Woman who quit life in New York to move to AUSTRALIA reveals the many ‘American things she didn’t realize were so American’ until she left her home country

Despite living in Australia for almost two years now, American expat Ashleigh Fay says she “really” doesn't think she'll ever stop dealing with random little culture shocks.

The ex-New Yorker, who moved to Hobart, Tasmania for university, often shares stories about her life abroad on social media – and the things that have shocked her since her move.

Ashleigh, who is training as a biologist and physiologist, has shared her biggest shocks since moving; include wages, bank transfers and differences in festive decor.

In a recent one YouTube video, Ashleigh outlined the key differences in her life in the US and Australia.

A major problem was the difference in the price of her phone bill, noting that phone bills in Australia are much cheaper than in the US.

“I was surprised when I lived in New Zealand and when I moved here to Tasmania how cheap phone plans are relatively clear, this is all just relative in my experience,” she said.

Her second shock was the minimum wage in Australia, and it is probably the most 'universally' known difference, but one that still baffles her.

'I'm not making anything up here, but I'm still reminded many times throughout the week how grateful I am to live in a country that pays its workers more than $8 an hour,” she said.

'Casual The rates here are sometimes over $30 an hour in Australia, but if you convert it, that's still about $22 – $23 USD,” she continued in disbelief.

Her third shock was piping hot – literally in color – and describes her first shock when she tasted the ketchup – or tomato sauce as it is known Down Under – and found it 'watery and tasteless'.

'[American] Ketchup has a little more sugar and is a little thicker and is normally more like vinegar,” she described. 'While tomato sauce [in my] experience is much more watery, there's not much flavor in it. I'm sure there's some sugar in them, but hey, they're different and I prefer ketchup.'

Her next shock had to do with the car, but not with driving on the other side of the road.

Instead, Ashleigh said there are many more manual cars in Australia, unlike in America, where most are automatic – and everyone uses their parking brake.

'I [found it] so interesting because growing up I never learned to use the parking brake in an automatic car unless you were parked on a hill,” she explained.

Another big difference was transferring money between bank accounts. While most people in America use Venmo to transfer money, Australian bank accounts can transfer money to each other without a third-party app.

'In the US I learned to hold on [bank details] dear to your heart,” she explained.

'[I was told] “Don't share that with anyone,” but here it's just so informal, it's like “oh yeah, here's my account information,” she said in disbelief.

She explained that in Australia there is a section on banking apps that allows the user to copy someone else's banking details to:

'It's just like that chill and I'm more used to it now,” she said. “In the US, I'm so used to Venmo that it's such an American thing.”

While takeout isn't specific to the U.S., Ashleigh says takeout breakfast is certainly more common in America.

“In the US, it's so normal to grab a breakfast sandwich when you go to get coffee to grab something on the go, as if breakfast on the go is so much more,” she said.

'[Some] Cafes are here, some of them do have bacon and spring rolls, but that's it and not everywhere you can find that,” she continued. 'Like it's not that common [as it is in the US].'

Ashleigh also opened up about her issues with Australian bagels, recalling her description of them in a now-viral TikTok, where she stated that they were “so sad and dense,” but says she enjoys the coffee culture.

Getting used to a more subtle festive decor was also a shock when Ashleigh celebrated her first holiday in Australia.

“I know a lot of Australians are very pro-minimalist, pro-less waste.” 'I hate capitalism [but] I'm in this middle ground,” she admitted.

“I understand that festive decor can sometimes be very wasteful depending on what you buy, but I love Christmas,” she continued.

“Last year was my first Christmas in Australia and it was actually quite sad,” the American expat continued.

I understand never expecting anyone to have such crazy Christmas light displays as we have in the US – especially with the amount of higher energy here, at least in Tasmania,” Ashleigh continued. “But even as cafes or shops, or I don't know, just in the US it's so much more of a big thing.”

The lack of money in Australia also shocked Ashleigh. She explained that since 5 cents is the smallest currency, the price is rounded up to the nearest 5 cents.

The inclusion of tax was also a surprise, noting: 'Obviously in US tax and everything added on top, it's not like here in Australia where almost all prices are included.'

Ashleigh often shares clips of hers live to TikTokwhere she collects millions of views with her Australian discoveries.