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After eight years living in the United States, one thing still quietly fascinates me — not how polite Americans are, but what they’re polite about.

From apologising for existing…
 To holding doors from impossible distances…
 To saying “sorry” before giving a compliment.

These are moments that, back home in Australia, wouldn’t even register.

This isn’t a criticism. It’s an observation.

A look at how politeness shows up in different places — and what that says about culture, comfort, and the assumptions we don’t realise we’re making.

If you’ve ever moved countries — or simply noticed how small social moments feel different depending on where you are — this one will probably sound familiar.

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This Week in America: Spring Arriving

Spring doesn’t arrive all at once in Tennessee.

It shows up through small signals.

A classroom full of curious first graders listening to an Australian story about wombats. Cars covered in yellow pollen. The distant hum of pressure washers across neighbourhoods. Parents suddenly organising summer camps months in advance.

And then the evenings begin to change.

Deck lights appear in backyards. People start grilling again. The air warms. And eventually, the fireflies return — tiny flashes of light drifting quietly through the trees.

In this week’s reflection, I share a moment that surprised me: volunteering to read an Australian children’s book to my daughter’s class, and the unexpected warmth of twenty curious seven-year-olds asking questions about kangaroos, wombats, and life on the other side of the world.

It’s also a reflection on something you only really notice when you live overseas — that every place has its own rhythm to the year.

And slowly, almost without realising it, you begin to learn it.

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After eight years of living in the United States, I’ve realised that some everyday American habits feel completely normal… until you step back and look at them from the outside.

From root beer and sugary breakfasts, to tipping culture, giant sodas, and striking up conversations in supermarket lines — these are the small things Americans rarely think twice about, but that still catch me off guard as an Australian living here.

This isn’t a criticism. I live here. I love living here.

It’s simply a reflection on the quiet cultural differences you only notice when you move countries — and how strange your own “normal” can look through someone else’s lens.

If you’re listening from the US, you might hear this differently.
And if you’re listening from somewhere else, you might recognise the feeling.

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This week I received an email from Georgia’s school about attendance.

Apparently she has reached five “unexcused absences”, which means I now need to have a meeting with the principal and the school counsellor. The interesting part is that I don’t even know what the five absences are yet — I have to wait for the state to send a letter outlining them.

What struck me about the situation wasn’t really the rule itself.

It was the structure behind it.

After twenty-five years in banking, I recognised the system immediately. Thresholds, documentation, conversations triggered once certain numbers are reached. It’s the same attendance matrix many workplaces use for adults.

Except this time… the employee is ten.

In this episode of This Week in America, I reflect on how institutions in the United States often operate through systems and compliance structures — from school attendance policies to a job opportunity I once had with Child Protective Services that ultimately closed because of a university requirement from decades earlier.

None of these systems exist for bad reasons.

But every now and then you encounter a moment where real life and institutional structure don’t quite line up — and you suddenly see the machinery behind the curtain.

Sometimes living overseas isn’t just about noticing cultural differences.

Sometimes it’s noticing how different societies organise themselves.

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Think American folklore is scary?

From the Bunyip to the Min Min lights, the Australian bush carries stories that make Bigfoot feel almost… friendly.

As an Aussie living in the United States, I hear a lot about the Mothman and the Jersey Devil. But today, I’m taking you back home — into the Dreamtime, the Outback, and the misty bush — to share five Australian legends that have unsettled people for generations.

We’re talking about giant water spirits, ghost lights that follow cars across empty highways, and the so-called “Australian Bigfoot” that’s terrified campers for decades.

Are these just stories?
Or does every country simply have its own version of the unknown?

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Living overseas long enough changes the way you hear things.

Sometimes it’s obvious. Sometimes it’s just a single word that quietly reveals where you started.

In this episode of This Week in America, I reflect on accents, tone, and the subtle ways culture settles into the way we speak. From catching myself saying “car park” instead of “parking lot”, to hearing the different voices my daughters have developed growing up between Australia and America.

I also share a small moment from the dance studio where a British partner described our Waltz as “not bad” — a phrase that means something quite different depending on where you’re from.

And later, a walk through the international aisle at Publix leads to an unexpected reminder of home, with familiar Australian treats like Tim Tam and Violet Crumble sitting quietly on the British shelf.

Because accents aren’t just sound.

They’re geography settling into the body.

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I’m an Aussie living in the United States… and lately, I’ve found myself quietly unsettled by the idea of moving home.

Every time I see headlines about Australia’s housing crisis — and hear stories from people trying to rent or buy — I catch myself wondering:

If I go back… what exactly am I going back to?

The Australia I grew up in felt different. There was a sense that if you worked hard and made sensible choices, you’d at least have a fair shot at stability. That assumption doesn’t feel as certain anymore.

In this video, I reflect on what the housing and rental crisis looks like from afar — and how it’s reshaping the dream of “one day moving back.”

We’ll talk about:

• What I’m seeing and hearing from people on the ground
 • Why so many Australians feel locked out of ownership
 • What this means for families, younger Aussies, and retirees
 • And how housing in Australia compares — and doesn’t compare — to life here in the US

This isn’t a policy breakdown. It’s a personal reckoning.

If you’re in Australia right now — renting, buying, or somewhere in between — I’d genuinely value your perspective.

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When you move countries as an adult, you expect the obvious changes — new places, new systems, new routines.

What you don’t always expect is how that decision echoes through your children’s lives years later.

In this episode of This Week in America, I reflect on the quiet side of living overseas as a parent.

From joking about bringing an inflatable kangaroo to my daughter’s dance competition, to hearing her say she sometimes misses Australia, these small moments reveal something deeper about belonging, identity, and growing up between two homes.

I also talk about the rhythms of life we’ve built here in Nashville — late-night drives back from dance competitions, early school mornings, and the practical ways families support each other along the way, including Nikki working shifts at Bridgestone Arena to help fund Georgia’s dancing.

Moving overseas gives you new perspectives and opportunities.

But it also carries quiet costs that only reveal themselves over time.

And one of those costs is realising that the journey you chose as an adult becomes part of the story your children inherit.

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Some of the foods Americans once ate — and some you still technically can’t — surprised me more than I expected.

As an Aussie living in the United States, I’ve learned that what’s considered “normal” on one side of the world can be completely off-limits on the other.

In this episode, we look at six meats that are banned, restricted, or culturally taboo in the U.S. — from historic turtle soup and wild bird laws to roadkill regulations and the long shadow of whaling.

We’ll explore:

• How certain animals went from delicacy to protected species
 • Why some meats are legally restricted — and others are simply socially unthinkable
 • The historical moments that shaped modern food laws
 • And how these differences reflect deeper cultural values

It’s not just about what’s illegal.
 It’s about how food becomes emotional.

If you enjoy thoughtful looks at the cultural differences between Australia and America — especially the ones hiding in plain sight — you’re in the right place.

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This week I learned something about identity — not from a headline or an election, but from a hospital bill.

After a British channel reacted to one of my older videos about healthcare costs in the United States, the tone in my comment section shifted. New voices arrived. Some supportive. Some defensive. Some intense.

And it made me realise something important.

In America, certain topics aren’t just topics. They’re tied to identity.

Healthcare isn’t only about numbers. It connects to ideas about freedom, responsibility, government, opportunity, and national pride. What feels like a personal observation to one person can land as cultural criticism to another.

This episode isn’t about arguing policy. It’s about the subtle line you walk when you live overseas — describing lived experience while knowing those descriptions can brush up against something deeply held.

I reflect on how comparison can be neutral, but identity rarely is. How online amplification changes tone. And how staying observational — rather than reactive — matters more as the audience grows.

Living between countries has taught me that you can appreciate opportunity and still notice friction. You can belong somewhere and still feel culturally foreign in moments. You can say, “This surprised me,” without saying, “This is wrong.”

This week wasn’t really about healthcare.

It was about identity. Perspective. And the quiet responsibility of speaking carefully — not timidly, but carefully — when culture and philosophy are intertwined.

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