An example is that I am Brazilian and people think that all Brazilians like football or know how to dance samba.
For the Australians in this group. What stereotype do foreigners have about you and your country?
Discussion / QuestionListen. That’s the only thing keeping me from visiting. If that’s not the case then what is? I need to know what it’s like realistically because otherwise what you just described will be my default assumption until I die.
I saw just as many spiders inside the house back home in Adelaide/ Melbourne as I do in Chicago. Which is to say, very few.
But the ones in Chicago can't kill you?
Sure but I’m also not going around messing with them in either place. Just leave them be and they won’t care about you ;)
...seems like something a poisonous spider would say to get me to visit AUS.
Hahaha you got me. I am actually a red back spider 🕷️
For real though I brought my American fiance back home with me to aus last year and we even went camping in Uluru (central Australia) in the outback for five days and saw no spiders there either. Actually only saw maybe one weird bug the whole time and he seemed harmless
No way. So you don’t actually check your shoes every time you put them on or….?
Keep ya shoes inside the tent with ya, and tap them upside down a few times before you put them on (that’s ingrained) in our brain from when we are kids. But I don’t have any memory of anything ever actually coming out of my shoes when I did that, more of a reflex
that’s routine where i am in the US too!! Too many crickets 🦗 for us
I guess it's not much different than checking your shoes for cat puke...
Another informative testimony to never go to Australia
I did as a kid. As an adult I forget. I did find one under an outdoor toilet seat once but I'm 40 this year. I've also never seen a funnel Web and we're right in their prime environment
Underrated content lol
It's been several decades since anyone died from a spider bite or a snake bite in Australia.
Most venomous creatures are actually quite shy.
They need their venom in order to survive, and it can take a few days for them to replenish their reserves after biting.
If they bite in defence, they don't get a meal from it, so they lose energy and are left vulnerable.
They only bite out of defence if you are a threat.
Don't try to catch them or kill them and you will be fine.
I don’t know about spider bites but people die from snake bites pretty regularly. Someone died in my city just a couple of months ago from an Eastern Brown bite. Having said that, most people who get bittern by snakes are trying to catch them. If you stay away from them, they’ll stay away from you.
Spiders are venomous.
We don’t eat them . .
The odds of dying from a spider bite in Australia are basically zero. This is a completely irrational fear.
In 2021 in America, there were 14.6 gun related deaths per 100,000 people.
Since 1979 in Australia, there have been zero recorded deaths from spider bite.
You're more likely to get shot in America on your way to the airport than you are to die from a spider bite once you get here.
Agree that America is the worst when it comes to guns. Like, truly terrible.
That's why it's so ridiculous to Australians that Americans claim they are too afraid to come here. I'm not in the least bit afraid of walking through the bush, but I'd be terrified to go to a big event in America, or to a mall, or send my kids to school...
I used to say this to Americans who got a bit too annoying about the whole deadly animal thing:
"You know what doesn't kill you in Australia? School shootings"
The ones in Australia generally can't kill you. Huntsmen are big but non-venomous. White tails and redbacks can give a nasty bite, but they aren't deadly and are pretty easily treated. Funnelwebs are probably the worst, but they only live in certain areas.
But none of our spiders are apex predators. They don't see a human walk into their space and attack. They will really only bite if you are touching them.
You almost certainly won't see any in hotel rooms if you're travelling. They're usually more common in older houses, in the bush, or on farms.
This. Funnel webs are the only actually deadly spider (for humans) and no one has died from one in more than 40 years. Red backs will offer a painful bite but won't actually kill you. Fun fact - I know of someone who has been bitten twice by Redbacks (cleaning gutters and not checking properly for them first). Apparently the nurse said to her on the second visit that she had only ever treated a redback spider bite twice and both times it was her.
They are also not found indoors. Or hardly even above ground for that matter.
The vast majority of all spiders, including huntsmen, are venomous
The thing that comes into play is if they're venomous to medically significant degree, which almost all spiders aren't
But even a cute jumper can give you something akin to a bee sting
The huntsman’s you see in houses in Aus won’t kill you either.
We have a good idea around this in Aus rather than a rule and it goes “don’t poke the spiders” As long as you can follow that you won’t have a problem. I know exactly 0 people who have been bitten by dangerous spiders in the last 45 years.
Get on the plane and have fun mate
Just out of curiosity, do you just have to let the spider/ bug chill in your house? You shouldn’t try to capture & release it outside?
There has not been a death by spider in australia since the 70s
Neither can the more common spiders in Australia. I rarely encounter any of our deadly spiders personally. We don't have bears or mountain lions in Australia, and way fewer nut jobs with guns. So the idea that we're some how less safe the US is hilarious to me.
Look, you have bears - these are bigger than human actual monsters that will tear you apart. The idea that you willingly venture into woods and camp with that knowledge blows my Aussie mind
A bear will only tear you apart if you hike into its territory and provoke it when you see it. Yeah, "provocation" may mean "not lying down and pretending you're dead" in case of brown bears, but it's more or less the same in case of American cops, so I wouldn't exactly call bears "monsters".
Same for spiders and snakes - they will only attack if threatened. We can in most cases just walk away or remove our hand and don’t need to play dead. And yes, the parallel on your law enforcement and social fabric is quite apt - we generally fear a lot less for our lives than in the US even though we have all of the animals that can kill us.
I live in Australia. I want to take the family to the US to see Disney World before my daughter is too old to care, but my wife is too afraid of us getting shot in America. Yep.
I want to go to America for a holiday and my mum keeps begging me not to because she thinks it's too unsafe.
If it makes you feel any better Disney is probably one of the better tourist spots when it comes to security. They ain’t perfect but it’s way better than some amusement parks
Plus it’s way too expensive to pay to get in to just shoot the place up. I would never feel unsafe on Disney property. Maybe that’s naivety but I’m an American living on the east coast and I don’t know a single person who owns a gun.
If you encounter a brown bear your chances aren't very good. Black bears on the other hand you can just yell at which is hilarious to see first hand.
If it's black, fight back. (Black bears are skittish and can be scared off.)
If it's brown, lay down. (Brown bears are too big to win but are generally only aggressive defenders. It's your best odds.)
If it's white, say goodnight. (Polar bears have no instinctive fear of humans and will hunt you. Unarmed you have 0.000% chance.)
Rules for Australia:
- Wear pants and closed shoes when walking in long grass
- Wear gloves when gardening
- Wild animals are not your friend
- Know how to swim, and
- Swim between the flags
Last but not least:
- Vegemite behind your ears when bushwalking scares off Dropbears
Tbh it just sounds like Texas (where I live). Is that for all of the country?? Are there any places with barely any spiders?
Cities. Also depends upon where you are staying. Hotels you will not see any spiders. AirBnB, all bets are off.
The spiders are there btw, you just don't see them. The one you are most likely to see is the Huntsman - large, hairy, brown or grey, and likes houses. Scurries fast. Also very afraid of humans and more likely to run away than bite, and the bite to humans is at most annoying. Many people either leave them alone (they keep down insect levels) or take them outside.
If you are a tourist sticking to the usual destinations, possibly the biggest problem are the flies and, depending upon time of year, swooping magpies (language warning). (Bluey reference, geo-locked video)
Heres my poor man's award for the video, thanks! 🏆
You get spiders but not often. Like, full disclosure I have a huntsmen that lives in my indoor garage somewhere. I call him Gary. We may not speak the same language but we do have an understanding that he lives out there and doesn’t come in the house, so I let him stay in exchange for keeping other bugs and insects at bay. Huntsmen are more scary than they actually are toward humans, they appear scarier because they move rapidly when they think you’re trying to harm them, but more often than not they’re just trying to escape.
Beyond this, we will get occasional redbqcks in places that aren’t frequented often. Places like under garden furniture that hasn’t been used for a while, or under window sills, or in weep holes along the lower brick lines of the house. They might be venomous but they only attack you if you’re stupid enough to provoke them with a finger. So you clear them away with a good size solid stick or a thong.
Also full disclosure, I do kick and shake out my boots that I leave out in the garage. I don’t want to step on Gary by accident.
Some people have spiders, some/most do not. Depends where you are. Farmland, more likely, Manly, unlikely. I suggest Manly Beach.
I bushwalk regularly. I rarely see snakes and almost never see spiders. What else is there to worry about? We don’t have bears etc. And the other dangerous animals are in the sea. That said, I swim in the ocean all the time and have never come up against a shark or what not.
In short, you’d be lucky to see a dangerous animal here. Mostly you won’t see anything but birds.
The big spiders that you are likely to see in homes are huntsmen and they are good boy spiders. They eat the cockroaches and other bastards. You just leave them alone and let them do their thing. Having a 'pet' huntsman is a good thing.
Don't leave shoes outside as you migh get a poisonous bad boy in your shoe. The funnel web likes enclosed tunnels to make its funnel-like webs, and shoes make a nice home for it to hide in. If you've left a shoe out, always give it a check just in case, though it's not likely you'll find one, it's good to be safe. You can also find funnel-webs in holes in the ground, so don't go sticking your hands down burrows for fun!
Our most poisonous spider is a tiny little boy known as a red-back! It is also the most cowardly and, I'd say commonly encountered of the poisonous boys, however it rarely bites as it's just a silly little guy. They make crazy little webs that are also neat!
There isn't a lot to be afraid of from the spiders as, if you're a tourist, you'll most likely be in places that are very safe.
Thank you Aussie stranger this is very helpful
I went to Oz a few years ago for 10 weeks. I did Melbourne, Sydney and then I went up to cairns and drive down to Brisbane - stopping in some pretty remote areas.
I didn’t see one spider, snake, croc or even a wild kangaroo? Saw loads of dead kangaroos on the road however.
Thing I did see which I’m quite sure were poisonous was toads
There's way worse things than spiders in America though haha.
I had a new bloke at work the other day to get me to remove a spider for him. I'm like oooh this must be a big one.
He wasn't going to risk touching it.
I flip the barrel and it's a daddy long legs 😂.
I get rid of it and he says "welcome to Australia" like it's the sign of the times that he's found one daddy long legs.
Do they not exist in other countries?
Hahhaha as soon as this story started I was like oh it’s gonna be a daddy long legs. I’m pretty sure they exist over here. Or at least similar harmless house spiders do. We definitely have worse things here! Not in terms of deadly but in terms of unwanted house guests/ CENTIPEDES/ silverfish. They make me want to vomit on sight
I'm not averse to spiders but roaches are absolutely disgusting to me because I'm a little bit of a germ phobe and I know what they do and where they come from.
But this thing. Scutigera coleoptrata.
I saw one at an exes place and was immediately taken back by it.
It scuttled along the floor at some intense speed it was so gross and made me unease that we needed to give a centipede stilts.
OH ABSOLUTELY NOPE BURN THE HOUSE DOWN
South eastern US here:we definitely have daddy long legs,and most know they are harmless.
I mean, I'm Australian and moved to the UK about 2 years ago and it took me a month or two to adjust to not needing to check the walls of every room I enter for spiders or cockroaches before relaxing.
Where in Australia are you from? I can only speak for Adelaide/ Melbourne but I never even noticed the spiders much, nor roaches but I know some places up north and stuff are probably different
Sydney and surrounds!
Damn those east coast spideys
Legit. I dated a bloke from Mexico once and when I told him I'm Australian, he said "Isn't Australia really dangerous??"
Mate. 😂
Right? My parents live in Perth, I’ve visited many times for months at a time. Saw more spiders and snakes in Florida.
I could probably find a redback in 20 minutes if I went looking outside.
I’ll never understand that idea. We have plenty of terrifying spiders here in the USA and you don’t see memes of Black Widows on the internet.
That's just my animated wallpaper.
I hear that foreigners visiting the US, are sometimes scared of bears.
I've met people from Australia who express their fear of coming to certain parts of the US because we have bears and cougars.
I imagine it's a similar story.
We might have bears and cougars, but they're usually in forests or on mountains, not in populated areas.
Just like Australia may have massive poisonous spiders and other murderous animals, but they're not exactly in your walls all the time.
I personally haven’t ever really thought about bears here but I’m definitely scared of any area in the US that has scorpions
As an American I’m also afraid of the snakes and whatever else you guys have over there, but ultimately am just too poor to visit and find out for myself, which I would love to do.
I for one appreciate that everyone is afraid of those things. Leaves more of Australia for me to explore alone without the other tourists from my country.
We’re not that fancy just because we like tea. I lay in bed, playing on my IPad while eating some Crispity Crunchy Munchy crackerjack snack nibblers pop westpoolchestershireshire queen’s lovely jubbly delights.
Sounds delish!
Happy Cake Day!
People also think we all have an RP accent. My family all sounds like farmers/pirates!
So you don’t all say it like “ouh nouh” ?
I mean, that sounds fancy
That’s the dream
I believed you up until the word “crackerjack”, in terms of snacks, at least.
I hate to break it to you that your stereotype isn’t being fancy - it’s being laidback pranksters. Which you’ve only cemented!
What?
Not so much a stereotype but as an Australian I can't help but feel people in the North hemisphere have a distinct lack of understanding of how hemispheres work. We are taught about them from when we're young and understand seasons are opposite. My nephew has known since he was 8 that it's winter there when it's summer here. However, the amount of comments I see in general (not necessarily this sub) that seem to be in sheer amazement that it's summer at Christmas, spring in October, Autumn at Easter is both amusing and perplexing. I've even seen comments asking in genuine good faith if we have Christmas in July because they understood things to be opposite.
And I've seen this from just as many Europeans as well as Americans so please don't just blame the latter.
Sometimes it gets annoying too - like the time Google decided to label the photos from my August visit to my friend as"Summer of Smiles". Like wtf? It was Winter. You have my location. Are all Google programmers based in the northern hemisphere and not taught about hemispheres either?
We’re not honestly. We are taught geography and that hemispheres exist but it’s not something that gets mentioned a lot. I feel like teachers say it once or twice in a classroom in the same year and it just goes in one ear and out the other.
It’s just not information we’re going to use that much as people who usually only travel to Mexico or Canada.
We probably aren't officially taught more than you guys. It's a question that would come up before school to be honest, we are exposed to a lot of Northern hemisphere based media, follow northern hemisphere based traditions, quite frankly Christmas is supposed to be snowy, right?
But mine is stanking hot, it's almost the opposite of what is in most of the imagery, the season and the tradition often don't match up at all. It's an adjustment we've always had to make in our heads, so it's just natural to us.
I think this is a huge part of it - I grew up in the US in the 80s and was only exposed to American TV shows, movies, and music. Most of what I learned about other countries was from novels or reading the encyclopedia, until I got to college. Friends who grew up in other countries typically saw a lot of American media, so they had a lot more ideas about what to expect when they visited or moved to the US.
I deal with Americans quite a bit as part of work and yes, I find it baffling the number of questions and incredulity about hemisphere seasons too - these are grown adults asking “is it hot at Xmas?”
I mean I can’t imagine you guys celebrating the 4th of July but having it be too cold for a BBQ!
I am so upset that it is almost believable that you think Aussies celebrate the 4th of July. 10/10 well played.
Oh I lived in the US for years and I definitely had people ask me seriously if we celebrated Thanksgiving and July 4
Also that seasons, especially winter, look different depending on where in the world you are. Expanding on that, people don’t seem to realise just how diverse the climate and landscape in Australia is depending on where in the country you are, because they can’t comprehend how big of a land mass we actually are.
For example, we do get snow in Australia, just only in certain parts. Not all of Australia is hot, or dry, or tropical, or desert, or bush. In some places seasonal changes are more obvious in the landscape, with a larger number of deciduous plants that do change colour and lose their leaves. Other places have more evergreen plants so the landscape looks pretty much the same year round, or seasons are marked more by what’s flowering at the time (jacarandas in summer, etc). Or it’s just desert that looks like desert. Even areas of the same state will look very different depending on where you are in that state, and that east and west coasts also differ greatly.
In the book Eichmann in my Hands, the author Peter Malkin talks about when they went to Argentina to begin their stakeout. They arrived in April. On the cab ride from the airport, they commented about how cold it was. The cab driver commented, "Yeah, it's April." Malkin jokes about how the world's greatest intelligence agency wasn't prepared for different seasons in the southern hemisphere.
That's hilarious.
Honestly it's probably largely to do with the fact that 90% of the world population lives in the Northern Hemisphere. So everything is going to be seen through a Northern-Hemisphere-centric lens when it comes to things like Christmas and season's.
That is crazy! Especially the Google portion. Like you are right. They should know better. Should be able to program for that.
But I will tell you, as an American. I will gladly blame Americans for most things.
Damn Americans. They ruined America.
(Tried to make a silly Simpsons reference but realized I should have been saying 'Merica because we, the people of the United States, are not the whole of the Americas. There's more around us and a whole South America too... lol)
Talk about automatic tagging, I’m an Indonesian and iphone groups my photos based on the four seasons. Winter 2023… winter? Indonesia?
I grew up in America and Canada as a child and no they do not teach about how hemispheres work, just that they exist. The only reason I knew about how they worked is because my family is kind of spread out so I had relatives in both hemispheres.
For the people
Well at least for Bali, we're a bunch of bogans who drink way too much and can be a bit unruly. For the rest of the world? That we're laid back larrikans who drink a tonne, live, breathe, and die Vegemite while also being generally good natured despite our self-depreciating and rough/crass style humour.
For the country
Kangaroos, insane wildlife, Steve Irwin, crocodile Dundee, the home place of some singer that's big with the young girls abroad (think Dean Lewis), basically British, prisoners, shrimp on the Barbie, a dingo ate my baby... All the usual
I'm in the uk and have started using the word bogans!
Bogans?
Oh, a hick. Got it.
Usually less insulting and a bit different but yeah sure
I mean, “Bloke” by Chris Franklin is the Australian National anthem after all
I'll have to listen to that on the way to work...
Nah dude, we all love Kylie Minogue. Sorry about it. She’s a treasure.
We Brits thank you for her.
So explain the Bali thing to me because I see its not too far but like when Uncle Rad vacays in Bali is that common and is Australia full of people from Bali or vise versa
Yes holidaying to Bali is pretty cheap and in some cases cheaper than going to other parts of Australia. Because of this there are a LOT of Aussies that holiday there and, like with any crowd, the more you have for cheaper, the more likely you'll have a few bad actors unfortunately
Hmm see from an American standpoint Bali is like for super rich people you hear the snobby rich elite talk about it so when I hear cheap and Bali I'm just like whhhaa?!?!? What about The Philippines do yall vacay there usually too?
Bali for Aussies is like cancun for US peeps or Tenerife for UK
Ugh will trade Cancun for Bali any day of the week
Yeah... We don't have the best reputation there cause there's so many of us that go there but yes we do (and geographically I'd think of it like what the Bahamas is to you if you live in the lower eastern portion of the US)
Bali is cheap for people from developed countries once you get there. I mean, even for us Indonesians, Bali is a middle class destination.
I guess for Americans it’s the price and time to fly there?
I had never heard the word “larrikan” until today. I’m uncultured as an American I suppose, and don’t know the difference between a bogan and a larriken? Is there a difference? Can someone help me?
A larrikan is a jokester who likes to laugh all the time while bogan would be parallel to your redneck; similar but different. A good example if you need one would be your uncle who goes to the pokies (slot machines) after work, which is a trade job) whose main hobby consists of drinking and cheap thrills
Larrakins have a bit more of a darker history than that, historically they were troublemakers and lawbreakers- it’s weird we use the word to describe anyone in a good light tbh let alone politicians connecting themselves often with the term.
lol, recently learned the word larrikin from Bandit Heeler's Wikipedia page
Honestly, the first Aussie I met was at a bring-your-own grilling to a housewarming in Brooklyn. He brought shrimp and was all yeah I put the shrimp on the barbie and I'm Aussie. Had an interesting conversation with him.
The Russians have taken the spot of the limelight from the bogans these days.
I mean to be fair, Steve Irwin was a world treasure. He was the greatest thing to ever come out of Australia. Anyone who says they hate Steve Irwin should not be trusted.
The sad part is that when he was alive you'd actually have a tonne of people who didn't like him as they saw him as harassing animals. Then the second he died he reached sainthood and most of those disappeared or went quiet
I could never have imagined seeing him as anything but loving animals. It was always so obvious in the way he talked about them and the great amount of respect he had for them.
He was a hero.
All of Australia is hot
All Australians like Vegemite
All Australians ride to school/work in a kangaroo pouch and have spiders in their walls
Summer is in winter like in America
ALL AUSTRALIANS SAY SHRIMP.
And of course… people think we box kangaroos. Kangaroos have strong tails. We could die. (I think) the fists probably won’t do much.
Considering my toes are blue despite currently being rugged up in my warmest dressing gown, flanos and thick socks, in QLD, id like to formally lodge a dispute against the “hot” stereotype
Total Vegemite lover tho
How bloody cold did it get? I’m in Brisbane and going to the broncos game tonight and wondering if I’ll regret not putting on my thermals under my jeans and jersey.
It got down to 6 last night at my place north of bris. Its meant to at least stay in double digits tonight
I must be similar area to you, as also north Bris. But like Moreton bay north. It’s the breeze today that is getting me. Bit bloody fresh. I think it’s meant to die down over the day. At least it’s not also raining.
That whole shrimp thing comes from a tourism ad that Paul Hogan did I think the reason why he said “shrimp” and not “prawn” is because the ad was made for the US so it made to be aired in the US
True Australians like Vegemite.
Oh and I say prawns not shrimp so props to you
“British Texans” is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard
I only think of that when I hear the accent. Some Australian accents, like Rusty's broad one, sound like what a Southern accent is to an American. Americans have a southern version their typical accent, and the broad Australian accent sounds like the southern (though geographically it's very different) version of a typical English accent. That's what it feels like when I practice both.
Now, saying Australians are British Texans IS stupid. Culturally, that's not even close. Texans are way too proud of their state, make things ridiculously big, and are too ass-backwards about a lot of stuff to be compared to the culture of Australians. I am a Texan, by the way.
One thing I didn’t know about Australia until I went there was beets on burgers and it was AMAZING.
Yep. But we never call them “beets”. It’s beetroot every time.
*beetroots not beets
Oh really? Is that an Australian thing?
Oh yes, your standard burger from the fish and chip shop would have a slice or two of pickled beetroot and Mc Donald’s and Hungry Jacks offer an “Aussie Burger” and that’s what makes it Aussie
I thought it was jam the first time and I was like, "Eww gross, they put JAM on their burgers here?" And I ate it and my eyes turned into Bingo's when she ate the adult ketchup.
NO WAY! I never knew it was an Australian thing, I just assumed it was a controversial topping like the pickles and that’s why I didn’t see it on TV much. Thanks for this new info!
You want a burger with the works. That has lettuce, tomato, onion, egg, bacon, beef patty (or steak if it’s a steak works burger), pineapple, cheese and beetroot, and usually a bbq or tomato sauce. But it’s a sweet bbq sauce, not a Smokey one. I usually get a works burger without the egg and bacon. And it will get soggy and fall apart as you eat it, and you will practically have to dislocate your jaw to take a bite.
I'm a kiwi but I know no Australian drinks Foster's.
You struggle to even buy Forster's in Australia, whereas iirc it's the second most drink beer in the UK after Guinness.
I spoke to people who genuinely believed we rode kangaroos to school
Sure would be a lot cooler if you did, though...
not for the kangaroos
People think they could outfight a Kangaroo.
People are wrong.
Was your emu at the vet?
On their back or in the pouches?
I’d rather ride an emu. Less bouncing around and more entertaining.
Literally 90% of the content in this sub!! I love the part how so many comments on here start with “as an American”… 🤨
This is offensive. None of us can afford a backyard.
I have one, but it’s too full of spiders, snakes, crocodiles and kangaroos to be able to use it. I did once and something bit me and I died, so I don’t anymore.
The stereotype doesn’t reflect the fact that Australians are from a super diverse range of backgrounds and ethnicities.
An American stereotype I hate is that we’re all dumb. Yeah, some of us are, but we are required to have an education. It’s the dumber ones who are the loudest, giving us That sour stereotype.
if you can fake a proper posh british accent, they'll start giving you "you're all smart" stereotypes instead!
Which one? A proper Black Country accent won't make you sound smart.
Think of the average human, and then realize more than half are dumber than that
I legitimately did not know that was a stereotype. 'Salt of the earth' types maybe, but never had even in inkling of an impression that ya'll were dumb.
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The stereotypes I have come against are ironically reenforced by other Aussies because they think it’s funny. These are:
We all swear all the time We have dangerous animals jumping out all over the place trying to kill us
Also people assume it’s hot here all the time. I’m currently rugged up on the lounge with a beanie on. We have alpine regions. It’s snowed in one place (Orange NSW) on Christmas Day once.
The swearing thing is so cringey and fake.
Oh tell me about it. We might occasionally refer to someone as a dickhead or wanker. But the way some Aussie Redditors carry on it’s like we drop the C bomb in every conversation. It’s nothing like that in reality.
I’m not sure if this is a stereotype, but it seems to me that Australians, in general, are direct and deliberate in what they say.
This isn’t a bad thing! I like when I know exactly what someone is trying to convey.
But could be wrong. Apologies if I’m incorrect!
Up to a point, yes. But there’s still the stupid corporate double-speak culture around, even though we’re far less traditionally hierarchical when talking to each other. I didn’t realise how willing to stand up and point out bullshit we are until I learned a bit about other countries from - you guessed it - the internet!
That we are all white... Umm what?
im not from austrailia i am canadian but what drives be bonkers is mostly americans thinking our only weather is freezing cold and we all love/play/watch hockey
And that you say eh all the time, pronounce about as aboot and are nice to a fault
At least that's the stereotype Ive heard of as an Aussie
yea that one sucks too we got stuck with "being to nice" as well 🙄
Oh I meant the stereotype us Aussies heard about Canadians but yeah.... It still sucks... Just like how for ours it's we're laid back and carefree but nowadays that holds less and less true unfortunately
Same with Canada and politeness. It definitely feels like people are just being run too ragged to be polite anymore.
Then again, I'm Canadian, so maybe my standards for politeness are just too high.
Sorry about that.
Us Mericans think like....
Coming from North Dakota Canada border here and I can confirm there are in fact at least two seasons, winter and road construction
That describes Michigan pretty well.
Often people expect it to be whiter than it is. Whenever friends visit from overseas, they're surprised at the diversity, especially at how many of us are Asian (over 17% of Australians have Asian ancestry).
That we all love cricket.
Cricket is absolutely the most boring game in the world that isn't some weird niche stuff like curling or whatever.
It's slow. It's lame. It takes days to play. Ugh.
I prefer American football. And I've watched a handful of Aussie rules games in my whole life. Most of them were grand finals because I was at a party for it.
But you all love Yahoo Serious right?
LMAO the famously fast-paced American Football lol.
I’m American and have never met an Australian person but 100% the stereotypes are “Shrimp on the Barbie” and “Outback Steakhouse” right?
Crocodile Dundee! And Steve Irwin the Crocodile hunter. Both have led me to believe that there are a lot of crocodiles in Australia and all the people love them and live in the Outback.
Whenever I think of Australia I think of a bunch of Paul Hogans and Steve Irwins running around
About 90% of Australians live on the coastline haha. That’s why we have massive landmass but only about 25 million people. Theres a whole lot of land that doesn’t get used because people like living near the beach
Ok, so I grew up around where Crocodile Dundee was filmed. There are an absolutely huge amount of crocs up there. When I was a kid you could swim and canoe and fish in the river and not be too worried. Now, no way would I do that, it’s way too risky. The issue is that they used to cull them way back when but then decided to stop, and now their numbers have increased massively and they are everywhere in the water ways. Google Cahill’s Crossing Crocodiles. Not every river is like that, but it’s a good indication on how many there can be. Someone I went to school with was even taken by one when swimming across a river on a drunken dare. You don’t mess with crocs.
It’s funny because neither of those things are typically Australian
We say prawns not shrimp and Outback Steakhouse, ?, never seen one
It’s just called Steakhouse in Australia 😂
I mean, we have Outback Steakhouse here too. I’ve never been, but there is one like 20mins away from me.
I’ve been there once. It’s alright, nothing special. They do got a good bloomin onion tho
im not a australian, but i have always thought of you mates as UK people that had reached their final form
I think of them as Brits that get enough sun so they aren't as grumpy all the time
i mean, that is a valid perspective as well. pana, the brits need to go to the beach for a change.
Are insects really as common over there as they say?
Insects are common everywhere? lol
How common do they say they are? I mean, I've been to other countries, and I've never noticed more or less bugs than here.
As an American, I can safely say that we think much more fondly of them then they do off us (generally)... and for good reason. LOl
For the kiwis- that Australians have a rivalry with New Zealand. It’s just not really a thing, we think you’re all lovely.
But what if I really do ride a kangaroo to school every day?
Oh I can tell you one. All Aussies live in fear every moment of their lives because, everything is trying to kill them. Spiders, centipedes, millipedes, kangaroos, snakes, sharks, crocs, jellyfish, octopus (world's only poisonous one), fish, birds (cassowaries), mosquitos, plants (gympie-gympie, milky mangrove, deadly niteshade, hemlock, lantana, etc.), trees (strychnine tree), flowers (castanospermum australe), air, storms, etc.
How does one survive?! LOL
OH I FORGOT!!! The dirt is trying to kill you too. Melioidosis bacteria in the dirt.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-05-05/deadly-soil-bacteria-kills-10-people-in-nt/423450
I'm English and my best friend who is from Pakistan always calls me tea slurper😆
That we’re laid back and friendly. Australians are pretty uptight, judgemental, conservative and cliquey. Life in Australia is pretty stressful; our jobs/corporate culture and housing market make life here pretty difficult, which puts further pressure on us as people, but it’s a lot deeper than that too. Australia was colonised by the British empire as a place to house their criminals. The criminals basically built their own prison and this extends to today. Australia is a highly regulated society and everyone follows the rules and anyone who falls outside the rather narrow norm gets bullied, but it’s also highly individualistic and people will often do things without thinking about how it affects others and when an affected person or group brings this up, they rarely get an apology, they just get abused and gaslit.
An example of this is I used to work with someone who had moved here from Spain. They were very worldly, educated and spoke several languages and had lived in the UK and Belgium as well. One day they got a parking ticket when they went out to a work meeting in a company car and parked the car facing the opposite way on the street. The street was a minor inner city street, not a main road and the car was not blocking anyone’s access. Firstly, it’s a stupid rule but also everyone at work castigated them for getting a ticket, even co-workers “you can’t do that” was the refrain and everyone judged them and the person managing the cars at work got up them about the ticket as well. My Spanish colleague was quite shocked at how everyone made such a big thing about a minor parking ticket and how everyone was so unquestioning about the rules and regulations, even when they don’t make a lot of sense.
Laid back is one of the last stereotypes I’d use to describe the national personality here
I have to ask, mate…are you okay?
There)# a lot of anger in this comment
Is there? I’m just pointing out a falsehood about Australians being laid back, because it’s not my experience and it’s not the experience of other people I know either.
Visit any of the Australian subreddits and this is not an uncommon view
Accent
I’m an Aussie living in the US and the thing people ask me the most is how we live with so many scary big spiders everywhere as if they’re just all over our walls 24/7 or something