order to reduce the risk of salmonella contamination
Eight months ago, I moved to Australia from the U.S. My daughter prefers the Australian vacation because of the breaks in between terms. There are both positive and negative aspects for us as we are an Australian-American citizen! Also, I was nervous about eating eggs, worried that they might go bad quickly or cause food poisoning. However, I soon realized that the quality of eggs in Australia is much better than I expected. Woolworth stores always have them in the refrigerator. I choose Woolworth (former Safeway) over Coles.
@@petermcculloch4933 The reason America refrigerates is they wash them with water. If you do this you have to refrigerate them so they don't absorb bacteria. Google that!
Our eggs come from our free range chooks in our backyard. We never wash eggs and we keep them on the kitchen bench for weeks before they go off. Our chooks rarely "go off the lay" but when I have to buy commercial eggs it is always a disappointment to have to eat eggs with such pale yellow and flavourless yolks. Thankfully in recent times the quality of commercial eggs has improved since not all eggs are from "battery hens." We often buy older battery hens from commercial farms. Often they have only a few feathers left and when they arrive, they cower in a corner of the chooks pen unsure of what is happening to have so much space. Within a couple of weeks we let them free range and they are much happier!
Australian eggs unlike in the US aren't washed before sale. So they still have the natural protective layer on the outside that helps them not spoil at room temperature. In the US you cannot leave the eggs at room temp because that protective layer has been removed so they need to be refrigerated. If you bought fresh eggs straight from a farm or even farmers market which haven't been washed or bleached you can leave them out in room temp just fine.
Universal healthcare in Aus is dead. You will find this out when you get fatally sick and the treatment options and availabilities are decided by the size of your bank account.
Yes. The mentality of wanting to own guns in the US is sickening to the average Aussie, not to mention the amount of mass shootings that occur there. Australians as a whole have no desire to have anything to do with guns and don't have to deal with mass shootings like the US public do.
No, Sprite is a Coke owned drink they brought out decades ago. We have had our own Lemonade versions for 100+ years. Then there is the homemade type lemonade the young lady was refering to...which we also have.
I drink lemon squash at a bar but when I was in the US this year I could never order it. Yes, there is homemade lemonade which is like lemon squash without the fizz, but at a bar I was only offered something the equivalent of Sprite (yuk). I did find a brand of 'lemon squash' in the supermarket but it was labelled lemonade, the same as the clear fizzy soda.
🇦🇺 Nice vid 🙂 I think i prefer frequent shorter breaks every term. It helps break up the school year. I always looked forward to these breaks as a kid. It's about 6 weeks over Christmas holidays break. I support everyone voting. I feel like to get a truer representative government for all including the average person, you need majority voting. Including those who don't care much for politics. If its just the die hard rusted on voters of the majors voting, or extreme fringes voting, then the results can reflect that. It also cuts out the voter suppression issues the US has.
I used to hand out how-to-vote brochures and many - 40% or more (?) have no idea of most of the policies. In the US, I am guessing if they choose to vote they have a reason - they know something about the policies, thats why they care enough to turn up - they care. In Australia, its about not getting fined for a lot of people. Or to put that another way, people who don't care one bit influence the eventual winners from pure ignorance and there is nothing wise about that. I have known some who vote for candidates by shutting their eyes and seeing where the biro landed.
I honestly believe a lot of people just say they do a donkey vote in order to avoid political conversations. Im not into politics much but i do take my vote seriously when i get to the poll. (I wont tell anyone passionate enough to ask though because i don't want to explain my decision, it is my own business who i vote for)
@@billhesford6098 No just some random idiot who had a grudge against society. But now there's heaps of guns back in the community once again. But we Aussies in general don't have the American attitude towards guns and never have had. We get shootings here but they seem to be criminals shooting other criminals for guns are available on the black market even though they're hellishly expensive. But those who run drug operations can easily afford them.
Re: Eggs. Australia, Britain and Europe vaccinate their chickens against salmonella, and do not wash the eggs, (which are coated in a protective cuticle), so there is no need to refrigerate the eggs. The US does not vaccinate their chickens, so the eggs must be washed and refrigerated.
🇦🇺 The Melbourne cup is actually one particular race, not a bunch of races. Specifically it is race 7 at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November every year. Oh, incidentally, you’re getting better by the sound of it, but drop the 2nd vowel altogether in Melbourne (and Brisbane). Mel-bn and Bris-bn.
@@paulwhillas6494 In 46 years I’ve never heard any Aussie enunciate that way. Mel-burn and Bris-burn are closer, so maybe very occasionally, but Mel-bun? Really? Bris-BAN? Yeahnah.
Hi Ellie, thanks for sharing this interesting video. I have lived in Australia all my life. I grew up in Sydney and years later moved to Melbourne. You mentioned about flies. One place that I have experienced to find a lot of flies, especially in the summer, is Canberra. I remember on a hot summer day seeing a statue there absolutely covered in flies. With Australian voting, to be more correct, it is actually mandatory to attend a polling area and have your name crossed off the list. As voting is always in secret, how the voting slip is actually filled out is the person's own choice. Also, this is all usually done in one day, with the exception of those, who choose to use early voting centres or do a postal vote. One other difference is our health system, with everyone here automatically covered by Medicare, which is a universal system, though it didn't exist prior to the 1970s. We also have private health insurance, which is paid for individually by the person as their choice. Anyway, all the very best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Ellie, you do have to vote, but you can do a pre-poll vote, a postal vote or an absentee vote (vote at a different location), but if you’re sick or get in an accident on polling day, you get a chance to explain yourself before they issue you with a fine. When you receive the notice that you didn’t vote, you write back quickly and if they approve the reason for your absence, you won’t get fined.
No you dont have to vote you only have to get your name signed on the electrol roll you then receive your voting sheet what you do with that sheet is your busness you can just post in vote box without filling out ,you just need to turn up and sign your name off different to america where certain parties do everything they can to stop people of a certain demographic's from voting
@@garryferguson799 I believe the law is that you must vote for a candidate. You are given a ballot paper and you must place it in the ballot box. You cannot put that paper in the bin or take it with you. As for legally required to register a vote, given that it is a secret ballot, nobody can check your ballot paper before you deposit it in the ballot box. So by not voting for a particular candidate you may have technically broken the law, but whose to know? I am prepared to be corrected on this belief.
@@GarryBellerby Australian Electoral Act 1918 "233 Vote to be marked in private (1) Except as otherwise prescribed the voter upon receipt of the ballot paper shall without delay: (a) retire alone to some unoccupied compartment of the booth, and there, in private, mark his or her vote on the ballot paper; (b) fold the ballot paper so as to conceal his or her vote and: (i) if the voter is not an absent voter-deposit it in the ballot‑box; or (ii) if the voter is an absent voter-return it to the presiding officer or a polling official; and (c) quit the booth."
The AFL and Melbourne Cup holidays are only in the state of Victoria, they aren't given anywhere else in the country, our only Australia wide public holidays are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Anzac Day, Labour Day, Australia Day and the King's Birthday.
I notice that you mentioned Christmas, but didn't add that Christmas is in the Summer in Australia and not the Winter because the seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. That would be one of my biggest culture shocks because we get cooler/colder Christmases here in North America. Having a blistering hot Christmas season would feel so...different.
Not knowing if you have dual citizenship, Americans living overseas still have to fill out an American tax return. America is one of the few countries to do this.
No wonder you don't see many Americans living abroad... paying tax even though your not living in the country...then paying tax in your new country of residence... dear lord
The US and Australia have a reciprocal tax arrangement.. I live in OZ but my business is US based and I get paid in US dollars .. it was nightmare dealing with the IRS to start with but now I pay no tax in the US .. this arrangement is only available to certain countries !
Been involved with the Australian school system all my life until retirement. We used to have almost 8 weeks holiday over Christmas plus two, two week breaks at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks. Quite a while ago they took 2 weeks off the Christmas ( summer) holidays and readjusted the rest, so that we have 2 weeks each quarter of the school year. Having grown up in the system, first as a student, then a teacher, I enjoyed it . Living just a few yards from the coast, most of the summer holidays were spent on, or in, the water. The other holidays had more variable weather, but were good for family caravanning/ camping trips.
We don't have compulsory voting, we have compulsory turnout. You have to turn up at the voting centre, have your name checked off and receive your ballot papers but you can then simply place them in the boxes without voting. Peiople have died fighting for the freedoms that we enjoy - the least you can do is show up.
I stopped voting years ago.Mainly due to preferences.If I vote for an independent candidate or a minor party and they are beaten, which is normally the case, my vote ends up supporting one of the two major parties.The system we have gives my vote to a candidate I did not vote for So I roll up, mark my name off, pop the untouched ballot form in the box, buy a sausage and go about my day
Yeah that’s a silly comment, people have died for the freedoms we have sure, but one of those freedoms should be the power to choose whether act on our right to vote or not. Otherwise it’s not really a freedom is it?
@@jasonturner2206 then we would end up with the extreme and divisive political discourse common in America, where common ground is almost non-existent.
Wow you have done a ripper job on this video. You articulated yourself perfectly on Australia 🇦🇺 well done will watch more of your videos. I am about to press the subscriber button
🇦🇨 How refreshing to finally see a comparison video without the breathless hysteria of all our nasty critters waiting to kill or maim you. Welcome to Australia mate, so good to see you've made the HUGE decision to move here & become a citizen of our broad, brown beautiful land. I'm sure you'll do us proud. At last count the number of Americans who've moved or live here is around 600k. Even in my neck of the woods in rural Central QLD we often hear American or Canadian accents. All the best mate ❤
Thanks for the interesting video Elliema and the interesting comments from viewers. I`ve learnt a thing or two! Aussie(can`t find the flag as I`m not tech savvy)
🇦🇺 Thanks for the video. I watched some of your videos when you first arrived back in oz and sympathised with how hard it would be for you to become 'aussie' again after being such a committed american. I thought you would soon go back to the US, but, here you are ! You look happy and settled, good luck to you.
Great observations. As a kid, I spent a year in Canada. The summer vacation was epic. We did a family road trip through the Canadian and US Rockies then back up the West Coast. Sensational! As an Aussie teacher, I like the regular 2 week term breaks as a chance to clear my mind. We have long service leave which means that I can take a whole term off if I save up the weeks. Very handy for overseas exploring. 🇦🇺
I really enjoyed your video, as you said " if you want a video on a specific topic...". actually rn i am so confused about choosing a country "US" or "Aus", for masters degree in IT management. almost done with my bachelor's in computer engineering. have a nice day!!
Here's another Difference between the AUS and the US. We accept our election results. Our most recent Federal election was run on a Saturday. Declared later in the evening. The New Prime minister left for an important diplomatic meeting on the Monday.
New Zealand’s UV is far worse , 18 degree day in summer and you can be burnt in 10 minutes, the burn index is actually measured in the time it takes to get burnt. Ppl think Australia’s 30 plus degrees days will burn you fast , but it actually doesn’t when compared to Nz
🇦🇺 Our work place has a 1.5 - 2 week break christmas and new year. We save our annual leave days and can then go for larger holidays. I will be going to America next year for 4 weeks.
@gezzac100 duty? Are you serious? It should be optional. The majority of voters are complacent and apathetic, resenting the fact they are required to be there. Never seen so many sour and irritated faces, then on voting day.
@@hughmiller925 I think youre imagining that. Most peopke I know aren't bothered by it at all and are happy to do it, especially since we now have pre-polling at elections so you dont have to vote on the day.
This is a tough one. Because everyone 'has to do it' nobody actually gives a crap. Look at the morons running our country (not singling out a party here, they all terrible choices). In Australia we elect our dictators. I can't even remember the last promise kept from our prime minister. Not to mention how out of touch they are. Look at Albo, we are in a national housing crisis but he is focused on things like domestic violence (fair, but statistically improving every year) and removing freedom of speech so his precious little ego doesn't get hurt when he looks at something. He is not the slightest bit interested in Australia or its people, only in his parties agendas. Ultimately we can't blame the politicians though, we elect them! The collective 'we' probably need better a education on how to spot a bullsh*t artist, hold governments to account, and move them on if they lie to us or take too much of our money. I don't think 'having' to vote really helps when you factor in the poor quality decisions we make as a country.
@@hughmiller925If we didn't have compulsory voting Australia would be the poorer for it because not many people would vote, just like most of us don't vote at council elections.
I liked this summary of differences. As an Australian who visited America, . Was so quiet not as many nature sounds in America. Frogs, crickets, cicadas. Even dogs seemed quieter. Met lovely people in USA. My parents as well, especially of note one couple who offered keys to their lakeside cabin.
Student loans also don't have interest. They do increase with inflation, but essentially stay the same amount in "today's dollars". When it gets taken out of your pay, it gets taken out at different percentages based on how much you earn. If you earn ~$50k, you pay back 1% per year out of your pay (~$500). If you earn $150k+ you pay 10% (~15k) as you can afford it without affecting your quality of living. Also, if you always earn under 50k, you'll never have to pay it back (although it still increases annually with inflation). This also means if you're out of work, or have medical issues, you're not stuck with paying off your HECS until you start working again.
Lived in USA 25 years great place good people shorts are stubbies they love aussies but no place home like the video it's fun keep it up enjoy your life here 😮
This is very Melbourne-centric. Eggs are stored in the fridge in most places in Australia, though because they're not bleached and washed with chemicals, they can quite safely be stored outside of the refrigerator. The two public holidays you mentioned as "Australia's Public Holidays" being sport focused, are only in Victoria. No other States get those two public holidays which are the only two based around sport.
There has been a resurgence in Starbucks but only in areas with Asian students, it is regarded differently in Asia, especially China as a status symbol.
They even tried a Starbucks in Lygon St, the epicentre of Italian Melbourne. Heresy...didn't last long, but you never see a white face in Starbucks here...and why would you?
You can make your own lemonade with lemons and sugar or you can buy a lemon squash - the post mix version at the pub or the store bought version, most popular is Solo, at the supermarket and shops.
Everyone drove on the same side of the road as us in the beginning....The USA changed around 1910...to be more like the French and less....English. Oh, and they didn't want to change gears with their Devil hand....the left hand.
In Oz we have real lemonade. Sprite is not real lemonade!. Hex debt does not need to be paid until you receive over $54 thousand per year. Free range eggs don't need refrigeration. 50% of Ozzie's don't get skin cancer. How do US citizens get all this time off when only 2 weeks paid vacation per year is permitted.
The reason the skin cancer is so high is because we weren't aware in the 40s 50s and 60s of how dangerous the sun was me we would get very burnt which causes cancer latter in life. Liked your video well done
And we always get a laugh out of British/Irish tourist out here for the cricket or the tennis over Christmas and January, or out on Bondi, and the look like crayfish after 15 minutes.
Interesting listening to you, I'm a 71 year old true blue Oz fella'. Who lived and worked all over the world. From 1972 upto 2016. A long time the longest education anyone could have. I won't bore you with my findings. But my results came out that two of the most democratic,safest, friendliest countries to live in today are America and Australia. Especially Australia for it's geographical position and lowest population per area. Glad to see you over here and welcome home mate.❤❤
I have trouble noticing and deleting all the unwanted stupid emojis that my keyboard keeps inserting into my text. But the Australian, Ukrainian and American flags have their uses and are easy to find.
In Schools there is a "No hat No play" policy. Also before and after school you are expected to wear a hat on the school grounds. The hats are a wide brim versioned issued by the school and only these hats are to be worn. This law started in the late 90s. I wish this law had been around when i was a kid in the 80s as i have skin cancers on my face as a result of my fair skin being damaged...one lunchtime after the other at school.
As a teacher in Australia we get 12 weeks a year off. With 6 weeks for summer. The test scattered roughly every 9 weeks. Let alone all the pubic holidays as well. We are very lucky. Gotta love Australia.🇦🇺🪃🦘🌏🤪🍻
Good morning Ellie, Your video was great!! Altho' I lived in D.C. fm 1975 to 78 (Austemba, Mass. Ave. 20036), I did acclimatise to life in the USA. However, being Aussies, my wife & I tended to take leave in the UK and other parts of Europe. Will never forget the experience of Macca's, Roy Rogers, Burger King etc.; good but different (as they say in Aldi). Because of my wife's heritage (HK), Asian food was our staple diet. Les, Cbr.
FYI In the US, eggs are washed and dried. However, that process removes the cuticle, a protective coating on the egg. Because of that, American eggs are more prone to infection from salmonella. Therefore, it's legally required by US food processing regulations that commercial eggs be refrigerated at a constant temperature of 45˚F.
Hi, I like your video! Clarification - voting is not compulsory! You do have to be marked off the electoral roll to prove that the Government provided you the opportunity to vote. This prevents Governments manipulating the vote by making it difficult for people to vote. After you get your ballot paper you can simply discard it, deliberately spoil it, e.g. write naughty words on it, or do whatever you want with it. We also have the independent Electoral Comission to prevent Government interference. Congrats on being a duel citizen.
Sorry, but it is compulsory to vote! The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, under section 245(1), states: "It shall be the duty of every elector to vote at each election". This has been upheld in a number of court cases, But, there is no way to check without upsetting the "secret ballot". requirement. You might be made an example of if you openly discard the ballot paper and if you did something silly such as write your name and address on the paper declaring your right not to vote.
The emphasis on sport in american universities is rewarding those not smart enough to really be there. Accademia in Australia isn't very interested in sport and therefor sport in australian universities would be preaching to the wrong crowd.
School summer holidays at Christmas are generally 6 to 8 weeks depending on private or public schools. Private get more. They also get 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks in September, and 2 to 3 weeks in winter June/ July depending again on type of school.
US eggs have to be refrigerated because they are washed, and that removes the protective layer around the egg that keeps them shelf stable. Unwashed eggs can be stored on shelf or in the fridge to extend their life, especially with its hot. And some brands may wash them, dunno, but its not mandatory like in the US.
🇦🇺 As a former teacher I found that after 10 or 11 weeks I needed some R & R if I was going to stay on top of my game. The idea that going for 8 or 9 months straight, I think, would be counterproductive. Also, when I worked in the Northern Territory there was a 4 week break in the middle of the year and the breaks between terms 1and 2 , and terms 3 and 4 were just 1 week.
Primary differences: 1: We aint got no Squirrels or hummingbirds 2: We aint got no guns 3. We aint pressured to tip rides or waiters 4. We aint gettin tornados 5: We aint sayin to-mate-O, we sayin to-mart-o that's all byebye
We do get destructive storms but not like America . We make up for it with horrendous bush fires. We do have guns but not assault rifles and many restrictions. Most gun problems here are drug related pay backs.
To be more accurate we have significantly less guns among the general population and most tornadoes in Australia occur in unpopulated areas, so we often don’t even hear about them because they are not ripping homes apart.
I have enjoyed your series - keep going! Congrats on mentioning HECS. Not wanting to politicise anything....But what about the differences between the health care systems? [The Australian health care model is somewhat similar and derived from the Canadian health care model since the mid 70's.]
I liked your list - very down-to-earth with no silly exaggerating or sensationalism (lol are you sure you were an American?). Another big diff between Oz and the US is the way workers are treated. Here in Oz we have a comparatively decent minimum wage which is (I think) about $26 an hour now. Because of this, tipping wait staff isn't such an expected thing as it is in the US. We also have compulsory superannuation contributions which are paid by the employer, which means you can move from job to job without forfeiting anything. I know that in the US, the benefits that come with a job seem to be almost as important as the job itself, but here that isn't such a thing. Unrelated to employment, we also have universal healthcare, which means a regular visit to the doctor is still relatively affordable for most (but not all) people and hospital bills probably won't send you bankrupt.
Girl was born and kicked off as an Aussie. Maybe with her 'required' Australian childhood vaccinations they gave her a special booster shot of 'aussitis' to help with any later relocations outside of the Great Southern Land. 😊 Relocated myself to Ca in mid '70's but a 50ml bottle of eucalyptus was all that was prescribed for a short 36 month sojourn.😅
🇦🇺 Elliemajellie . Where have you been? You were one of the first people I followed. I used to love watching your videos and try to pick out the suburb or train line you were on. Even when you were at your grand parents place I’d try to figure it out. Then you went back to the U.S and caught up with your Kiwi boyfriend then all of a sudden you just disappeared without a trace. I hope you have done a couple of videos explaining what happened in between. I m so glad you are back and look forward to picking up where you left off. Welcome Home Ellie
Years ago we had three school terms that would be 13-14 weeks long. By the time you got to the end of the term, kids were getting so tired and cranky, but also were getting sick. The government changed the system to have 4 terms instead. This shortened it to I think about 10-12 weeks. This had a couple of effects. The children weren't getting sick from being overtired but also it heated the economy a bit. Parents had an extra holiday to entertain the kids and take them on vacation.
In terms of sports at school, that happens more in high school, specifically private high schools. A lot of kids will get huge scholarships to play on a school sports team. In Brisbane, we have a bunch of Rugby-based all boys schools and it gets really competitive
As others have said voting in Australia is NOT mandatory. The only requirement is to have you name crossed off the electoral roll when you receive your ballot papers, from that point it is up to you if you vote or not.
It is if you show up you will generally vote. It also means politictians mainly go to the middle ground as opposed to the extreme. Not a focus of getting people out to vote.
here are 10 small tips to any US citizen that wants to come to visit Australia. 1. leave your attitude along with your guns at the departure lounge. 2. don't panic! it will be there waiting for you when you get back, we don't want it. 3. you cannot buy a gun here as easily as you can in the US, nor carry a gun over here, this is not the wild west as it is in the USA. 4. enjoy the sites the food and the different cultures. 5. Australia has a culture, they have song, dance and food and we are proud of it. 6. The US has, Levi's jeans, McDonalds, mass shootings, guns and bombs and you are proud of it? 7. take lots of photos, buy the occasional souvenir. 8. when you get back to the US "the home of the brave and the free," pick up your gun and your attitude, you will notice it is still there intact as you left it. 9. Show your friends the photos and tell them you had a nice time. 10. Oh and don't forget to tell your friends you experienced real freedom for the first time in your life not having to carry a gun!
The jokes on you. We Americans have already brought our guns to your shores in Australia. 😋 In fact, it's estimated that about 70% of Australian military equipment to defend itself is all from the United States. We also provide Australia with a massive amount of military intelligence. Without the U.S., Australia could become vulnerable to countries like China. Also due to this arrangement, Australia is a part of the five eyes agreement with U.S. 😎
not only is it compulsary to vote, but Australians have preferential voting, meaning that if your first preference doesnt succeed your vote can go to your second ior third and so on preference your vot is always counted. its not first past the post.
🇦🇺 Following are the comments of an American who lives in Australia : Australia has a much higher general quality of life. higher minimum wage, better public services, better transportation networks, cleaner and safer cities, better work-life balance in the corporate sector, free healthcare, affordable higher education system, and better regulation of firearms. Actually these are not important. The laid back culture however is Australia’s signature. Life is short mate!
Though it's not generally realised, Australia is a Social Democracy, hence why 'compulsory voting'; Who gets elected we are all responsible for. We also have Preferential Voting, which means we have more than one voting choice in all our elections.
Also Australia puts the freedom and choice of the collective over the American idea of freedom of the individual over the collective.
Also we don't have an actual residential Aussie Head of State, but rather a Governor General as representative of King Charles III.
A very high percentage of our citizens now are of migrant stock from 1945 onwards, and their off spring.
Australia is the only country that will shut their border on their own citizens.
I would add that the underlying political philosophy that underpinned Australia was Benthamite Utilitarianism, not Lockean Liberalism.
Hence, the Commonwealth of Australia.
U live in Richmond?
My mom's family home was in Richmond, her dad was Clerk of Works and one time Lord Mayor. His little brother was mayor like 12 times or something. You gotta check out Burnley Horticulural Gardens and the Barkley Gardens Park, I've played there as a kid.
Not a social democracy. It’s not even a democracy no western country has what an actual democracy is. The Greeks had democracy basically perfected. Everyone else has just corrupted it. Preference voting ensures only major parties stay in power.
I have a mate who raises chickens, and he told me that when the hens lay the eggs, they have a protective coating, which keeps them sealed. If you wash the eggs, which many industrial producers do to make them look nicer for sale, this removes the protective coating and opens up the egg pores. The eggs then need to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria.
That and the American freedom of having quite a lot of Salmonella, which necessitates refrigeration, while we EuroCommie nations tend to keep weeding out our chickens if they get infected. 😃
I like the Australian system of school holidays. There’s six weeks in summer with most of it after Christmas, so five weeks to play with your Christmas gifts. Two weeks at Easter to enjoy the last bit of summer, two weeks mid winter to break the cold and flu infection cycle and two weeks in spring when the weather is just warming up again.
Slava 🦘 Heroyam 🐨
Australian uni holidays are similar to the US. Three to four months off for the Summer. 🎉
I think of it as “we both have the summer break, but Australia just has summer at a different time”
I came to Australia from London many years ago. One of the first things I did was to go on a canoeing trip - with zero sunscreen.
I'm a blond fair-skinned Pom. Decades later I still have the marks on my hands from the damage the Aussie sun inflicted.
Slip Slop Slap!!!!!!
I bet you were beet red and suffering :(
I have funny reverse story. I came to Australia on a working holiday originally and was almost religious about slip slop slap. Met my man, who followed me back to the UK where he promptly got sunburnt on a beach in my home town of Bournemouth because he didn't believe 'the UK' sun was as strong so didn't think he needed sunscreen. 😂 35 years on, nope I will never let him live it down.
I knew a girl from Canada she fell asleep on the beach and she spent two weeks in the burns unit in hospital
Now you know why you are called a Pom....Like a Pomegranete...you turn red in the Sun. Of course....90% of Australia's people originate from the UK or Germany, so yes, we are all Poms.....😂
@@kramrollin69 In the 19th Century, 25% of Australians were of Irish descent.
Regarding the eggs, in the US the eggs are washed and a protective coating is removed which shortens their shelf life. The eggs in Australia aren't treated at all so they don't need to be refrigerated.
Most Australians store eggs in the refrigerator. Really.
🇦🇺 Enjoyed your video! I prefer our Australian holiday breaks rather than a long 3 month vacation.
I work in a school, not a teacher, but I see in the US teachers and school personal have to get a 2nd job sometimes.. where as in Aus, our pay is evened out over the year, even for the school breaks... and we get "leave loading"
Agree. Summer break was about six weeks, with two weeks break between terms. Much better IMHO.
Most supermarkets are already cooled via air con so the eggs are fine, but once you get them home, the Egg Board recommends keeping them in the fridge to protect them from varying temperatures, because in the warmer months, your house can reach 30C and in colder months, the heating system can get the indoor temp up to 35C, depending on how much heat your house is leaking through cracks and crevices. The US cleans their eggs so they need to be refrigerated to prevent bacteria getting in through the porous shells. In Australia, our egg farmers use an approved process that keeps the protective film on the egg formed during laying, so the eggs are packed into paper pulp cartons and stored cool and dry until sold. Same in UK.
@Jeni10 America not only washes eggs, but they bleach them, so they are all uniformly white.
Plus chickens are vaccinated in the eu and uk, I’m not sure about Australia
Australia’s coffee culture arrived here with the Italians and Greeks during the war years, when they migrated here and set up family businesses like fruit and vege shops, or cafes and restaurants, businesses they knew very well from back home and quickly adapted to Australian life. In doing so, they taught us how to make espresso and how to buy good coffee blends and what it meant to have different roasts with different flavours and aromas. So we were hooked! We took it seriously and began training baristas everywhere! Decades later, Starbucks tried to set up their stores here but no one was interested, we had a look, we may even have bought something, but we preferred our local cafe to Starbuck’s strange looking desserts! They were forced to close up about two thirds of their stores and go back to square one. Their big mistake was in assuming Australians were like Americans and would love their drinks. They didn’t do any market research whatsoever.
It was not until after the war that the Italians arrived here, the ones that lived here during the war were all put into internment camps, as they were fighting on the side of Germany
@@Jeni10 Starbucks is yuck!!!!
@@georgecopley3403 I had three or four Italian girls in my kindergarten class, they stayed all the way through high school.
“Italians are among the earliest European immigrants to Australia. A wave of Italian migration occurred during the gold rush in the 1850s. Migration from Italy continued throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries, often as Italians sought better economic opportunities in Australia.”
“Germans and Italians were also interned because of their nationality, particularly those living in northern Australia. Around 20 per cent of all Italians living in Australia were interned.”
I grew up in Perth in the very ealy 1950's, we never had coffee shops here and I cannot remember any one drinking coffee, we had tea rooms everywhere I had two Italian girls in my class at State school and also I went to high school with them, they were both cousins, we knew their parents very well as my mother was a good freind of , both of their parents before WW2 and they were interned here in Western Australia at internment camps for Italians, the internment camps were run by the federal government of Australia. The girls parents used to run vegetable shops, coffee shops did not start to become popular until the late 1970's here in Perth as full scale Italian migration did not start in Australia until 1948 and the Italians came as displaced persons, but they taught us a lot more than coffee, we started to get broccoli and celery and we learnt how to eat squid 😃
The coffee culture in Melbourne only really hit towards the end of the 80s, and Sydney a little later. If you're travelling through regional areas, you need to check how the coffee is served. I went through Cobar, on the way from Broken Hill to Sydney, had a look and said, "tea, no milk, no sugar, thanks". Nowadays, you go into Melbourne into one of the old bistros like Pellegrinis (the early ones who got the big Gaggia machines) and tell them how bad you thought the Italian coffee was in Italy, and they're all over you in agreement. I think their simple espressos are fine but don't expect the (caffe) lattes or flat whites to be great.
But I remember being sat next to an Italian boy in primary school and wondering what the smell was. Of course it was garlic, but we Anglo-Celts weren't used to it.
The main advantage of compulsory voting is that it is also illegal to prevent people from voting. Therefore we don't have any of the voter suppression tactics as is common in the US. You aren't going to rock up to vote only to discover you are no longer registered or that you are unable to find a polling station nearby. Last Federal election I had around a dozen polling stations within a 10 minute drive from home with the closest being a 10 minute walk.
Should actually clarify this. It is mandatory to cast a ballot - it is not mandatory to cast a valid ballot. If you have some personal objection to voting for any of the candidates, you can leave the form blank or draw smiley faces or something ..
@mddawson1 you can look up polling stations on line. Keep the 1 vote per person system, "have you voted before" and give fines for that, for people that do the wrong thing, ie multiple votes, but do not give fines to people that don't get checked off an electoral roll.
At least you can get a wonderful cook sausage (what we call democracy sausage) or maybe something like a cake. 🇦🇺
@redhead3199 ah ha, yep, sure, what ever. Who cares?
@scooter2099 The number of people who actually do that is significantly lower than the number of people who say they do that, by the way. Spoilt ballots/ donkey votes are almost negligible. I believe that's because when it comes to standing in the booth most of us realise we do take it more seriously than we tell our friend's that we do.
Only Melbourne has Cup Day off, the rest of the states have to work as usual. Same with the AFL Grand Final.
Actually Victoria, the entire state, enjoys those holidays
@petermcculloch4933 The cup day is for Melbourne, Bendigo has a picnic day holiday on the same day, but it is not a Melbourne Cup day. Most regions of Victoria have similiar days but on different dates.
Depends on whether you're boss is a fan.
Also an extended boozy lunch isn't out of the question depending on what your job is.
@@BasilPunton Really??? I never knew that. I just figured like most that it was "gambling day holiday".
Adelaide has Adelaide cup day off
With voting...there is a saying 'You get the government you deserve' So if you dont vote you cant complain about the government.
I will be saying this if ever disaster Dutton gets elected .He makes Netanyahu and Trump (both would be his heroes) look like Sunday School teachers Covered up of course. But he is a mysogynist through and through, Dont even start on racism and the black indiginous population
This will become apparent to those who didn't bother to vote to stop Trump. They will live to regret it.
🇦🇺amaerica was an agrarian culture that needed its kids off school for a long time in summer to help with harvest and farm work. That’s the origin of our school year there. Here in Australia, as you pointed out, people are in coastal communities and the school system grew up around different requirements.
Agriculture was Australia's biggest industry until the mid 20th century
Is that why the Europeans also have 3 months holidays in summer?
>>Commercially sold eggs in America go through a washing and sanitizing process that clears contaminants, but also removes the natural protections that eggs have against bacteria. Because of this, eggs are refrigerated during processing and must remain chilled in order to reduce the risk of salmonella contamination
Eight months ago, I moved to Australia from the U.S. My daughter prefers the Australian vacation because of the breaks in between terms. There are both positive and negative aspects for us as we are an Australian-American citizen! Also, I was nervous about eating eggs, worried that they might go bad quickly or cause food poisoning. However, I soon realized that the quality of eggs in Australia is much better than I expected. Woolworth stores always have them in the refrigerator. I choose Woolworth (former Safeway) over Coles.
Eggs remain fresher and last longer when kept at room temperature.A quick Google search will verify this fact
Welcome! Hope you and your fam are loving it here!
@@petermcculloch4933 The reason America refrigerates is they wash them with water. If you do this you have to refrigerate them so they don't absorb bacteria. Google that!
Our eggs come from our free range chooks in our backyard. We never wash eggs and we keep them on the kitchen bench for weeks before they go off. Our chooks rarely "go off the lay" but when I have to buy commercial eggs it is always a disappointment to have to eat eggs with such pale yellow and flavourless yolks. Thankfully in recent times the quality of commercial eggs has improved since not all eggs are from "battery hens." We often buy older battery hens from commercial farms. Often they have only a few feathers left and when they arrive, they cower in a corner of the chooks pen unsure of what is happening to have so much space. Within a couple of weeks we let them free range and they are much happier!
@@eddykate3700 Interesting!
Australian eggs unlike in the US aren't washed before sale. So they still have the natural protective layer on the outside that helps them not spoil at room temperature. In the US you cannot leave the eggs at room temp because that protective layer has been removed so they need to be refrigerated. If you bought fresh eggs straight from a farm or even farmers market which haven't been washed or bleached you can leave them out in room temp just fine.
I'm surprised you didn't mention the lack of mass shootings here as a major difference. Universal healthcare too of course.
Tr
We don't need mass shootings we have meny other living things that can kill you day or night on land and in the water
Universal healthcare in Aus is dead. You will find this out when you get fatally sick and the treatment options and availabilities are decided by the size of your bank account.
Mass shootings have been superseded by machete, knife attacks, and car hijackings, and drug driving.
Yes. The mentality of wanting to own guns in the US is sickening to the average Aussie, not to mention the amount of mass shootings that occur there. Australians as a whole have no desire to have anything to do with guns and don't have to deal with mass shootings like the US public do.
Sprite is a brand like coke or Pepsi. We also sell Sprite and other lemonade brands. Your lemonade is what we call lemon squash.
Also Kirks lemonade😊
No, Sprite is a Coke owned drink they brought out decades ago. We have had our own Lemonade versions for 100+ years. Then there is the homemade type lemonade the young lady was refering to...which we also have.
I drink lemon squash at a bar but when I was in the US this year I could never order it. Yes, there is homemade lemonade which is like lemon squash without the fizz, but at a bar I was only offered something the equivalent of Sprite (yuk). I did find a brand of 'lemon squash' in the supermarket but it was labelled lemonade, the same as the clear fizzy soda.
Sprite is a poor quality lemonade. 7up is even worse.
@@kramrollin69 that's irrelevant my point is Sprite is not a flavour it's a brand. Lemonade is a generic flavour.
🇦🇺 Nice vid 🙂
I think i prefer frequent shorter breaks every term. It helps break up the school year. I always looked forward to these breaks as a kid. It's about 6 weeks over Christmas holidays break.
I support everyone voting. I feel like to get a truer representative government for all including the average person, you need majority voting. Including those who don't care much for politics. If its just the die hard rusted on voters of the majors voting, or extreme fringes voting, then the results can reflect that.
It also cuts out the voter suppression issues the US has.
I used to hand out how-to-vote brochures and many - 40% or more (?) have no idea of most of the policies. In the US, I am guessing if they choose to vote they have a reason - they know something about the policies, thats why they care enough to turn up - they care. In Australia, its about not getting fined for a lot of people. Or to put that another way, people who don't care one bit influence the eventual winners from pure ignorance and there is nothing wise about that. I have known some who vote for candidates by shutting their eyes and seeing where the biro landed.
I honestly believe a lot of people just say they do a donkey vote in order to avoid political conversations. Im not into politics much but i do take my vote seriously when i get to the poll. (I wont tell anyone passionate enough to ask though because i don't want to explain my decision, it is my own business who i vote for)
The place in Australia that is most like the USA, Port Arthur. At least it was 35 years ago. Ask any Australian why.
CIA shooter?
Tragically true! However, another truth about Port Arthur is that We said "Enough is Enough!"
Gold standard comment
Lol
@@billhesford6098 No just some random idiot who had a grudge against society. But now there's heaps of guns back in the community once again. But we Aussies in general don't have the American attitude towards guns and never have had. We get shootings here but they seem to be criminals shooting other criminals for guns are available on the black market even though they're hellishly expensive. But those who run drug operations can easily afford them.
Re: Eggs. Australia, Britain and Europe vaccinate their chickens against salmonella, and do not wash the eggs, (which are coated in a protective cuticle), so there is no need to refrigerate the eggs. The US does not vaccinate their chickens, so the eggs must be washed and refrigerated.
Australia's population is now 27 million
Thanks to albo😢
2:02 Thats too many way over the OPTIMUM. Another long drought ( El Nino ) some towns,cities will be in trouble !! Thanks Labor.@aussiebornandbred
🇦🇺 The Melbourne cup is actually one particular race, not a bunch of races. Specifically it is race 7 at Flemington on the first Tuesday of November every year.
Oh, incidentally, you’re getting better by the sound of it, but drop the 2nd vowel altogether in Melbourne (and Brisbane). Mel-bn and Bris-bn.
And it’s not a national holiday. We don’t have a day off for it here in Perth
That pronunciation is probably correct for locals, but many Australians still pronounce them Mel bun and Briz ban (or Briz bun)
@@paulwhillas6494 In 46 years I’ve never heard any Aussie enunciate that way. Mel-burn and Bris-burn are closer, so maybe very occasionally, but Mel-bun? Really? Bris-BAN? Yeahnah.
@@paulwhillas6494 I have not heard a local aussie say other than Melb-n or Brisb-n.
🇦🇺 coffee in Melbourne is a million times better than watered down Starbucks!
No, the holidays are not sports based... only in VICTORIA do you get those sports holidays.
Really great observations! As an Australian, it was a very refreshing take.
Hi Ellie, thanks for sharing this interesting video. I have lived in Australia all my life. I grew up in Sydney and years later moved to Melbourne. You mentioned about flies. One place that I have experienced to find a lot of flies, especially in the summer, is Canberra. I remember on a hot summer day seeing a statue there absolutely covered in flies. With Australian voting, to be more correct, it is actually mandatory to attend a polling area and have your name crossed off the list. As voting is always in secret, how the voting slip is actually filled out is the person's own choice. Also, this is all usually done in one day, with the exception of those, who choose to use early voting centres or do a postal vote. One other difference is our health system, with everyone here automatically covered by Medicare, which is a universal system, though it didn't exist prior to the 1970s. We also have private health insurance, which is paid for individually by the person as their choice. Anyway, all the very best. Rob in Melbourne Australia.
Ellie, you do have to vote, but you can do a pre-poll vote, a postal vote or an absentee vote (vote at a different location), but if you’re sick or get in an accident on polling day, you get a chance to explain yourself before they issue you with a fine. When you receive the notice that you didn’t vote, you write back quickly and if they approve the reason for your absence, you won’t get fined.
No you dont have to vote you only have to get your name signed on the electrol roll you then receive your voting sheet what you do with that sheet is your busness you can just post in vote box without filling out ,you just need to turn up and sign your name off different to america where certain parties do everything they can to stop people of a certain demographic's from voting
@@garryferguson799 I believe the law is that you must vote for a candidate. You are given a ballot paper and you must place it in the ballot box. You cannot put that paper in the bin or take it with you. As for legally required to register a vote, given that it is a secret ballot, nobody can check your ballot paper before you deposit it in the ballot box. So by not voting for a particular candidate you may have technically broken the law, but whose to know? I am prepared to be corrected on this belief.
@@garryferguson799That would only be morons who would do that.
@@GarryBellerby Australian Electoral Act 1918
"233 Vote to be marked in private
(1) Except as otherwise prescribed the voter upon receipt of the ballot paper shall without delay:
(a) retire alone to some unoccupied compartment of the booth, and there, in private, mark his or her vote on the ballot paper;
(b) fold the ballot paper so as to conceal his or her vote and:
(i) if the voter is not an absent voter-deposit it in the ballot‑box; or
(ii) if the voter is an absent voter-return it to the presiding officer or a polling official; and
(c) quit the booth."
The AFL and Melbourne Cup holidays are only in the state of Victoria, they aren't given anywhere else in the country, our only Australia wide public holidays are Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Anzac Day, Labour Day, Australia Day and the King's Birthday.
Labour day and the Kings birthday are Australia wide, but it are not on the same day in all states. The others fall on the same day.
What about eater and New Year's Day?
@@ericktreetops741Whoops. Two more.
I go out into the public on my sick days as well.
A fair summary of differences between the two countries.
I trust you are enjoying Aussie laid back lifestyle.
❤ to you.
I notice that you mentioned Christmas, but didn't add that Christmas is in the Summer in Australia and not the Winter because the seasons are opposite in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. That would be one of my biggest culture shocks because we get cooler/colder Christmases here in North America. Having a blistering hot Christmas season would feel so...different.
🇦🇺
Loved your video! Very fair and accurate comparison of our two countries!
Not knowing if you have dual citizenship, Americans living overseas still have to fill out an American tax return. America is one of the few countries to do this.
No wonder you don't see many Americans living abroad... paying tax even though your not living in the country...then paying tax in your new country of residence... dear lord
The US and Australia have a reciprocal tax arrangement.. I live in OZ but my business is US based and I get paid in US dollars .. it was nightmare dealing with the IRS to start with but now I pay no tax in the US .. this arrangement is only available to certain countries !
@@sue-ellentaormina781that’s great did you have to qualify or fill something to not pay double tax?
Been involved with the Australian school system all my life until retirement. We used to have almost 8 weeks holiday over Christmas plus two, two week breaks at the 1/3 and 2/3 marks. Quite a while ago they took 2 weeks off the Christmas ( summer) holidays and readjusted the rest, so that we have 2 weeks each quarter of the school year.
Having grown up in the system, first as a student, then a teacher, I enjoyed it . Living just a few yards from the coast, most of the summer holidays were spent on, or in, the water. The other holidays had more variable weather, but were good for family caravanning/ camping trips.
We don't have compulsory voting, we have compulsory turnout. You have to turn up at the voting centre, have your name checked off and receive your ballot papers but you can then simply place them in the boxes without voting. Peiople have died fighting for the freedoms that we enjoy - the least you can do is show up.
What BS
I stopped voting years ago.Mainly due to preferences.If I vote for an independent candidate or a minor party and they are beaten, which is normally the case, my vote ends up supporting one of the two major parties.The system we have gives my vote to a candidate I did not vote for
So I roll up, mark my name off, pop the untouched ballot form in the box, buy a sausage and go about my day
Yeah that’s a silly comment, people have died for the freedoms we have sure, but one of those freedoms should be the power to choose whether act on our right to vote or not.
Otherwise it’s not really a freedom is it?
@@jasonturner2206🤡🤡🤡🤡
@@jasonturner2206 then we would end up with the extreme and divisive political discourse common in America, where common ground is almost non-existent.
Wow you have done a ripper job on this video. You articulated yourself perfectly on Australia 🇦🇺 well done will watch more of your videos. I am about to press the subscriber button
aww thank you so much patrick!! that means so much ☺️
🇦🇨 How refreshing to finally see a comparison video without the breathless hysteria of all our nasty critters waiting to kill or maim you. Welcome to Australia mate, so good to see you've made the HUGE decision to move here & become a citizen of our broad, brown beautiful land. I'm sure you'll do us proud. At last count the number of Americans who've moved or live here is around 600k. Even in my neck of the woods in rural Central QLD we often hear American or Canadian accents. All the best mate ❤
Thanks for the interesting video Elliema and the interesting comments from viewers. I`ve learnt a thing or two! Aussie(can`t find the flag as I`m not tech savvy)
🇦🇺 Thanks for the video. I watched some of your videos when you first arrived back in oz and sympathised with how hard it would be for you to become 'aussie' again after being such a committed american. I thought you would soon go back to the US, but, here you are ! You look happy and settled, good luck to you.
Great observations. As a kid, I spent a year in Canada. The summer vacation was epic. We did a family road trip through the Canadian and US Rockies then back up the West Coast. Sensational!
As an Aussie teacher, I like the regular 2 week term breaks as a chance to clear my mind. We have long service leave which means that I can take a whole term off if I save up the weeks. Very handy for overseas exploring. 🇦🇺
Love it, welcome to Melbourne
You also don’t have to pay back HECS until you earn a certain amount of money per year
Cries in US student loans
Good job Ellie from the Flinders Ranges of outback, South Australia 🇦🇺
Great video! As an Aussie it's always fun hearing what Americans think of Australia once they move here or are visiting 👍🇦🇺
thank you travis!! it was definitely a bit of a culture shock
@@elliemajelly I bet haha
I really enjoyed your video, as you said " if you want a video on a specific topic...". actually rn i am so confused about choosing a country "US" or "Aus", for masters degree in IT management. almost done with my bachelor's in computer engineering.
have a nice day!!
The first sensible comparison I've seen so far.
No she's got some false info there.
Australia welcomes you. Your list was way more sensible than most on yt. Good luck with your studies.
Here's another Difference between the AUS and the US. We accept our election results. Our most recent Federal election was run on a Saturday. Declared later in the evening. The New Prime minister left for an important diplomatic meeting on the Monday.
Great Australian wave brushing off flies
New Zealand’s UV is far worse , 18 degree day in summer and you can be burnt in 10 minutes, the burn index is actually measured in the time it takes to get burnt. Ppl think Australia’s 30 plus degrees days will burn you fast , but it actually doesn’t when compared to Nz
🇦🇺 Our work place has a 1.5 - 2 week break christmas and new year. We save our annual leave days and can then go for larger holidays. I will be going to America next year for 4 weeks.
It's not your right to vote, it's your duty to vote.
Sad. But some people dont have the intelligence to Vote.
The outcome is visable every day.
@gezzac100 duty? Are you serious? It should be optional. The majority of voters are complacent and apathetic, resenting the fact they are required to be there. Never seen so many sour and irritated faces, then on voting day.
@@hughmiller925 I think youre imagining that. Most peopke I know aren't bothered by it at all and are happy to do it, especially since we now have pre-polling at elections so you dont have to vote on the day.
This is a tough one. Because everyone 'has to do it' nobody actually gives a crap. Look at the morons running our country (not singling out a party here, they all terrible choices). In Australia we elect our dictators. I can't even remember the last promise kept from our prime minister. Not to mention how out of touch they are. Look at Albo, we are in a national housing crisis but he is focused on things like domestic violence (fair, but statistically improving every year) and removing freedom of speech so his precious little ego doesn't get hurt when he looks at something. He is not the slightest bit interested in Australia or its people, only in his parties agendas. Ultimately we can't blame the politicians though, we elect them! The collective 'we' probably need better a education on how to spot a bullsh*t artist, hold governments to account, and move them on if they lie to us or take too much of our money. I don't think 'having' to vote really helps when you factor in the poor quality decisions we make as a country.
@@hughmiller925If we didn't have compulsory voting Australia would be the poorer for it because not many people would vote, just like most of us don't vote at council elections.
🇦🇺 Melbourne's great but also different from the rest of Australia (eg. Sport holidays, weather) so I hope you are getting to see further afield.
Bloody melbourne being that only people from it like it being mainly indian. Shit weather and aussie rules football.
I liked this summary of differences. As an Australian who visited America, . Was so quiet not as many nature sounds in America. Frogs, crickets, cicadas. Even dogs seemed quieter. Met lovely people in USA. My parents as well, especially of note one couple who offered keys to their lakeside cabin.
Student loans also don't have interest. They do increase with inflation, but essentially stay the same amount in "today's dollars".
When it gets taken out of your pay, it gets taken out at different percentages based on how much you earn. If you earn ~$50k, you pay back 1% per year out of your pay (~$500).
If you earn $150k+ you pay 10% (~15k) as you can afford it without affecting your quality of living.
Also, if you always earn under 50k, you'll never have to pay it back (although it still increases annually with inflation). This also means if you're out of work, or have medical issues, you're not stuck with paying off your HECS until you start working again.
Lived in USA 25 years great place good people shorts are stubbies they love aussies but no place home like the video it's fun keep it up enjoy your life here 😮
You never mention healthcare. And we don't have the toxic religious culture at the same level as the USA.
Hillsong is working on that.
Islam ☪️ is the only true religion and being atheists while worshipping a monarchy is absolutely abhorrent!
ministers of religion in the U s a making millions of dollars tax free
@@goojedooje660 Blame the followers more than the ministers. A cult is nothing without its followers.
@@goojedooje660 A very small few religion ministers make lots of money. Most live quite poorly.
This is very Melbourne-centric. Eggs are stored in the fridge in most places in Australia, though because they're not bleached and washed with chemicals, they can quite safely be stored outside of the refrigerator. The two public holidays you mentioned as "Australia's Public Holidays" being sport focused, are only in Victoria. No other States get those two public holidays which are the only two based around sport.
There has been a resurgence in Starbucks but only in areas with Asian students, it is regarded differently in Asia, especially China as a status symbol.
And tourists
They must like drinking "coffee " that tastes like burnt toast with Milk…
Just like a Buick.
They even tried a Starbucks in Lygon St, the epicentre of Italian Melbourne. Heresy...didn't last long, but you never see a white face in Starbucks here...and why would you?
You can make your own lemonade with lemons and sugar or you can buy a lemon squash - the post mix version at the pub or the store bought version, most popular is Solo, at the supermarket and shops.
Year Australia drives on the correct side of the road and car, lol.
Everyone drove on the same side of the road as us in the beginning....The USA changed around 1910...to be more like the French and less....English. Oh, and they didn't want to change gears with their Devil hand....the left hand.
@@kramrollin69 Sounds fair. At the end of the day its up to each country. Cheers from down under.
@@step1drag1dwnunda Cheers from down here too. 😁
Good video, thanks for posting.
In Oz we have real lemonade. Sprite is not real lemonade!. Hex debt does not need to be paid until you receive over $54 thousand per year. Free range eggs don't need refrigeration. 50% of Ozzie's don't get skin cancer. How do US citizens get all this time off when only 2 weeks paid vacation per year is permitted.
In Queensland, we are living the movie Starship Troopers pretty much every day when summer hits. 🪰🪰🦟🪳🕷🦂🐜
Club lemon. Is the lemon drink you are after. Brunch is between breakfast and lunch. When you out for lunch, you are eating lunch.
🇦🇺 Hope you have learned the Great Aussie Salute to deal with the flies!
You did a very good video here. I subscribed
The reason the skin cancer is so high is because we weren't aware in the 40s 50s and 60s of how dangerous the sun was me we would get very burnt which causes cancer latter in life. Liked your video well done
ah yes that would make sense on the reason for the campaign. thanks for watching!
And we always get a laugh out of British/Irish tourist out here for the cricket or the tennis over Christmas and January, or out on Bondi, and the look like crayfish after 15 minutes.
@@pauldobson2529 Ahhh yes, the "nah don't worry, I don't burn" group. It's a humbling experience for them. 😂
There were more girls getting cancer from tanning booths a few years ago.....hence, tanning salons have almost dissappeared here..
@@kramrollin69 yeah, there was a very famous case, Claire, who died of melanomas after tanning salons. I think they're still around, but illegal
Interesting listening to you,
I'm a 71 year old true blue Oz fella'.
Who lived and worked all over the world.
From 1972 upto 2016.
A long time the longest education anyone could have.
I won't bore you with my findings.
But my results came out that two of the most democratic,safest, friendliest countries to live in today are America and Australia.
Especially Australia for it's geographical position and lowest population per area.
Glad to see you over here and welcome home mate.❤❤
Australian lemonade is different to sprite
🇦🇺 We lived in Florida 🇺🇸 for 3 years. I loved experiencing all the cultural differences
I wanted to leave an Australian flag emoji, but couldn't find one. Looks like no-one else could either!
Use your OS ones 🇦🇺 🦘🏄♂
I have trouble noticing and deleting all the unwanted stupid emojis that my keyboard keeps inserting into my text. But the Australian, Ukrainian and American flags have their uses and are easy to find.
In Schools there is a "No hat No play" policy. Also before and after school you are expected to wear a hat on the school grounds. The hats are a wide brim versioned issued by the school and only these hats are to be worn. This law started in the late 90s. I wish this law had been around when i was a kid in the 80s as i have skin cancers on my face as a result of my fair skin being damaged...one lunchtime after the other at school.
As a teacher in Australia we get 12 weeks a year off. With 6 weeks for summer. The test scattered roughly every 9 weeks. Let alone all the pubic holidays as well. We are very lucky. Gotta love Australia.🇦🇺🪃🦘🌏🤪🍻
As an Aussie I Didn't realise your spring break was it for the year, that's crazy
American eggs are power washed which removes the outer shell layer thus requiring refrigeration
Gun laws.........yep I said it .
Good morning Ellie,
Your video was great!! Altho' I lived in D.C. fm 1975 to 78 (Austemba, Mass. Ave. 20036), I did acclimatise to life in the USA. However, being Aussies, my wife & I tended to take leave in the UK and other parts of Europe. Will never forget the experience of Macca's, Roy Rogers, Burger King etc.; good but different (as they say in Aldi). Because of my wife's heritage (HK), Asian food was our staple diet. Les, Cbr.
FYI In the US, eggs are washed and dried. However, that process removes the cuticle, a protective coating on the egg. Because of that, American eggs are more prone to infection from salmonella. Therefore, it's legally required by US food processing regulations that commercial eggs be refrigerated at a constant temperature of 45˚F.
Great comparison video.
Hi, I like your video! Clarification - voting is not compulsory! You do have to be marked off the electoral roll to prove that the Government provided you the opportunity to vote. This prevents Governments manipulating the vote by making it difficult for people to vote. After you get your ballot paper you can simply discard it, deliberately spoil it, e.g. write naughty words on it, or do whatever you want with it. We also have the independent Electoral Comission to prevent Government interference. Congrats on being a duel citizen.
Sorry, but it is compulsory to vote!
The Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, under section 245(1), states: "It shall be the duty of every elector to vote at each election". This has been upheld in a number of court cases,
But, there is no way to check without upsetting the "secret ballot". requirement. You might be made an example of if you openly discard the ballot paper and if you did something silly such as write your name and address on the paper declaring your right not to vote.
@@javahead8 of course it’s compulsory. You get a fine if you don’t vote.
Aus has federal and state based sport institutions, where you can get a Bachelor in high performance sport.
The emphasis on sport in american universities is rewarding those not smart enough to really be there. Accademia in Australia isn't very interested in sport and therefor sport in australian universities would be preaching to the wrong crowd.
Yeah, uni is for gaining the knowledge and skills for a particular job or field, not as a way to be seen by a bloody sports recruiter!
School summer holidays at Christmas are generally 6 to 8 weeks depending on private or public schools. Private get more. They also get 2 weeks at Easter, 2 weeks in September, and 2 to 3 weeks in winter June/ July depending again on type of school.
US eggs have to be refrigerated because they are washed, and that removes the protective layer around the egg that keeps them shelf stable.
Unwashed eggs can be stored on shelf or in the fridge to extend their life, especially with its hot.
And some brands may wash them, dunno, but its not mandatory like in the US.
🇦🇺 As a former teacher I found that after 10 or 11 weeks I needed some R & R if I was going to stay on top of my game. The idea that going for 8 or 9 months straight, I think, would be counterproductive. Also, when I worked in the Northern Territory there was a 4 week break in the middle of the year and the breaks between terms 1and 2 , and terms 3 and 4 were just 1 week.
Primary differences:
1: We aint got no Squirrels or hummingbirds
2: We aint got no guns
3. We aint pressured to tip rides or waiters
4. We aint gettin tornados
5: We aint sayin to-mate-O, we sayin to-mart-o
that's all byebye
We do get destructive storms but not like America . We make up for it with horrendous bush fires. We do have guns but not assault rifles and many restrictions. Most gun problems here are drug related pay backs.
😂😂
There are guns and tornadoes in Australia.
To be more accurate we have significantly less guns among the general population and most tornadoes in Australia occur in unpopulated areas, so we often don’t even hear about them because they are not ripping homes apart.
No mention of the different gun cultures and attitudes. A very sensitive and polarised subject.
Like they say, "Come to Australia. 1000000000000 flies can't be wrong!"
I have enjoyed your series - keep going!
Congrats on mentioning HECS.
Not wanting to politicise anything....But what about the differences between the health care systems?
[The Australian health care model is somewhat similar and derived from the Canadian health care model since the mid 70's.]
I liked your list - very down-to-earth with no silly exaggerating or sensationalism (lol are you sure you were an American?). Another big diff between Oz and the US is the way workers are treated. Here in Oz we have a comparatively decent minimum wage which is (I think) about $26 an hour now. Because of this, tipping wait staff isn't such an expected thing as it is in the US. We also have compulsory superannuation contributions which are paid by the employer, which means you can move from job to job without forfeiting anything. I know that in the US, the benefits that come with a job seem to be almost as important as the job itself, but here that isn't such a thing. Unrelated to employment, we also have universal healthcare, which means a regular visit to the doctor is still relatively affordable for most (but not all) people and hospital bills probably won't send you bankrupt.
Girl was born and kicked off as an Aussie.
Maybe with her 'required' Australian childhood vaccinations they gave her a special booster shot of 'aussitis' to help with any later relocations outside of the Great Southern Land. 😊
Relocated myself to Ca in mid '70's but a 50ml bottle of eucalyptus was all that was prescribed for a short 36 month sojourn.😅
🇦🇺 Elliemajellie . Where have you been? You were one of the first people I followed. I used to love watching your videos and try to pick out the suburb or train line you were on. Even when you were at your grand parents place I’d try to figure it out. Then you went back to the U.S and caught up with your Kiwi boyfriend then all of a sudden you just disappeared without a trace. I hope you have done a couple of videos explaining what happened in between. I m so glad you are back and look forward to picking up where you left off. Welcome Home Ellie
Years ago we had three school terms that would be 13-14 weeks long. By the time you got to the end of the term, kids were getting so tired and cranky, but also were getting sick. The government changed the system to have 4 terms instead. This shortened it to I think about 10-12 weeks. This had a couple of effects. The children weren't getting sick from being overtired but also it heated the economy a bit. Parents had an extra holiday to entertain the kids and take them on vacation.
In terms of sports at school, that happens more in high school, specifically private high schools. A lot of kids will get huge scholarships to play on a school sports team. In Brisbane, we have a bunch of Rugby-based all boys schools and it gets really competitive
As others have said voting in Australia is NOT mandatory. The only requirement is to have you name crossed off the electoral roll when you receive your ballot papers, from that point it is up to you if you vote or not.
Ok then, it is a mandatory role call. What purpose would that be for? This penalty when not voting is a disgrace to democracy.
It is if you show up you will generally vote. It also means politictians mainly go to the middle ground as opposed to the extreme. Not a focus of getting people out to vote.
@@azrealnightangel525 I don't think our leaders supporting genocide is taking the middle ground.
May as well vote by then, after spending an hour and a half lining up on a Saturday
@@peteroneill404 regardless, receiving a punitive measure for not being crossed off the electoral roll is amoral.
It's an enjoyable post. Glad that you have citizenship
Cheers from Australia 🇦🇺
I think the US has lost sight on what College and University is really about. Education, not basketball glory.
here are 10 small tips to any US citizen that wants to come to visit Australia.
1. leave your attitude along with your guns at the departure lounge.
2. don't panic! it will be there waiting for you when you get back, we don't want it.
3. you cannot buy a gun here as easily as you can in the US, nor carry a gun over here, this is not the wild west as it is in the USA.
4. enjoy the sites the food and the different cultures.
5. Australia has a culture, they have song, dance and food and we are proud of it.
6. The US has, Levi's jeans, McDonalds, mass shootings, guns and bombs and you are proud of it?
7. take lots of photos, buy the occasional souvenir.
8. when you get back to the US "the home of the brave and the free," pick up your gun and your attitude, you will notice it is still there intact as you left it.
9. Show your friends the photos and tell them you had a nice time.
10. Oh and don't forget to tell your friends you experienced real freedom for the first time in your life not having to carry a gun!
Yes no. 10
@@charleyvanrotterdam6086 what's wrong with it?
@@bwana-ma-coo-bah425 Wow. Can’t imagine you’re great fun at parties.
The jokes on you. We Americans have already brought our guns to your shores in Australia. 😋
In fact, it's estimated that about 70% of Australian military equipment to defend itself is all from the United States.
We also provide Australia with a massive amount of military intelligence.
Without the U.S., Australia could become vulnerable to countries like China.
Also due to this arrangement, Australia is a part of the five eyes agreement with U.S. 😎
@@donna6592 was my comment too intellectual for you or too factual? pick one and go with it.
Main difference America has Trump Australia thank God does not.
We got Albo instead....oh dear.
No one talk about make Australia Great again (MAGA) here 🇦🇺
not only is it compulsary to vote, but Australians have preferential voting, meaning that if your first preference doesnt succeed your vote can go to your second ior third and so on preference your vot is always counted. its not first past the post.
In Sydney and NSW we don’t get a public holiday on Melbourne cup day
🇦🇺 Following are the comments of an American who lives in Australia :
Australia has a much higher general quality of life. higher minimum wage, better public services, better transportation networks, cleaner and safer cities, better work-life balance in the corporate sector, free healthcare, affordable higher education system, and better regulation of firearms.
Actually these are not important. The laid back culture however is Australia’s signature. Life is short mate!