An American expat was left ‘stunned’ after walking through an Australian shopping center for the first time.
The young woman from California has gained a TikTok following of more than 17,400 people by sharing her experiences under the username @beefystuu.
This week the 26-year-old ‘felt like she was in Dubai’ as she browsed the shops at Karrinyup shopping center in Perth and couldn’t believe the selection of shops, restaurants, pharmacies and discount stores.
She was amazed by the ‘posh’ bathrooms, the butcher and how customers can travel between different shops with a trolley.
“Shopping centers in Western Australia, or maybe just Australia as a whole, are just so much better than those back home,” she said in a video.
The 26-year-old walked around Perth’s Karrinyup shopping center in awe and couldn’t believe her eyes as American shopping centers only have clothing and shoe stores with fast food restaurants.
She filmed herself walking through the mall and was left in disbelief as American malls only have clothing and shoe stores with fast food restaurants.
‘This is a shopping center and they have a fresh food market! America could never do that,” she said.
‘What also baffles me is that people from one store put everything in a cart, then walk around the shopping center and still take the cart. You don’t see that in the United States.
‘This is crazy. Everything you can think of can be found here.
“Honestly, if you just added some apartments to this mall, you’d probably never have to step foot outside this building to stay alive — it’s that crazy.”
Speaking of US shopping centres, she said: ‘Some are very nice, but you won’t find supermarkets or an abundance of specialty stores. Just a lot of designer stores and that’s it. Others are just plain ghetto and embarrassing.”
“Shopping centers in Western Australia, or maybe just Australia as a whole, are just so much better than those back home,” she said in a video
The young solo traveler also told FEMAIL that she immediately fell in love with Australia shortly after landing.
“The whole experience has been really humbling for me. I love the vegetation and wildlife you have and how everyone looks after each other. “I’m learning a lot,” she said.
She was almost moved to tears when she saw children taking public transport with their friends or alone, underscoring the country’s safety.
“It surprised me, but it tells me how safe you guys are compared to the United States. (In America) you don’t really see kids going out alone like that and when they do, you just worry about their safety and wonder where the parents are because it’s really not safe there,” she said.
And the expat prefers Australian food and produce and the fact that restaurants don’t charge for tap water.
“Australia is super multicultural and diverse and it’s a really happy place,” she added.
“The only thing I don’t like is that everything closes at 5 p.m..”
The TikTok video also made many Australians wonder what American shopping centers look like (stock image)
After just 24 hours, the video was viewed more than 577,000 times, leaving Aussies grateful for their home country.
“I, an Australian, realize how lucky I am,” one person wrote, while another said: “I couldn’t help but laugh because you have so much awe and wonder! I never realized how great my local Westfield would be for an American.”
The video also made many wonder what American malls look like.
“Wait… aren’t there supermarkets and drugstores in shopping centers there?! That’s WILD to me. Definitely an Australia-wide thing,” one person commented.
What do malls have in the US? Just clothes?’ asked another.
And the expat said: ‘Yes, and especially cosmetics and shoes. Normally the cafeterias are just fast food restaurants.’
Another person added, “Sis, when you get home you really need to post what the shopping is like there. I couldn’t imagine that there wouldn’t be a butcher’s shop or fruit market.’