6 ms·

An Aussie in NY

64 points by bhoung 16y ago

weeksie 16y ago
It's a pretty spot on comparison. I moved here from Sydney about 3 years ago and feel basically the same. Though I don't have the same aversion to tipping that he has, probably because I (having grown up in the US before immigrating to Oz) understand how to work the system—particularly in bars. As for the unicycle/mustache thing, I lived in Newtown in Sydney, and that sort of thing wouldnt have garnered more than a doubletake there either ;) Still, I miss my four weeks of vacation and my stress free access to medical care. Oh yeah, and the extremely efficient government agencies. The difference between Aussie immigration (DIMIA) and American (DHS) is striking.
- shimi 16y ago
  You can pretty much get away with anything in Newtown :-)
cletus 16y ago
I too am an Aussie in NYC, having moved last November for work (in my case, Google). NYC is an amazing city, particularly if you're willing and able to pay the exorbitant Manhattans rents. Or you're sufficiently socially skilled and/or lucky to partake in the great private welfare system that is rent stabilization (and rent control but that's mostly irrelevant these days). To me NYC exemplifies Western capitalism, both the good and bad parts. There'd is incredible commerce--and wealth--here. But there's also poverty and homelessness for those tha have fallen through the cracks in the system. One thing America excels at is service, whether it be retail, restaurants, businesses or whatever. Ther are of course exceptions but for those Americans who complain about service: compare it to most other Western countries and you'll appreciate it that much more. Despite all that the American experiment seems broken--eve dying. Health care is a disaster (not that I'm necessarily advocating public health care). Social security is a ticking time bomb. Most governments are in serious debt, even to crisis levels. Once you see cities and possibly states default (or just require a bailout) you'll see a fresh eave of financial scandals. Wall Street seems addicted to debt, to the point of being the engine of financial collapse. Most Americans live beyond their means. America has a number of engineering marvels from the 20th century that look like not being repeated any time soon. They're simply not economical anymore. Think the Moon landings, the Golden Gate bridge, the Hoover Dam, etc. A lot of the country seems to be in decay. The culture seems increasingly fractured. Honestly it reminds me of the dying days of the Roman Empire. I'm sure there was incredible wealth in Rome the day before it was sacked. Still, it's hard to argue with a fresh mozzarella slice from Bleecker Street Pizza. Oh as far as tipping goes, I agree it's strange and I often have to check tipping etiquette in various situations but remember it isn't mandatory (built in service charges in restaurant bills notwithstanding). Example: last week I took a cab from SFO to Mountain View (expensive!) and the driver had no clue. He kept going the wrong way, asking for directions from my phone, ignoring me telling him which exits to take, etc. I didn't feel bad stiffing him on the tip although he still felt entitled to it.
- pacemkr 16y ago
  Your use of the phrase "the American experiment" is pretentious, especially when you call it broken. We're a country and people with fundamental, albeit continually debated, beliefs. We have a governance system with which people can engage directly and peacefully to affect almost any aspect of their lives. Hence, the saying "thing's are broken" is entirely empty. The magic of America is that you can shape the system; it's a matter of persistence. Things are not perfect, but we're riding on a solid foundation and I wouldn't bet against that.
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
    - pacemkr 16y ago
      "the American experiment seems broken--eve dying" That's the exact way it was used and it is pretentious, because it dismisses our culture and country as something fleeting. The phrase "the American experiment" may be a common phrase, but it doesn't say "we are fundamentally unique compared to other democracies;" it simply says "our exact experience is unique." Same can be said, with meaning, for any country.
- mconnors 16y ago
  Forget manhattan, outer boroughs are much better.
  - weeksie 16y ago
    The outer boroughs are different, not better or worse (except Staten Island, that's worse). I love Brooklyn and Queens, but I am very happy living in Manhattan. It doesn't have to be a pissing contest, NYC is a big place with a whole fuckload of awesome going on; it'd be silly to limit yourself either way.
    - mconnors 16y ago
      OK, I see your point, as long as we can all agree new jersey really sucks.
Lewisham 16y ago
I think this article perhaps focuses a little bit too much on the negatives :) I'm an Englishman living in California, and I don't really plan to leave here. I like it here. I like the people, I like the weather, and I like the way things generally work from day-to-day. It's really easy to latch onto things that seem, to my eyes, badly broken, like health care, but forget that otherwise, things are pretty sweet. Sometimes, people ask me what I think of the US. And I might mention health care or something, and they'll reply, "Yeah, the US sucks, huh?" My usual response is "If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be here." What I don't really understand is that, at least in California, it seems most people see all the bits that are broken, and know they are. And then you get a President who is actually trying to at least place a band-aid over the wounds, and you get cries of Socialism and Nazis. That's the insidious bit of America that I can't stand: America is a country that constantly wants to, and tries to, reinvent itself. To always move towards betterment, as individuals, and as a country. And yet there are a great many vocal people who succeed in holding it back. The ills of today could be gone tomorrow, but they won't be, and that's a shame for everyone.
- frossie 16y ago
  I think this article perhaps focuses a little bit too much on the negatives :) I'm an Englishman living in California Well, I can imagine reasons why the experience of an Australian in New York is not the same as an Englishman's in California. For one thing, in my experience the English are really, really happy to be living somewhere with good weather (see the UK's effective migration to Spain). :-) I think the point that the OP is making is that countries have their good points and bad points, and you need to be aware of that lest you over-praise or over-criticise your own.
- endtime 16y ago
  >America is a country that constantly wants to, and tries to, reinvent itself. To always move towards betterment, as individuals, and as a country. And yet there are a great many vocal people who succeed in holding it back. This is kind of a partisan viewpoint. Both sides of the aisle believe that they are working towards the betterment of the country - they just have differing ideas on how to do so.
ry0ohki 16y ago
As an American who worked in Australia, I can vouch that you guys (luckily) don't share our same crazy work ethic. I was practically alone in the office of a large corporation once the clock struck 4pm on a Friday. I think you'd fit in well in New York though because they have the same teasing sense of humor that I found everywhere down under.
- forinti 16y ago
  As a Brazilian who has worked with Europeans and Americans, I have to tell you that we work a lot more down here. Workdays are usually 8h30 to 18h15, as we have 44h weeks and lunchtime is not included! On the other hand, we do have 30 day vacations plus the holidays.
- kijeda 16y ago
  As an Australian in California, and having lived and worked in two European countries too, I'd say that Australians work less hours but actually are more focused when they do work. I see a lot Americans at work, but not doing work. Long lunches, chatting to colleagues around the office, browsing websites etc. seems to be far more prevalent in American workspaces.
  - Dylanlacey 16y ago
    Interestingly, I once read a study that said that Aussies do the most overtime of any western nation, which seemed off. Shrug
shimi 16y ago
I'm a not born Aussie who lives in CA. The post was fun to read and I can pretty much agree with everything. One difference that I spotted was the accent barrier. For non English speakers Australia can be painful it doesn't matter how good your English is you find yourself repeating your sentences, or spell out every name in the family including my boys English names (no Aussie could understand the name Dean when it came out out of my mouth). In California no such issues (I felt vindicated when I moved over here) only comments that my English is too British (which is the result of the effort I put to get Aussies to understand me). Another thing that I miss about Australia is that life aren't serious, every man is with in his right to make an arse of himself any now and then and that's just fine. One thing that I don't miss is the property obsession, everything in Australia is about the property. We don't build proper highways because we can stuff in a few more units, we don't build a railway because it will generate noise which will hurt the property market in that area. If you want to build a startup it will sense only if it will: speed up building property, help people pay the mortgage on the property, help banks claim the mortgage on the property etc... All I want to add is that I do wish the Health / Education to be here as in Australia.
- Dylanlacey 16y ago
  Uh, you might have missed it, but there isn't much usable land in Australia. That's why we're obsessed with property: There's not much for it. Starting housing prices in the greater Brisbane area are about $400K. You can go down to $300K if you're willing to live an hours drive out of the city (Which means 1.5 --> 2 hour commute when there's traffic). Sydney is worse, much worse. Housing prices all over the country are insane, and not going to get better any time soon. When I hear about housing prices in America pre-collapse, I just laugh.

64 points by bhoung 16y ago

It's a pretty spot on comparison. I moved here from Sydney about 3 years ago and feel basically the same. Though I don't have the same aversion to tipping that he has, probably because I (having grown up in the US before immigrating to Oz) understand how to work the system—particularly in bars. As for the unicycle/mustache thing, I lived in Newtown in Sydney, and that sort of thing wouldnt have garnered more than a doubletake there either ;) Still, I miss my four weeks of vacation and my stress free access to medical care. Oh yeah, and the extremely efficient government agencies. The difference between Aussie immigration (DIMIA) and American (DHS) is striking.

shimi 16y ago
You can pretty much get away with anything in Newtown :-)

cletus 16y ago

I too am an Aussie in NYC, having moved last November for work (in my case, Google). NYC is an amazing city, particularly if you're willing and able to pay the exorbitant Manhattans rents. Or you're sufficiently socially skilled and/or lucky to partake in the great private welfare system that is rent stabilization (and rent control but that's mostly irrelevant these days). To me NYC exemplifies Western capitalism, both the good and bad parts. There'd is incredible commerce--and wealth--here. But there's also poverty and homelessness for those tha have fallen through the cracks in the system. One thing America excels at is service, whether it be retail, restaurants, businesses or whatever. Ther are of course exceptions but for those Americans who complain about service: compare it to most other Western countries and you'll appreciate it that much more. Despite all that the American experiment seems broken--eve dying. Health care is a disaster (not that I'm necessarily advocating public health care). Social security is a ticking time bomb. Most governments are in serious debt, even to crisis levels. Once you see cities and possibly states default (or just require a bailout) you'll see a fresh eave of financial scandals. Wall Street seems addicted to debt, to the point of being the engine of financial collapse. Most Americans live beyond their means. America has a number of engineering marvels from the 20th century that look like not being repeated any time soon. They're simply not economical anymore. Think the Moon landings, the Golden Gate bridge, the Hoover Dam, etc. A lot of the country seems to be in decay. The culture seems increasingly fractured. Honestly it reminds me of the dying days of the Roman Empire. I'm sure there was incredible wealth in Rome the day before it was sacked. Still, it's hard to argue with a fresh mozzarella slice from Bleecker Street Pizza. Oh as far as tipping goes, I agree it's strange and I often have to check tipping etiquette in various situations but remember it isn't mandatory (built in service charges in restaurant bills notwithstanding). Example: last week I took a cab from SFO to Mountain View (expensive!) and the driver had no clue. He kept going the wrong way, asking for directions from my phone, ignoring me telling him which exits to take, etc. I didn't feel bad stiffing him on the tip although he still felt entitled to it.

pacemkr 16y ago
Your use of the phrase "the American experiment" is pretentious, especially when you call it broken. We're a country and people with fundamental, albeit continually debated, beliefs. We have a governance system with which people can engage directly and peacefully to affect almost any aspect of their lives. Hence, the saying "thing's are broken" is entirely empty. The magic of America is that you can shape the system; it's a matter of persistence. Things are not perfect, but we're riding on a solid foundation and I wouldn't bet against that.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
  - pacemkr 16y ago
    "the American experiment seems broken--eve dying" That's the exact way it was used and it is pretentious, because it dismisses our culture and country as something fleeting. The phrase "the American experiment" may be a common phrase, but it doesn't say "we are fundamentally unique compared to other democracies;" it simply says "our exact experience is unique." Same can be said, with meaning, for any country.
mconnors 16y ago
Forget manhattan, outer boroughs are much better.
- weeksie 16y ago
  The outer boroughs are different, not better or worse (except Staten Island, that's worse). I love Brooklyn and Queens, but I am very happy living in Manhattan. It doesn't have to be a pissing contest, NYC is a big place with a whole fuckload of awesome going on; it'd be silly to limit yourself either way.
  - mconnors 16y ago
    OK, I see your point, as long as we can all agree new jersey really sucks.

Lewisham 16y ago

I think this article perhaps focuses a little bit too much on the negatives :) I'm an Englishman living in California, and I don't really plan to leave here. I like it here. I like the people, I like the weather, and I like the way things generally work from day-to-day. It's really easy to latch onto things that seem, to my eyes, badly broken, like health care, but forget that otherwise, things are pretty sweet. Sometimes, people ask me what I think of the US. And I might mention health care or something, and they'll reply, "Yeah, the US sucks, huh?" My usual response is "If I didn't like it, I wouldn't be here." What I don't really understand is that, at least in California, it seems most people see all the bits that are broken, and know they are. And then you get a President who is actually trying to at least place a band-aid over the wounds, and you get cries of Socialism and Nazis. That's the insidious bit of America that I can't stand: America is a country that constantly wants to, and tries to, reinvent itself. To always move towards betterment, as individuals, and as a country. And yet there are a great many vocal people who succeed in holding it back. The ills of today could be gone tomorrow, but they won't be, and that's a shame for everyone.

frossie 16y ago
I think this article perhaps focuses a little bit too much on the negatives :) I'm an Englishman living in California Well, I can imagine reasons why the experience of an Australian in New York is not the same as an Englishman's in California. For one thing, in my experience the English are really, really happy to be living somewhere with good weather (see the UK's effective migration to Spain). :-) I think the point that the OP is making is that countries have their good points and bad points, and you need to be aware of that lest you over-praise or over-criticise your own.
endtime 16y ago
>America is a country that constantly wants to, and tries to, reinvent itself. To always move towards betterment, as individuals, and as a country. And yet there are a great many vocal people who succeed in holding it back. This is kind of a partisan viewpoint. Both sides of the aisle believe that they are working towards the betterment of the country - they just have differing ideas on how to do so.

ry0ohki 16y ago

As an American who worked in Australia, I can vouch that you guys (luckily) don't share our same crazy work ethic. I was practically alone in the office of a large corporation once the clock struck 4pm on a Friday. I think you'd fit in well in New York though because they have the same teasing sense of humor that I found everywhere down under.

forinti 16y ago
As a Brazilian who has worked with Europeans and Americans, I have to tell you that we work a lot more down here. Workdays are usually 8h30 to 18h15, as we have 44h weeks and lunchtime is not included! On the other hand, we do have 30 day vacations plus the holidays.
kijeda 16y ago
As an Australian in California, and having lived and worked in two European countries too, I'd say that Australians work less hours but actually are more focused when they do work. I see a lot Americans at work, but not doing work. Long lunches, chatting to colleagues around the office, browsing websites etc. seems to be far more prevalent in American workspaces.
- Dylanlacey 16y ago
  Interestingly, I once read a study that said that Aussies do the most overtime of any western nation, which seemed off. Shrug

shimi 16y ago

I'm a not born Aussie who lives in CA. The post was fun to read and I can pretty much agree with everything. One difference that I spotted was the accent barrier. For non English speakers Australia can be painful it doesn't matter how good your English is you find yourself repeating your sentences, or spell out every name in the family including my boys English names (no Aussie could understand the name Dean when it came out out of my mouth). In California no such issues (I felt vindicated when I moved over here) only comments that my English is too British (which is the result of the effort I put to get Aussies to understand me). Another thing that I miss about Australia is that life aren't serious, every man is with in his right to make an arse of himself any now and then and that's just fine. One thing that I don't miss is the property obsession, everything in Australia is about the property. We don't build proper highways because we can stuff in a few more units, we don't build a railway because it will generate noise which will hurt the property market in that area. If you want to build a startup it will sense only if it will: speed up building property, help people pay the mortgage on the property, help banks claim the mortgage on the property etc... All I want to add is that I do wish the Health / Education to be here as in Australia.

Dylanlacey 16y ago
Uh, you might have missed it, but there isn't much usable land in Australia. That's why we're obsessed with property: There's not much for it. Starting housing prices in the greater Brisbane area are about $400K. You can go down to $300K if you're willing to live an hours drive out of the city (Which means 1.5 --> 2 hour commute when there's traffic). Sydney is worse, much worse. Housing prices all over the country are insane, and not going to get better any time soon. When I hear about housing prices in America pre-collapse, I just laugh.