This week I arrived in Australia on a working holiday visa. In this video I just give my first impression of Australia based on Cairns and Sydney. I've only been here for 2 days though haha
Living the dream...plumber at work dropped his phone into the sewer treatment tank, jumped in it to retrieve his phone, looked up at me and said "Living the dream" that how we use that phrase. Have good one, and welcome.
'Living the dream' is perfectly normal here. People aren't laughing at you, they're just laughing. We normally say it with some sarcastic intent in there, so a laugh is an appropriate response.
I was more surprised that you meant it genuinely. In Australia you’d only ever say that sarcastically. It’s not normal to express that much enthusiasm here in general, except when you’re being sarcastic.
@@gregjameson327 To understand Aussie humour, you must first forget you are from the US. Then the penny will drop. We want to have fun at everyone's expense, but more importantly our own.
Welcome to Australia. I live in Brisbane and it gets humid here but not as muggy as Cairns, and you have arrived in the wet season which is on another level. Hope you enjoy your stay as you are in a beautiful part of the country, but in saying that all of Australia is beautiful and unique cause we have everything from rainforests to desserts to snowfields and everything in between. One final comment is we love and are proud of our country and take pride in it so we keep it clean. You get fined for littering here and you will find that people take issue if they see someone littering. I hope you enjoy checking out our amazing country and make memorable memories.❤️ ❤️
@@gregjameson327I live near Cairns and our Wet Season has been going extra long, if you came here earlier like December last year you would've been under water, Cairns as a whole was under water, the airport was a lake, planes went under 😂, good timing.
Oh, another thing for you to remember. Lots of local shops have fresh food, you don’t need to live on fast food, and tourist traps will charge a lot more, because they rely on passing trade. Avoid those, look for fresh produce like fresh salads, bbq chickens roasted on a spit, and independent family run food places, eg hamburgers made with fresh stuff - you can tell by all the colours in the layers: beef or chicken or crumbed fish (all called burgers here), egg, onions, bacon, tomato, lettuce, beetroot (available on request), and cheese. Keep the paper around it, it helps prevent foods falling out, unless you eat in and have a plate. Avoid food franchises as much as possible, we do it much better, in general. If you’re unsure, watch them cook from outside and see if you approve, because you can find the occasional bad quality shop, although they’re rare due to random inspections by the health department to make sure everyone is sticking to the laws governing foods and drinks etc. Birds being loud all night? No, they sleep from sunset. What you were hearing was most likely flying foxes, a common type of bat in Australia. They fly using sonar, so they’re noisy, whereas birds need to see. The huge white birds you saw with the really long beaks, are birds you may have seen in Egyptology. The Ibis. The Australian Ibis is a waterbird and their natural habitat is the rural wetlands, however Australia had many years of drought and their ponds all dried up, forcing them to look elsewhere for water. They headed east and found the city and suburbs and coastal towns all along the east coast. They have adapted very well to their new habitat, but they also discovered new food sources resulting from the humans’ habit of throwing leftover food into the thousands of rubbish bins supplied by all the councils. Sadly, these amazing birds have been labelled “bin chickens”, a title they don’t deserve because they’re smart and they’re survivors! The fault lies with people who waste food or don’t wrap it properly before throwing it in the bin. We have lots of cockatoos here in Oz, from pink and grey Galahs, to the white Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos, to Black Cockatoos, to smaller parrots like Rosellas, King Parrots and Rainbow Lorikeets. All of them are noisy, but come sunset, after they have jostled for position in the trees and said goodnight to everyone, they sleep till dawn.
@@gregjameson327 Yes, a new sound can do that, but once you get used to them, you sort of don’t notice them anymore, like living near an airport or the railway line. I look forward to your vlogs!
I am literally crying laughing😂😂😂😂. You are telling people ‘I’m living the dream’. Basically you are saying… I’m having a terrible time in Australia. I’m dying😂😂😂
Ppl in Australia are not interested at all, how you doing.😂😂😂. They just using it as a phrase. I am from Europe, came to Sydney 35y ago. To their questions how I am, I replied and said the true,whether was good or bad . I got weird look!!! Btw I live in Sydney, Manly.Here is lots of activities 24/7. However, the humidity here is awful. Enjoy your trip.
Hello from magnificent Melbourne. I hope you enjoy your time in Australia. A better time weatherwise for you to visit Cairns and tropical north Queensland would have been during our winter months, but it's still beautiful❤
Pretty much all Australians, no matter where they live, are woken by birds every morning, especially parrots. We even get parrots in the middle of the desert.
Our prices for food are higher mainly because we have a minimum standard living wage much higher than that of the USA. Therefore you do not have to tip or factor that into the cost of service unless you want to, usually for exceptional service.
@@gregjameson327 yes. Only Liberia, Myanmar/Burma, and US still use the antiquated imperial system! But if you're in any scientific work in the US (eg NASA) you'll be using metric. Anyway mate hope you enjoy your stay here! And never be afraid to ask anyone if you need help with anything:)
Btw calorie is also a metric unit, not imperial. Joule describes kinetic energy (i.e. 1 newtown over 1m), and also electric energy (1 watt for 1 second). Calorie, as the name suggests, describes thermal energy (to heat up 1g water by 1 celsius). Joules is the SI unit. But both are metric units.
Yep I think most American's don't understand how much rain we get here in Aus...especially in tropics Seen some pretty crazy floods in my time. Hope you enjoy your stay.
That rain is a wet season tropical storm. Lesson - avoid the tropics in wet season (there's a good reason prices are so much cheaper. As to kilojoules rather than calories - for quite a few decades now, Australia has used the metric system for all measurements and you'll find distances, speed limits, weights etc in metric units. Food is sold in kilojoules rather than pounds, milk in litres not pints. You'll very quickly get accustomed to them and the easiest way is to start using them all the time.
Enjoy yourself my friend. We say “living the dream” too, but usually when we say it, it’s got a bit of an edge to it. That’s why people are smiling. They’re smiling with you.
Welcome to Australia mate my advice is, try explore the regional areas around Australia coz definitly you'll get the most genuinely friendly locals.. Greetings from Townsvile Qld
When you are close to the equator in the 'wet season' that's the rain you are going to get. While you are here it's better to think less of what's at home and more about where you are. Enjoy all that's new.
OK I'll subscribe!! Welcome to OZ the land of wonder!! Greetings from Perth WA.. Hope you can get here one day..West Coast livin is more relaxed and laid back. (and cheaper ).Cheers from Laz..
Good luck with your time in Australia. Cairns is an interesting choice for your first stay, beautiful green tropics. Try to do a drive up to Mareeba. Sydney is always humid and has no defined dry season but temperatures would be similar to California. You would get a more familiar climate in Perth and Adelaide with dry summers and winter rain. I'm from Perth but I like the tropics.
just to give you some idea how versatile Australia really is today at tarcoola South Australia it was 34C - 93F at Mount Wellington Tasmania it was 1C - 34F
I had to laugh, the ibis in the tree (the large black & white bird) we call Bin Chickens lol coz thats where they get "most" of their food from....have a great stay cheers ~baden~
Welcome mate. Hope you have a great time here! 👍 As an aside you wouldn’t have heard birds after dark here in Sydney as they roost at night. The most noisy night animals are the fruit bats and possums. They screech like buggery and can really startle the unprepared.
Our food prices include the tax on the sticker. Its not added at the check out. Take into account the exchange rate in your favour and no tips, and you really shouldn't be whingeing about the prices. You may also find the food is a better quality. Kilojoules are used because like the most of the world, Australia uses the metric system.
Hey dude good to see you enjoy Australia. You must come to Melbourne as it's the cultural capital of Australia with great restraunts, bars, clubs and music venues.
The bird noise was one of the first things I noticed when I arrived in Australia too.😂 Birds in UK: "tweet tweet." Birds in Australia: "AAAARRGGGHH, AAARRGGHH!"😂
Some of the buildings and areas your are referring to that are a little wonky are old and inner city. They also look like they are used for young tourists who need accommodation on a budget. If these places were newer and better, they would charge much higher rates. Most things that are modern in Australia are generally high quality. Australia has just exceeded the USA for largest houses on average in the world and a lot of the new houses in the suburbs are modern and really nice. The cities vary a lot too and some of them are victim to poor planning and growing too fast. Perth is easily the cleanest city in Australia.
Seriously though, hire a car and drive up to the tablelands, Daintree and outside of Cairns. Use Cairns as a base for the reef and outer more beautiful areas. Watch for the Irukanji deadly jellyfish. Still in the sea this time of year. There are warnings on the beaches.
@@gregjameson327 Only up North. They are called box jellyfish too. Take vinegar with you to the beach and have your phone with you as you need to call 000 if someone gets stung (000 is our emergency line, like 911), but as Ruth said, read the warnings.
Welcome to Australia bro just came across your vlog, if you have time head to Western Australia and come to Margaret river if you want to see the best beaches and surf in Aus ✌️
Building codes in Australia are higher then US codes in Building, safety, food, water and healthcare (examples you have already given are the public transport and pubic areas - higher standards- it reverberates through out the country) its just your staying in a cheap hostel in Sydney not a commercial hotel office building or private home - then you staying in a camping park go cheap get cheap- when I travel overseas I stay in a well known hotel and it makes a huge difference --if I cant afford it I don't travel
Nothing wrong with that brother. You are getting to do what many can't because you're budget conscious on things that probably don't worry you to much. So glad you are getting to see our beautiful country. I hope you're having an awesome time mate😊@@gregjameson327
@@gregjameson327 Imagine I stayed in the cheapest shit holes in the USA it would change my experience compared to a nice hotel - don't travel unless you can afford too
@@marcusversace9423 that's a bit elitist. At least he is travelling outside the US. That in itself is a major thing. Plus backpacking and living with the plebs is a great way to really experience the real world. Some of my greatest experiences have been backpacking through the Middle East and staying with the locals. The poorest tend to be the most friendly and genuine and helpful and hospitable even if they are living in mud huts with dirt floors and thatched rooves.
@@albosmum5210 My father was a builder, so I was shocked to see how flimsy and lax the building standards are in the US compared to here in new housing estates. I am not criticizing his travels, but rather judging a country's building standards, etc. based on cheap trailer parks and hostels. I don't use low-cost planes and have never been in a hostel. Even on full-service aircraft, I have witnessed a significant decline in quality due to competition from budget airlines. And I don't believe in cheap overseas holidays it should remain expensive and of a high standard
It’s wonderful that you are keeping a vlog of your first impressions. In future you can look back and see how your perception and thinking has changed. Allow yourself as much time as you can afford to get a “feel” for wherever you are, explore, travel a bit. You have an entire lifetime of work(ing) lying ahead of you. Everything is new for you at the moment. Wherever you go, things will be different, many things like public transport in all the major Australian cities is likely far better than much of the USA. The cost of living in Australia is definitely very high, but wages are also generally much better…one of many reasons so many New Zealanders cross the “ditch” to work in Australia. Even though the US$ is way stronger than the Au$ is, whenever you start earning Au$ you will stop converting the price of everything back into US$ and always comparing. It takes time, you have the luxury of having time to enjoy yourself. Live the dream….indeed
Welcome! It may take you a bit longer to acclimatise there Cairns is very tropical and laidback most of the time, except tourist season, not a typical Australian city! I can confirm that the woman who helped you in Sydney was an everyday Australian, we have time to chat and we love to help! As James Smith said slow down and experience each day, life is actually far less complicated in Australia and can be what you make it! 🤗
Hahah don’t worry I’ve been taking time to enjoy things as well! Tbh for me a lot of stuff that Aussies would find mundane: grocery shopping, setting up a bank account, etc… has been really fun for me as I find it so interesting seeing how it differs from back home!
That rain, that you referred to as cats and dogs, we just say 'it's pissing down' . Have a great time while you are here. You'll meet all sorts of people and all kinds of slang but it will be rare for people to be rude or laugh at you in a purposeful way. We will laugh with you and we will 'take the piss' (make fun of you) but it is all in fun - it's a way of letting you know you are accepted, lol
The buildings in Sydney vary greatly because it's huge - to the north it's constrained by the Hawkesbury river, to the south there is the Woranora Plateau, to the west the Blue Mountains and to the east the Tasman Sea. If you land in the inner west then most of those buildings were the first built so from the 19th century to the middle of the 20th century. Mostly English population so they reflect the kind of buildings they built over there. Narrow blocks, terrace houses etc. However after WWII Sydney underwent rapid urban expansion with the baby boomers as children, parents needed bigger houses and so if you go north of the harbour you'll see a mixture of red brick freestanding homes on much larger blocks with many architecturally designed homes as you approach the more affluent Northern beaches. The harbourside homes from Double Bay to Bondi and the rest of the eastern beaches reflect the wealth of the area, although there are some very old homes still scattered in there. In the north west we have the McMansions - basically where the baby boomers generation built - lots of two storey project homes, 5 bedrooms plus, swimming pool in every second backyard. I don't know as much about the south but I think once again it's how close you are to the water that determines the property value. To the west used to be the cheapest property so in Emu Plains you'll see a lot of nice but modest cottage style homes with decent backyards but mostly single storey. The bottom line is Sydney is just much, much bigger than San Diego. 4 x the population but only 25% of San Diego's population density and rents on average are actually cheaper in Sydney but because of a housing shortage, not by as much as you would think.
You should get over to Perth sometime. Same climate and vibe as San Diego. Plus some stunning scenery nearby. Rottnest Island and the Pinnacles near Cervantes eg. Rainy season there is from May to October.
You gotta check out the fruit bats. That bird is an Ibis (Bin Chicken). Are you planning to visiting the barrier reef, also suggest checking out the Kurunda rail tour.
lol I'm a Cairns local. Look outside about dusk , you will see heaps of fruit bats ( we call them flying foxes. ) At least today was nice and sunny.@@gregjameson327
Sydney is building the worlds largest metro train system,which is due to open in july this year with a massive underground system as well as above ground with huge numbers a stations and the metro trains will connect to sydneys new second international airport as well. Sydney is massively extending its tram network which has bèen stated to be the worlds best and most modern tram system. Various suburbs including parramatta and surrounding surburbs are now all connected. From young Robert
Public transportation is good in the cities of each state and their urban areas. In the rural areas not so good and the further inland you go the worse it gets and having a car to drive isn't a luxury it's a necessity. Public spaces are generally cleaner because of the armies of contract cleaners who clean them all day. With buildings being right next to each other we can have a building 1m from a dividing fence or property boundary line. A building can be built on the boundary line but special permission must be granted before doing so. Australians enjoy an outdoor lifestyle as the weather is "usually" cooperative in staying sunny for us. Unlike the US where you live to work, here we work to live and free time is very important to all Australians. Unlike the US where the employer gets to decide how much free time you have, here it's legislated in law how much free time you'll have off and no employer can ignore it. Australians are encouraged to take annual leave (vacation time) and if a full time or part time worker it's paid by the employer not taken out of your pay. Sick days are also paid and annual leave can never be taken as sick days as it's illegal unless you're so sick that you run out of sick days then you can ask your employer if you can take annual leave as sick days. Australians are paid a much higher salary in general than people are in the US. The basic hourly rate here right across the country is $23.23c and hour but most are on much more than that. So affording things here can be difficult even for us but if you know how to budget your available money then it's okay. Instead of tracking calories or kilo joules have a look for the "star rating" with no stars or one star being unhealthy and five stars being healthy. Americans love Tim Tam biscuits but they only get half a star rating out of five where as food like wholemeal spaghetti gets five stars out of five. It's much easier than tracking calories. The bird you pointed the camera at is an Ibis also known here as a "bin chicken" for they open wheelie rubbish bins and eat the rubbish food inside only partly mind you and what they don't want the dump on the ground. Magpies known for swooping only swooping in the nesting season and only then if they don't know you and see you as a threat.
Been living in Townsville for a couple of years now, which is 4 hours drive south of Cairns. The summers up here are brutal. It doesn't get as hot as Melbourne does (which is where I'm from), but the humidity makes it worse. I'll never complain about Melbourne weather again!
Everyone compares something to what they know. If you went anywhere you would compare it to what you're familiar with, Aus. Nothing sinister about that.
I know it dumps down in Cairns in the Wet, but it doesn't rain constantly. So enjoy the the rest of the day. You even get some blue sky. The only problem is swimming at the beach and in water holes is probably off the agenda. The beach because of jelly fish and inland because of crocs However, if I remember correctly out on the Reef and on Green Island are safe, but check with the locals.
We use "living the dream" as a low key joke loaded with sarcasm. When something far from ideal happens, or you had to work late, or you dropped your coffee, it's "living the dream", so that's why they laughed 😂
My wife and I loved Australia when we visited it in 2017. We definitely want to rent an apartment for a few months at a time there, while living permanently here in Florida.
Australia has limited land space, quite the opposite of the US, so we tend to build upwards on a smaller footprint. I’ve noticed that the US has square miles of car parking spaces, whereas Down Under, we try to stack the parking above and sometimes under the buildings, especially shopping malls and entertainment venues.
It's interesting what you say about the rent, especially as for us its gone way up with the housing shortages. But its all personal perspective i guess as I've heard a few Americans say the same. They also say that mobile phone bills or recharges are cheaper and even grocery/supermarket shopping is a bit cheaper🤷♀️. In terms of eating out the tourist trap areas are always going to be expensive. That's anywhere in the western world I've found. Locals can usually steer you in the right area for good cheaper feeds. I agree about being a bit more active. Not everyone runs but most do like to get out and walk and be around nature. We are less car reliant than the US in our cities and major towns. Obviously for longer road trips or in small towns with less public transport people rely on cars more. But we use our public transport here a lot. And for little things like ducking up to the local shops for a few things or going to a cafe or whatever most of us dont jump in the car fore very little thing, we walk for shorter trips. (Or ride bikes or e scooters). It's part of the outdoorsy lifestyle, most aussies are connected to our environment and nature. I feel like we need Ans crave that connection. I know for me if it's been raining hard and stuck mostly indoors a week, i start to feel trapped and miss the ocean, the parks and the sun. Very true re the birds (and bats) especially in certain parts of country. Anywhere from 5pm to 7pm is like the witching hours where they just go crazy. 😆. I love our birds though.
Welcome to Australia, you live the dream, enjoy yourself while your here. Us Aussies are so easy to get along with.. Some wise advice be careful of our Big spiders and snakes 😉😉 👍 i'm nsw Take care Greg 🍺
Food etc in Australia, including restaurants, does not add on tax to the advertised price or have tips added to the cost instead of paying a proper wage. In America they add extra costs to so many things that should be standard and free. Try being a tourist in the US from counties who don't see these things as acceptable.
Yes but we have dreaded 10% Sunday and Public Holiday surcharge restaurants and cafes love here in Oz & don't forget about the card surcharge as well 1% to 2% on top. Hard to avoid.
This is minor to the many ad ons that are foisted on one when travelling in the US. For example an only in America "cleaning fee!, a "resort fee" an "internet fee" etc etc when staying in resorts or cruising etc. The "add ons" in Oz are paid to enable workers to rightfully receive a higher wage when working undesirable shifts. It is not on every transaction 365 days/year. Many businesses choose not to open on public holidays and Sundays. The card transaction does not apply in most instances if using eftpos or savings. If you wave your card it will take a fee as it will be taken as a "credit" card. Also you can pay cash. Like they do much of the time in the US. I am going to Hawaii next month for three weeks and have been to the US before. Adding on to basic services in the US has been in too many cases endemic and is getting worse. @@johntowle
Welcome to the Tropical North. Sydney's not a particularly friendly place, so you did well. Big cities have reasonable public transport. Food is more expensive, most of our produce goes overseas. Sydney has always been humid. I think the air gets trapped against the ranges. Plus traffic heating the place up.
