I've never been to America but my eldest has been living there as he has an American gf. He says living there is a HUGE eye opener as to just how good we have it here in Australia. The government helps us with alot here and I'm so grateful 🙏
The government never gifted us with what we get so there's no reason to be grateful, the government works for us afterall, we earnt it and are owed it.. In the States they should be angry and disappointed in their past generations and government for the hopeless situation they are in now. They let themselves be exploited and brainwashed, in Australia, NZ, U.K etc we wouldn't let the government take the piss like they do.
It’s NOT the government’s responsibility to “help” you. They need to stay the F out of peoples lives. That is the difference between a true American and you.
Many of the working conditions we take for granted here were fought for by our unions. I don't think people always respect that these were not things that employers or the government gave to us they were fought for. Support your unions.
Unless its the AMWU who walks in to your printing company, tells you what's wrong (but isn't), signs you up and takes your money then never comes back or offers help when something is actually wrong.
How can we support unions? When they don't support the workers? Did you forget what happened during the pandemic? The unions supported the government not the workers!
MOST trades earn a load more than doctors lol, not some, but most. I'm a stone mason and all i do is installations and i earn over $300k, let alone high end trades like plumbers, electricians, roofers, plasteres etc.
Same here in NZ. We had some major wiring and plumbing upgrades done on our 100yr+ old house we had and over a cuppa with the tradies found out how much they made each year. My wife who holds three degrees said afterward that knowing that and given the choice she would have become a plumber instead of teaching at a top private school. Incomes weren't even in the same ball park.
It blows the mind of Americans I meet when I tell them that I work for one of Australia's most well known big companies, and if we build up too much unused annual leave by not voluntarily taking it, they publish a list of employees with the dates that they are to be on leave. This is: "You are on paid leave for these 6 weeks. Do not turn up to work." It's not an offer or an invitation - it's a company directive not to attend for work! This just leaves many Americans shaking their heads.
Companies see it as a liability, they want you to use it before they have to pay tax on the money they’re holding to pay you for it basically! Not to mention having to pay you last years leave after you’ve had a pay rise.
@@davidmarkmann6098 not for company with 30,000 employees all building up annual leave entitlements it isn’t, at least from a financial management perspective. And we get our chance to ask for leave dates. It’s just that if you don’t use it, you’ll eventually get put on it anyway.
@@dutchroll In America you can often just hold onto it or convert it to cash if you don't take it. I see no financial risk to the company. Forcing employees to tale leave is very old-fashioned and heavy handed.
I lived in Illinois for a year, but also travelled through many other states. I was blown away with the amount of homeless people everywhere you go, and was so sad to see so many young families living under bridges etc, and came across MANY very ill people who couldn't afford to go see a doctor. It broke my heart. I have many friends in the states, but I was soooooo happy to land back in Perth - I actually 'ran' down the airplane stairs, burst into tears, and kissed the ground (I was there 01/02), after being there for Sept11th. I've also lived in Singapore and Greece, which I would go back to no worries at all, but I'm afraid I wouldn't go back to the USA, because I found it to violent, the gun culture is too scary, and the people have this thing "we are the greatest" - well I'm sorry to point this out, but America you guys have now dropped to No19 on the "most democratic countries in the world" list, but the American people refuse to believe that we here in Australia live a much freer life in many ways. It blew me away seeing kids going to school wearing bullet proof backpacks - our kids go to school without the fear of a gunman bursting in and killing them all. America used to be the leader of the Western free world, but not anymore - America hasn't progressed with the rest of the free world, they've become stagnant, and are actually going backwards in area's...I'm glad and proud to be Australian 🇦🇺
I'm a homeless university student and I'm fighting to finish my degree, but I don't have anywhere to stay, so my days are taken up with searching for somewhere to stay, some way to get a meal to eat, somewhere to shower and wash my clothes, etc...... The United States is such a joke, a laughable joke for a so-called "developed country"....... I don't know how long ago it was that I actually was able to go to a doctor and get a prescription...... Medical care is just insanely expensive here..... I already have a lot of medical debt, and as a student I have a ton of student debt.......
@@andrewstephen9096 Hearing that makes me sooooo glad I'm and Aussie. We do have homeless people everywhere here (from cities to small country towns) as well, they are not so visible and begging is not encouraged, but is not illegal; however there are many charities and Government assistance groups that can help out. Not everyone who is homeless is there by choice, some are, and most aren't. They CAN get help and even those with a roof over their heads and struggling to buy food have Charities such as 'Second Bite' and 'Food Bank' and other local and community based assistance.
@Rod Gale actually begging is illegal here, well certainly is in South Australia, we police officers rarely apply this law other than moving them on when there are complaints
I'm in the Royal Australian Navy and we accumulate 2.5 or so days a month in leave when not posted to a ship, when on a ship we accumulate 3.5 days or so a month. Once our leave is over 50 days we have to submit a leave plan to demonstrate how we are planning on reducing leave balances. We take leave seriously, everyone needs a break, and they make sure we get it when we are due. Having said that I also deploy away from home for weeks and months at a time so what goes around comes around.
I worked for the ABC and had to be forced to go on leave after a staffing issue lasting years... the also paid me overtime rates for the time they could not afford to give me off!! ( pretty big tax slug in one pay week though)
As an Australian I can say this is one of the better AUS vs US videos I have seen, the reasons you give are reason-based and intelligent, not just random complaints. The work-life balance is indeed one of the best things about Australia, but don't be fooled we have our fair share of tyrannical bosses over here as well.
Glad to see you smiling again Kaitlyn, though I imagine you're still crying on the inside. I know you have a schedule to keep for RUclips, but I do hope you're taking the time you need for yourself.
An other thing about TAFE courses is if you continue onto Year 12 you can do a part time course during school time on a TAFE subject so when you graduate high school you already have completed a section of your course
Yes, this was me, in year 11 when i picked my subjects i chose to do a TAFE course. Every Friday afternoon around 1 our regular school lessons would finish and the buses would come to take us over to the local TAFE where our class would start from 1:30pm and finish around 5pm. We had kids from other high schools in our TAFE classes too. Back in the days i did it the acronym it went by was JSST(Joint Secondary Schools-TAFE) however by the time i got into Year 12 the acronym changed over to the new TVET system.
I completed certII in engineering when I finished year 11 and Then dropped out of school to start an apprenticeship as a boilermaker and I’ve nearly finnished my apprenticeship and certIII at 19 years old
My wife taught at university and some of her students were Americans who decided to study in Australia because of the difference in student fees they got a lot more for their dollar here and could have an overseas holiday at the same time . Both my son and daughter elected to skip university and do the tafe route both have jobs that pay them ov er $120,000 a year and my son will eventually start his own business which will obviously earn him more , you are correct in saying that the vast majority of Australians work to live and not live to work .I have an American friend who has to practically beg to take his annual vacation and he doesn't get paid for public holidays , even Christmas and Easter . And he considers his job to be a desirable one . I've said it before we might not be the best country but we're way ahead of whoever is in second place .
Sorry, that l have to correct you, l am originally German from Berlin, and came here with 40 y old. Germany has one of the best social networks in the world. All schools are for free, have no uniforms, boys and girls are mixed, and private schools are for difficult children. Universities are often for free too, and NO pay backs for Germans. When l decided to do a Teaching Degree for Primary School, when l was 30 y old, l could do it for free too, and making a practice at a school l got paid. While working in different jobs, we got also superannuation paid by the company, we worked for, we did not needed to put any money in ourselves. We got 2 extra payments a year in summer 1/2 year double salary, and in December another double salary, as bonuses. Our health system included everything. I never paid medicines, nor for Dr appointments, nor dentistry, or a sickness being in hospital. But of course you could have private Health insurance. I get regularly my German pension here in Australia. I would like to say, that l did not come to living in Australia, because of better working, and living conditions, l came here for other personal matters, and reasons, l do not wish to discuss in this comment. I have learnt here another way of life, much more relaxed, l love my environment, sea side living in a house, and working conditions were acceptable, and l love the multiculturalism in Melbourne. In my lifestyle l do not miss much from home, and l have been lucky enough to go to Europe for holidays every year till the pandemic came along. And l felt much safer in my area, as here is so much space, as l ever felt at home, in all these crowed homes, blocks. You are lucky, English is your first language too, l miss speaking, and reading German, and my culture, including European culture. But l am happily living here. Two things l don’t like here much, are related to driving in opposite to your experience. l never will understand, that you just put a L-plate on and learn driving with whomever. In Germany you must learn driving with an Driver’s School, and your teacher accompanies you through the Driving Tests with two Government Instructors, and the written 10 pages test. Here many accidents occur, because many, especially young drivers, do not use the indicator, can’t park proper, change lines with no attention, what they are doing, driving regularly too fast, and so on. The other thing is, if you do a mistake, for example park too long, a fine from $ 96 arrives, when you per accident on a quite large highway must drive 60 km/h , but drove 65 km/ it come to $ 227 + 1 demerit point. In Germany for a parking violation you are paying Euros 15, and all other it like 5-10 std/km Euros 25-30. Demerit points you get for real violations like red lights, and real speeding in residential areas. I have had never a fine in Germany, but a few fines here in 30 years, because l never could adjust to driving on big highways, freeways 60, 80 or 100 km/h, because in Europe there are none such huge highways in residential areas, and on freeways you can drive as fast as you feel fit, and safe. So, l always must restrain myself on freeways. I found your comparing AUS v. USA interesting, and enjoyed your presentation, observations, and experiences very much. Thank you. Greetings from Melbourne Judy
In australia its weird people are more important than companies. Our vote is encouraged too and imagine an organisation that neutrally organises electorates and impartially counts votes (while being overseen by the parties) Im going out today l wont see guns be aware of them afraid of them ready to duck and cover roll over. We send our kids to school and they come home. If we get a call its just that theyre sick and need to come home alot of us ask our boss and they understand we take leave and our colleagues cover for us.
@@paulclissold1525 People power VS $$$$$. Mob I did some work with had an offer by the staff to buy the company. The formed a board & fired the executives & tripled profits. I was happy to be an observer
@@circusbrains cb you will use your guns on your brothers and sisters we still have guns in our community but the criminals use them on each other. Your freedoms are indiscriminate but never fail to seek out the innocent. Coff coff. The rest of the world just sit back and shake their heads. You guys really dont believe in democracy. Its just all talk. Go and do what you have to do but know that when you come back we wont be here.
One of the key elements of HECS - HELP loans as compared to student loans in the US is that the money from a HECS goes directly to the University. So there is no over borrowing to cover things not education related. The University cannot charge more than the set fee, and students cannot borrow more than what is required to cover the fees. In the US, students can take up to a set amount regardless of if it used for tuition, books, rent, eating out, concerts, a car, you name it.
Yeah we have Ausstudy to help out students who qualify for living expenses. Note I'm a 50 year old college drop out who has never had to pay off their HECS.
Yes. My 2 sons & my youngest sister had HECS loans. Paying them off apparently gave them a good enough credit rating to apply to The Bank for a housing loan.
As someone who has lived in both countries I confirm and endorse what Kinda says. I happen to be living in Japan at the moment. But if you asked me whether I would live in Australia again I would say definitely yes. If you asked me whether I would live in the US again the answer would be definitely no, especially the way it has been going over the last few years. The recent Australian election confirmed for me that Australia is a better society than the US.
There is little doubt that in America the system is heavily weighted towards business owners and against workers. Incredible to think that in such a rich powerful nation there is so much poverty due to things other western countries take for granted e.g decent basic wage,paid leave, universal healthcare, adequate welfare etc
They systematically destroyed the unions. America used to have really strong labour movement that got fair pay for work. Not so much anymore corporations spend millions to illegally union bust and feed propaganda. Used to be like 60% of workers were in a union now its barely 10%. And btw unions are not perfect but what they are is lobbyists for workers and if corporations and companies have lobbyists so should workers its only fair. In a perfect world neither should exist.
America was founded by the rich in favour of the rich. The declaration of independence is largely bs. If all men were created equally then there wouldn't be poverty at all. American is the biggest contradiction on earth.
Buddy you should do some research about what you're talking about, yes there are a few countries who have a higher minimum wage for Holy Cow look at the world market, there are a lot of countries where the minimum wage is less than $300 a MONTH1 Some where it's as high as $620 a month and some where it's less than $100 for a 44 hour week! BTW most countries do not offer much in the way of benefits. Places like Western Europe with high minimum wages and great benefits are the exception not the rule.
Hope you're feeling better Kaitlyn 🙂. I enjoyed this list. It wasn't the usual ones we see (like gun laws, health care, coffee etc). Btw even Aussies are divided on kilometres. Some people say it the way you do and others say it the other way🤷♀️. Both are acceptable imo. Yeah the metric system just makes more sense and is easier. Hence why everyone else uses it. I hear that a lot about fruit and veggies tasting a bit bland or watery in the states and also about the seafood. People who didn't care for it much over there, really enjoyed it here.
My oldest sister went to University for FREE, Bachelor of Science; Masters Degree & Honors Degree...then the Government abolished that. HECS is great, only a small % of your pay is taken & you have a long time to pay it off. I'm surprised about the veges & fruit....😮 Health care should be on your list & long service leave, which is awesome. I'd be interested in a video stating what America does better than Australia. Nice video Kaitlyn, thank you 💕
I had contributed to superannuation as well as savings before superannuation was created. My personal opinion is that all children born or arriving in Australia should be allocated a Superannuation account into which parents, grandparents and spare cash can be deposited. This would carry on into employment, so that when the child becomes an adult the superannuation account has been operating for 18 or more years. I would be interested to see what your circle of friends think of the idea. It may need some government legislation. This would be encouraging saving at an early age.
Love the fact you say bikkie. It would be nice if Aussies could say bikkies instead bloody cookies. In 1967 when I got my driver's licence, my instructor said "All you've learnt is how to get a licence, now you learn to drive". The drinking age Australia nationally was lowered to 18 in September 1971. The argument was, if 19 year olds were being sent to Vietnam, the drinking age should be 18. New South Wales has had the 18 year old drinking age since 1905.
I am biting my tongue a LOT about the changes in language we are experiencing, frequently thanks to the influence of the USA.. what with younger folks using the word 'like' as a 'spacer'... using verbs as nouns and vice versa... and talking about 'DEE-fence and OFF-fence' in the footy and such things (ya, I'm a grumpy bum... Pffft)... Sidebar: I find it fascinating to hear the different accents of USA-based folks. How many ways can you pronounce 'door'? ..particularly when considering folks in New York (City) and its boroughs... 'DAW'... 'DOO-er'... 'DOR-wah'... 'DERR'... (Professor Henry Higgins I'm not)... When I visited the USA for a bit, I spent some time in the southern states (for example, Georgia, Louisiana)... and I always enjoyed the reaction.. when I would say something like, "I came into town today"... and the locals would look all sad... as they thought I'd said "I came into town to DIE"... 😁 ...and (most) everyone thinks we have no accent..(!)... We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...
The USA is so big and people from many different countries have moved there especially since the late 1800s early 1900s , many living in certain parts of the USA I'm not surprised about the different accents, but I am surprised they are not more harder to understand. Yet when I watch US news channels, interviews with locals who witnessed a shooting or an accident, no matter what state, as an English guy I haven't heard any that I find hard to understand. Yet I'm my own country, which is smaller than Texas People a couple hundred miles west or north from London can be really hard to understand. The geordie accent ( Newcastle) is completely different from a London accent, as is the west country accent, Bristol, most Americans wouldn't understand a word of anyone with a strong Newcastle accent, It's hard enough for us from southern England . If anything Americans speak better English than the English.
TAFE = Technical And Further Education. TAFE is a good stepping stone into Uni and its a good break for kids who struggle with the "high school" environment. I completed my School Certificate (when it existed) at TAFE. Ive also done back to work courses and cert requirements for working in clubs and pubs. Its a great institution for those who dont feel the need to go to uni or dont want to but but want a degree.
At 6.09 you said 'styoodent' rather than 'stoodent'. Well done. When I started work in 1979, partway through day 1 a man came to see me wanting me to fill out a form and sign it. I asked what it was and I didn't understand most of it but it had to do with paying into something or other. I said I didn't want to and he told me straight out that he would not leave until I signed it, so I did. It turned out to be a superannuation account. I should point out that back then, it was not compulsory and you actually had to sign up for it and rather than brow-beat me, he could've taken no for an answer and walked away. I retired 2.5 years ago at the age of 59 with $1.3m. If I could find that man today, I'd (slang alert) shout him all the piss he could drink. Oh yeah, partway through all that I took 7 months of long service leave in one go.
1986 & I was the same thing. I was 5% of my pay n the 90's & got my redundancy. Borrowed the Super to buy a business & sell it for double in a month later. I placed it all back into Super & paid the lot back plus interest. I was lucky my employer paid for my Uni & MBA then give mr money to leave LOL.
Re GST and price tags: the GST is a tax imposed by the federal government and is a uniform rate of 10% across Australia. That certainly makes it much easier to include in prices when compared with the system in the USA, where tax rates can vary from state to state and - absurdly - even from city to city.
I remember before GST when the tax rates were all over the place, I used to assemble computers in the 80's and 90's and there was 3-5 different tax rates on computers depending in which components were used and they ranged from 14.5% to 32.7%. GST is such an improvement!
@@yaimavol Many people here in Oz how many taxes the GST eliminated in 1 swoop. USA has 3 levels of government with 3 levels of taxes. Very confusing as an Accountant. I do know people often go to New Hampshire due to lower taxes & on some sales they tax refunded. Tax laws are always evolving & all governments around the world will find a way to bleed more money from you.
I keep hearing this excuse for the USA. But it makes no sense for most bricks and morter stops. I mean unless you are sell things out of a van or something your shop is not going to be crossing any state lines. It will be in the same state tomorrow as it was today. And if you can caculate the correct tax at the register you could have done the same before putting price labels up.
She's the kind of person I love to see coming here. I actually think USA is an amazing country. I know they have their problems but being a fan of machines and technology, America has given the world so much. I also like the way they will step in to help countries that need it.
At 6:45, ironically it was an American woman (a supervisor)who made me feel so guilty about leaving work early to pick up an Army buddy of mine at the airport. It was a Friday as well and that was some 20 years ago when I used to work at one of the big banks in Melbourne. And I’ve even notified my manager a week prior and was chill with it. Maybe it’s because she knew I was American as well and know how I think.
We tried to migrate to America in the late 80's But after few months, we decided to go back to Australia, and it was the best decision we ever did. Those family members who decided to stay there went back financially. They been struggling big time ever since. The Life balance does not exist over there. While we have the flexibility to enjoy life here more and we are more contended people compare to them.
I’m also an American; I’m doing a work and holiday year starting in March and have been watching your vids to learn more about Australian culture. Thank you so much for this info. It’s making me feel more prepared about the jump halfway across the world.
Hi there...sorry if I am repeating stuff already said. With your leave don't forget that there is also "Long Service Leave" ( I had nearly 9 months when I retired) and FACS leave which was for things like your funeral leave and if you need to stay home for a plumber etc...Don't forget that many places offer salary sacrifice options so for example your mortgage repayments can be deducted from your pay BEFORE the tax is taken out so you don't have to pay tax on that portion of your salary etc...Distances; old people like me frequently do not use kms etc we use time:- how far is it to Canberra? OH about three and a half hours...extremely interesting video !!!!
I just know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but here goes. Most of the advantages you spoke of came from Unionisation. I do wish the younger generation were aware of this.
Holiday leave loading, long service leave and being paid for holidays not taken when you resign or retire from a job. Never heard an American ever mention these things.
so agree with you...a union member for nearly 50 years...it pains me that so many younger aussies don't understand the benefits they enjoy because of the union movement and the continual attempts to erode them from the Lib/Nats...sigh
@@jaynemeulman8484 Not just those arseholes. As a union member myself I've learnt unions have no allies. Even some of the union officials are no better than politicians.
@@jaynemeulman8484 I must say though I expected negative comments and quite a few of them. Must be the outsider's per spec on what we've got in this country.
You came up with a really good list, Kaitlyn 🙂 I think it'd be really confusing to have to mentally add sales tax to totals every time you bought groceries, homewares etc - not to mention adding 15-20% to the bill for tips in cafès and restaurants!
I remember when the GST came in there was some controversy on what was taxed and what wasn't. Fresh foods weren't taxed but prepared foods were, soft drinks (soda) weren't taxed unless they were refrigerated and a whole host of other peculiarities. But at least this was all sorted by the time we had to pay for the items, it was just confusing for the shop owners.
but even though it's all included here, the Government component (at least the GST) is normally listed separately on the receipt.....so you still know how much the Government is taking and how much is the vendor.
We can play a game that lasts for 5 days and still not get a result, and it can be quite intriguing and interesting and suspenseful to watch. Most Americans I've spoken to can't understand this.
@@arokh72 Fair enough that you dont like Criket but saying sport sucks in general is such a wide bizarre statement. There are thousands of sports. Bout as bizarre as saying "reading sucks" at least to me anyway.
Great video. As an Australian living in Sydney, I was thinking about moving to the US at one stage of my life, but everything cost so much there just to live a basic lifestyle. I have travelled there especially to Texas and California and everything cost an arm and a leg. Even though there are lots to do over there comparing to Australia, you need lots of money to do it (break the bank after I returned from US.) Learning the US customary unit (like Fahrenheit, feet, inches, pounds etc) did my head in and had to convert them to metric to get an idea of the quantities required. It was an experience at the end of the day. US is still great country though but nothing compares to Australia.
Retired Australian here. Superannuation is a wonderful thing - it's let us live a very comfortable retirement. Put as much as you can afford into your super account, Caitlin. It seems like a long way off, but believe me when I say you'll never regret it.
Maybe if you have the taxpayer-funded version of super, 13% and with guaranteed minimum 10% increase each year. In private industry unless you are a high earner there is almost no way the super from a lifetime of working a regular job will support you in retirement.
@@MrGutfeeling you suppose to put extra money and pump it till like 15% and you will probably end up comfortably to retire. Like I do salary sacrifice. Hubby did it and it works for him.
@@MrGutfeeling my hubby, who has mostly worked in private industry with the mandated 10% super contributions is looking at retiring this year with $1.5 million in his super account. He may have been lucky his original super was with UniSuper since he did his mechanical apprenticeship at a university, they have nearly always been one of the top performing super companies and have very low fees. His super is still earning and I'm pretty sure we are looking at a comfortable retirement. OK, he has put extra into it along the way but it was so worth it. He has never earned big money, it can be done.
Love your videos. You're such an intelligent, compassionate and beautiful person. Thanks for promoting Australia - and for living here! Cheers, from Adelaide
Don't forget asking questions like that. Remember they vote too so ppl from the USA voted themselves to where they are. Do not encourage them to come here.
Small point; The US doesn’t use the ‘imperial system’ it uses the ‘statute system’. The two use the same names but the conversions to the Metric system differ - eg 1 gallon (US) = ~ 3.8 l whereas 1 gallon (imperial/UK) = ~ 4.5 l. This US/UK difference gets tricky, for example, when you are cooking from online recipes (or old cook books) that don’t give metric measurements, you need to check where the recipe came from to figure out which set of conversions to use.
2 things that you haven't mentioned about are the roundup round down at the register as well. Secondly the blood alcohol level is lower in Australia, and that ties in with how much (if any) the driver on the different plate levels in Australia.
You correctly pronounced it "Hecks", I'm a public servant and mine doesn't even appear on my payslips. I pay back about $110 a fortnight and have been paying it off for about 15 years but I also had a bit more than average to pay back. My work also forces me to take time off if I accrue more than 33 days of annual leave which is separate to my pool of sick/carers leave which I can use instead of annual leave if I'm sick or if I have to care for a sick member of my household.
Always loving your comparison videos Kaitlyn. I am thankful for the HECS system. It's a system that is actually being copied by other countries such as the UK. One feature I do like though is that if you are citizen, there is a subsidy. I think the current subsidy is 60%, but when I went to university, it was 80%. The way it works is simple. I paid 20%, the government paid 80%. Paying is straightforward. When you have a job, you simply tick a box stating that you have HECS debt. This is treated as an additional tax withholding that without any further processing, is immediately sent to pay of the HECS debt. Additional, at any time during a degree, or after a degree is complete and while there is a HECS debt, any payment in advance receives a further 10% discount. I took advance of this when I was working a year after my degree. I elected to payout the remainder with discount. If you have the debt paid off, but still have the HECS debt tax box ticked, any excess monies are simply paid out during a tax return.
The biggest difference that shocked me was a few years ago here in Oz I did a Microsoft exam and the paper said "no guns are allowed to be brought into the exam room". I went WTF!
Glad you're feeling better after the shock of the Philly incident. A lot of people, especially if they don't have kids, often tack a day of leave onto one end of a public holiday. 4 day breaks can be quite relaxing
I'm an Aussie and live in Melbourne. I'm glad you love it here even though its bloody freezing. When I got my licence in the late 90s we only had the red P plate system. Which you had to have for 2 or 3 yrs I can't remember lol I do like our licence system
Hey mate. Glad you're having a good time in Oz. My misses is a professional chef who's lived in the states and she said the produce is a much higher quality here in Australia. She said I'd hate fast food in America
My wife and I were in the US for a month in 2019 and had a great time but I have to say the coffee was lousy. In all that time the only decent coffee I had was in New Orleans made by a lovely young woman from Brisbane who was living there with her american husband.
About fifteen years ago my husband and I visited LA and we tried Starbucks... our first and last time! Their coffee is terrible... Melbourne and Sydney have an amazing coffee culture...
1: That's interesting. Back when I was young enough to be learning, we could get our L-plates at 16 yrs and 9 months. If we took professional driving lessons as well as learned with parents etc, we could apply for our P test on our 17th Birthday. Then, 12-months later we had Open licenses. I got my C-Class (Truck license) at 18 by driving a truck around the block and then reversing parallel to a curb. 2: I left my truck driving job at age 34 and started a degree at uni. That was in 1998. I stopped studying halfway through the degree because I got a job at the uni. I still have a HECS debt 20 years later. But that's because I've spent a lot of time out of work over the years. 3: For many years I assumed the rest of the planet had paid annual leave. And yes, I've heard many horror stories from US friends about their bosses. 4: The fruit and veg thing is weird! I will say that tomatoes here in Australia have declined in flavour, but increased in toughness. Transport and storability...I try to grow my own when I can. We do get great fruit though (trivia: I worked on a farm in NSW in 1987/8 and they exported Rockmelon to California). 5: Oh, yes! If I went to the US, buying stuff would freak me out! Just tell me the price FFS! 6: TAFE. In its heyday, it was massive. So many kids went straight into TAFE or did TAFE part-time while at school. It is a brilliant way to learn more skills. In the grand scheme of things, Tradies are the backbone of a country. Whether that be a builder or a truck driver (yeah, it's a trade/profession) or whatever. 7: Yep. I grew up learning both imperial and metric, but I think more in metric nowadays, but can easily convert to miles, or pounds etc. Is that advice like, a litre is the size of a quart, and 2 litres is about a half gallon? A pound of butter is about 500 grams. 8: It seems reasonable that if you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to drink...LOL I wrote this just as you were saying it... 9: Super is good. Some dodgy employers have been known to avoid paying it in the past...
These seem like really well considered things/ideas that matter, in a practical sense. We were kind of lucky that the metric system was phased in over a few years. My car had kmh and mph on the speedo which helped. Spanners, nuts, bolts, etc. can still be in fractions of an inch on older machinery (then there's BS, AF, BSW, ...). I still think of some things in imperial. Cheers. :)
Regarding our university fees, it's probably important to note that, as an Australian citizen, the government supports us by paying about half the fees in the first place. It's called a "commonwealth supported place". This does not have to be paid back. We can then choose to pay the remainder up front or use HECS-HELP, which is a loan from the government, not a private lender. The amount you pay back (through the Australian Tax Office, because it is a government loan) is indexed according to your income. To be honest, I don't even look at how much I owe. It just sits in the background and my employer makes those payments happen, along with my tax, each time I get paid. In the years since I got my degree I think I've only ever had one conversation about who still owed HECS and who had paid it off (I work in a job where you have to have a degree). We literally don't really think about it and I'm always so heartbroken for US students who carry such an enormous burden about something that shouldn't be like that for them.
Interesting video. As an Aussie, the comparison just further illustrates how good it is here. I was in primary school when we transitioned from imperial to metric, but I still use occasional imperial measure for distance even now; "it's about an inch", but if I measure accurately, it will be metric… I was also fortunate to get TEAS for tertiary education, unlike HECS, that was not a loan, but a benefit paid that could cover education living expenses, like accommodation, food, clothing, texts, and stationery.
Yeah we do appreciate our Tradies, the country's infrastructure depends on them. Yeah we need smarter people (for a short while Uni was free here, sadly no more). Super is a great thing and helps not only the individual but the country as well, when you are retired you still have money to spend in the economy. Don't worry about the metric thing, I'm old and was taught the Imperial system and the only thing that gives me a problem still is a persons hight, just can't picture the size in my head so... people are still feet and inches to me ha ha! Love your video's and so glad your loving Oz.
@@rhyswoodman6781 Absolutely not, the smarts required for an electrician or builder just for an example involve some science and engineering at much higher levels than high school. I had many skills in my working life but only got to a Diploma level with education. However I managed several small businesses, worked in every single facet of the record industry (except operate a record press), qualified network engineer, Cisco instructor, computing teacher adult and high school and musician with global releases. I am retired now, i had a very interesting life for a disabled person. Sorry working class rant :-)
Over here if go to TAFE over here your more likely to walk straight into a job, which a lot of people don't get to do after going to uni. People that go to TAFE and get a trade job can earn more money than someone working in an office.
Thanks for your detailed comparison, Kaitlyn! You bring up the more unusual subjects. It's also good for Australians to appreciate what good things we may either not know or take for granted. There will be aspects of living in the USA that you prefer. Are you likely to do a reverse comparison. It would be good for Australians to know where we can improve.
When my dad lost his son my brother. He told his boss and he said to my dad take as much time off as you want. Basically saying don’t come back until your ready too. And i had to be the one to tell my dad that my brother died as soon as I did I heard a thump followed by sobbing. My dad had collapsed from shock and started crying
@@kayelle8005 don’t be. I felt like i was on the outside looking in. Like a homeless orphan in the middle of winter peering through a pane glass window of a house looking at the family inside eating a Christmas ham. Here i was at the funeral seeing everybody else cry and me unable to shed a single tear wondering why everyone was crying. I found myself both confused about it and laughing at their grief and misery over his death
In NSW at least (because I can only speak on where I live) it takes minimum 4 years to go from L's to full license. Driver Knowledge Test. Learner for at least 12 months and a minimum of 120 hours driven (20 of which must be at night). Then a Hazard Perception Test to get the Provisional 1 license. After 12 months you can update your license to a Provisional 2 for like $92 and then you're on those for 2 years. Then you automatically get your full license.
Hey Kaitlyn, nice to you see smiling. Driver licencing varies by state, but the fundamental requirements are generally consistent. You can get your licence at 16.5 in NT, 18 in Vic, 17 everywhere else. The drinking age used to be 21 before the war, and after the war, the governments decided that if you're old enough to die for country, you're old enough to have a beer. Exactly your thoughts. Imperial system, I guess a lot of Aussies are comfortable with it, as we watch a lot of US shows, and a lot of US recipes, so we need to convert. Temperature and liquids I struggle with, but pretty good with distance and weight. Ironically, most of us in Aus still measure our height in ft/in. But can someone explain why a US gallon is 3.875 litres, and a UK gallon is 4.54 litres?
I think the difference between the gallons might have something to do with the UK/Aus pint being 20 fluid ounces and the US being 16 fluid ounces, and the conversion of those measurements to metric... someone correct me if I'm wrong...
It stems from a time when there were different names and volumes for the units which measured wine, beer and grain based alcohol in the UK and early America. So 3 names and 3 different sized units. Realising that was a bit daft it was decided by the Brits to use a single unit for all of them. They roughly averaged the 3 old units and settled on the Imperial gallon of 160 fluid ounces or 4.5 litres. Meanwhile in America they stuck with the Queen Anne gallon of 128 fluid ounces or 3.8 litres.
I think the metric thing is really most confusing for American people as far as temperature goes, due to the Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion. For everything else, it’s just a matter of learning to remember the everything is multiples of ten. Once you learn that, you’re ok.
Super IS your pay!!!! Super was started with an in lieu of a pay rise of 10%, superannuation payments were made to take burden off pensions! It is not your boss being nice!, its not a tax on business! IT IS YOUR WAGE, YOUR MONEY!!! that's why every company pays super! ❤❤ Love the channel.
Hi Kaitlyn, I noticed in one of your videos there were Bundy run bottles on the shelf, I used to drink this when I worked in the outback (WA) with water out of a water bag. Really nice refreshing drink if you have no Ice. If you have ice it is really nice mixed with Bundy ginger beer. Always in moderation But remember “ Bundy rum makes Willy wagtails fight emu’s “ ( Willy wagtails are a very cheeky small bird in WA). Cheers!!
In 1972, the Australian Government declared pronunciation as 'kilo metre'. Most people pronounce it like 'thermometer''. Recently I heard Professor Roly Sussex, a language expert say either is acceptable (because of common use of both).
Aussie Nurse here. My employer ( state government) will only allow me to accumulate 400 hours of leave max. You get notified that you need to take holidays. If you don’t plan for holidays after this you will get payed out an amount of those holidays but get taxed not at 30% as most employees do but at 50%. I can also apply for meritorious sick leave by being employed for more than 26 yrs so that gives me an extra 13 weeks of sick leave on top of any that I’ve accumulated which does not have a max amount. I can also take my long service leave after 7 years and take it at half the wage and basically doubling the time I can take ( there is no limits to the accumulation of that. ) I cam also take maternity leave and men can take paternity leave and do the same as the long service leave. At one stage I could have taken 6 months off of work fully payed as I had accumulated so much leave.
The way you said kilometre is perfectly fine. I think that’s actually the normal way - saying it as two distinct words sounds stunted. Though in common conversation we usually just say “Ks”
Talking of food quality in the states, I remember going to Universal studios LA back in 2013, and in the food stand they had a sign saying that some of the soda drinks "will give you cancer" not may or can but will. I took a photo of it to show the family and they couldn't believe it either.
Soda is not good for you, in any way, but that sign is not based on reality. It was simply required by the insane nutjobs that are running the state of california into the ground. Nearly every product sold in America has a calinfornia cancer warning on it, only so it can be sold in california, not because it is true.
When I was im the States I noticed the majority of adds were for fast food, medications and invitations to join civil suites against different companies. It was a weird reflection of what Americz is about.
I'm so so sorry to hear yet again about another senseless shooting in Philly, where a number of innocent lives were lost. I saw your video yesterday Kate and I was far too shocked for me to make a reply. My heart goes out to the familys right now must be feeling so so distraught at the loss of their loved ones. Rip for all the young ones whose lives were taken away when only they had just started out in life. May GOD take care of all those and may he keep them safe in the Kingdom of GOD. 😭😭❤❤❤....Pete from Tasmania
Hi, i'm an Aussie and I enjoy your videos. Just to confuse (maybe!!!! ) the issue further vis-a-vis the different measuring systems, there is the US gallon and an Imperial gallon, with the US gal. being 3.78 lt., the Imperial gal. being 4.55 lt..
@@stevebusto8192 As a native Aussie who has lived all over Australia and who has just visited USA I can say the USA has the following over Australia.... 1. American people are more polite and friendly. This might be because you have so many people in America, however they are definitely more friendly. 2. You guys can sure build a museum/memorial/attraction every construction is well done. 3. Your airports are cleaner and much better designed compared to our major airports in Sydney and Melbourne. 4. In the main your retail/hospitality/service staff are extremely helpful and polite. Not saying they are not helpful here, but the go an extra mile in America.
@@DeneNorton yeah you’re right but a friend I had Patrick from Melbourne was so cool and friendly and I guess you are too.I never visited Australia but I could love to some day guess I have no place or who to visit cause I lost Patrick years back and it hurts so much he used to live a walk away from me day Wisconsin but now I lived down Kentucky,have you ever visited Lexington I have a home here and bet you could love it mostly if you love horses a lot of horses races”Kentucky derby” but I never raised any myself but maybe some day
I saw a good thyme for remembering celsius temperatures: 30 is hot 20 is nice 10 is cool 0 is ice. As an Australian I don't need it :) but I know several people who it has helped.
Hi love! You said kilometres right the first time, keep saying it that way. I’ve never heard of anyone who says it the other way. And you’re saying HECS and HELP the right way too, you’re one of us! There’s a saying ‘Tradies get the ladies’. They always have a job and decent wage so… 😄
G’Day Caitlyn, I hope that is spelt correct? Anyway in regards to the metric system you are saying kilometres correctly. Over here it is said three different ways and it is your choice even though there are two most common ways and they are; Kilometres which is pronounced the way you were saying it but you thought you were wrong, the other way is K’s just like you say for $1000’s . As far as a gallon is concerned there is approximately 3.8 Litres of liquid in a gallon. I hope that has helped you so you were not wrong. Great job with your Channel I quite enjoy it and I always watch wanting to give you advice but I refrain from doing do. Stay Safe
Meat and fish here are superb. Fish is fresh and from the ocean and freshwater fish. The food here is superb, much better than in the US. I made the move in 1988, and have had no regrets.
Australian fruit and veg is pretty good but the best fruit and veg I've ever eaten was when my wife and I lived in Laos. It leaves the stuff you get at Woolies and Coles for dead,, and cheap. We were paying around 40c -50c for a kilo of tomatoes. The fruit and veg also keeps longer than the Woolies/Coles fruit and veg.
With education, disadvantaged, disabled or people experiencing high impact heath issues can do TAFE and other College as well as some aspects of university courses completely funded or discounted. This enables thses people access to education and have certificates to facilitate employment With the metric system, it is not uncommon to hear a older tradie say "cut 1500 (mm) of that piece of 4x2 (inches)" Surfboards are still measured in imperial Thank you for a very open comparison 🙏 and using everyday items
Hi Kaitlyn, Regarding the US using the Imperial system I was corrected by an American RUclipsr that they use Fredom Units. Not Imperial. Just because I suppose. Cheers from Newcastle
The sales tax thing perplexed me. You wind up with so many pennies and such. One time I was buying a shirt or something and I scrounged up the correct amount to get rid of the coins only to realise that the price listed wasn't the full price so I ended up with even more coins.
Don’t worry about getting used to the metric system. It does take a long time. It changed in 1974 when I was 12, and there are certain things I still think in imperial. The biggest is height- I am still 5 foot and a bit, not 152 cm. I cannot think of a person’s height in centimetres. Also as regards the pronunciation of kilometres as far as I am aware both are used. I use both interchangeably. I wasn’t even aware that one was preferred.
Hi, Aussie here. I say kilometers like you said the first time, 'kilomm mehters'. Not 'kiloh meeters'. I think it is optional, and nobody cares. I'm liking your videos.
Kilo-meters like kilo-grams is the more correct propitiation (based on the metric system) but either are acceptable due to kil-om-eters being more commonly said.
In regard to GST there is no sales tax on fresh food from the supermarket so things like Fresh broccoli, fresh oranges, fresh juice, eggs etc. If you are an apprentice doing TAFE you are able to get a loan up to $21,000 through the Apprentice Board (Trade Support Loan) to buy a vehicle or tools. The government realised that some apprentices travel large distances that have no public transport access.You also get a 20% discount once you complete your apprenticeship and are "signed off". The loan is paid back similarly to Hecs once you exceed approx $47000 in income, its interest free but indexed annually with the CPI (consumer price index)
You did not mention that the Government pays 75% of university fees and then loans you the rest at no interest above inflation. So anybody can afford to go to university.
Not sure what they do with that GST in the US (probably each business keeps it lol), but here it it is a separate way of ensuring that states with huge infrastructure costs for roads etc have money coming in from the Federal government. For example a few criteria are followed, What is the population of the state, what is the net amount of GST the state collected to put in the GST pool and the size of the state etc. For example: Victoria is the third smallest state in Australia, but it has a population almost the size of NSW. that means the cost of our infrastructure is less than any larger state more than likely, and so we get less money back than what we put into the pool which some consider an equitable redistribution of wealth generation ....sometimes. It is a great idea, like paying 1% cent in the dollar earned levy to cover the coast of medical needs. If this happened in the US the southern sates wouldn't struggle so much to meet a decent standard of living for the people there. It sure is a heartless place.
With 4 weeks paid annual being the norm or 6 weeks paid leave if you do shift work, we also get annual leave loading of 17 1/2 % on top of your paid leave. This is a conditions unions fought for years ago to compensate for the higher costs of actually going on holidays. Further employees get Long Service Leave ie when you have worked for an employer for 10 years you are entitled to an additional 13 weeks paid leave. All of this including Superannuation was negotiated by unions. I understand Unions in the US are not very powerful hence your poor industrial laws and conditions.
The public service gets that but out in the real work force it is fats disappearing. There was a time that public servants were paid less than private workers because they had permanent tenure Not today they are the favoured ones and constitute the majority of union members. For many of us out in the private area we have very little respect for public servants
The coal industry long service leave is 13 weeks after 8 years,5 weeks annual leave or 6 weeks if you have to work more than 32 Sundays a year and it’s a 35 hr working week.Any hours more than 35 are paid at overtime rates.15 days sick leave accumulating.In my position I get unlimited sick leave non accumulating plus 15 days carers leave accumulating but not payable on retirement.
Spent a lot of time in USA. Corn syrup in everything as a result of the lobby to use corn. I was trying to pure milk. US milk has added sweeteners, you have to buy organic milk to get milk. Cheeses are similar...colouring and additives. Actually US dairy foods aren't imported into Australia, New Zealand and EU as they don't meet pure food standards. Beef is same ..a key reason is hormones are fed to dairy cows and beef. Around thanksgiving and Christmas some US stores sell NZ lamb and it gets snapped up. US lamb is awful. Having 4 weeks annual leave really helps the local tourist industry.
Australia is also the only country in the world where ALL employees accumute long service leave on top of the 4 weeks annual holiday paid leave. The law states that employees are entitled to 13 weeks of long service leave upon the completion of at least 10 years of continuous employment with their employer. On top of this, they are entitled to an additional 1.3 weeks of long service leave for each full year of service after the initial 10 years. I was lucky to be born in the early 50's so that when I graduated from seconday school in 1970 I was PAID by the state education department to go to university to become a teacher. University was free at that time so I had no debt. I got a fornightly wage as well as accumulating superannuation and long service leave entitlements while at university. As a result I retired from full time work at 51 having gained the required 30 years of service to have a full pension from the State Government, payable from the age of 55. Most of my fellow teachers retired before aged 55 as that provide the most benefits. That is why Australia is called the Lucky Country.
I have a friend who lives in texas, her family has passed away sadly, shes struggling, I want her to come here whether it ends up in a relationship or not, like we're friends first and formost. I sent her the 10 lies americans were told, i stuck around until the end to make sure it was factual. I understand her hesitation in thinking australia is a better place for her. I try and send her the positives and the negatives, but i think she'll make more money over here and have a better quality of life.
Here in Aus many employers force you to take your leave. Could be because they care for you. In some cases it’s because they don’t want to pay you at a higher level if you take it 3 years down the track.
Part of that is if companies are audited and people didn't have holidays they get fined upto 500, 000 dollars per offence does not apply to family run small business to best of my knowledge
That's happened to me. I'd been full time at a job for three years and hadn't got around to taking any holidays. The company accountant came and said they needed me to take time off. Otherwise the company would be stuck with a huge payment in lieu if I left the company.
It's good fraud prevention practice to require employees to take their leave, and have someone else do their job while they're away. A decent accountant or auditor will recommend that as a standard practice. The idea is that if you have an employee who's got a regular fiddle going it'll probably come to light when someone else does the job while the permanent guy's taking the holiday.
I'm retired now. I worked for a company for 19 years where you couldn't accrue more than six weeks annual leave, unless you had good reason. Once you've reached six weeks, the boss would wave an annual leave form at you and told you to take some leave. You didn't have to take the full six weeks but enough to reduce your accrued leave. We also had unlimited paid sick leave.
I'm Australian & was very surprised in the US when I went into a store & bought an item for $10 & had $10 in my hand & they said $10.75 & I'm like "What". It's City Tax. Don't start me on tips. How about here I can go see a Doctor if I'm sick and I don't pay anything & if I'm really sick go to the hospital & get free operation if required. It's not a perfect system but you don't pay $15,000 like you do in the US to have your tonsils out.
My family's entire lives were ruined, forever, because of my parents' health problems and the subsequent cost of getting health care and medical treatment here in the United States.......
Going back years ago, when the tv show Neighbours - one of the families in the street was a plumber - debuted in the UK, they were “how does a plumber live in such a posh house?” Aussie were “why does a plumber live in a mediocre house?”
Re Super, I’m old enough to remember that there was a wage rise agreement a few decades ago where the workers agreed to forego part of their wage rise and that it be put into superannuation. So while employers pay the money administratively part of it at least is what the workers would otherwise have got in their pay.
Great video as always! I just wanted to add an additional benefit for university and TAFE students. The government provides income support payments to students studying full time (and apprentices I think…?) that aren’t loans to be paid back later on. For 16-24yr olds it’s Youth Allowance, and 25yrs and over it’s Austudy. It’s barely enough to live on, but allows students studying full time to focus on studying, not working full time and stressing about failing. Of course it’s means tested, and other conditions must be met, but students are able to work casual, even part time jobs as well if they wish. I’m so proud Australia looks after our people. Education wise, there is no financial barrier to getting a solid and industry respected degree, no matter how humble your beginnings may be. It’s available to everyone at a very reasonable cost, and it’s paid off pretty quickly, so doesn’t usually affect your ability to get a mortgage or your credit rating. Win win!
Every point you've made is made with the facts and the figures, you've given no strength to national partiality, but just to what you know having lived in both countries and your study of the actual practices and figures. There are a lot of differences in administration, but there is also a lot of principle behind those administrational differences, superannuation here at 10% demonstrates the keenness and efforts of key people who have established a system fair to all, and at their retirement they can often self-fund. As lovely Kaitlyn points out so well for each point, but in the US it can vary from place to place and employer to employer. So it's evident that pressures from companies have found more sympathetic ears in the US, than for the reasonable rights of the worker. Thank you Kaitlyn for your excellent presentation, and factual rendering of what needs to be said in pursuit of fairness and fair play. Please do more videos when you can, and oh please stay here we need you.
I went to college in UK between 1982 and 1986 and there was no need for student loans back then. The local government provided a grant that paid the fees and gave the student money to live on. In most cases the students parents were required to contribute so the grant was reduced according to the income of the parents. In my case I was a mature student so I got the full grant. There was no stigma about leaving school at 16 and at my high school they didn't even offer courses for over 16s so you would have had to find a different school.
Love your videos. Superannuation is so good here, every job you ever have your employer pays a minimum of 10% of your wage, on top of your wage, into your super account. Started work at 14, done various jobs, didn’t really find out about superannuation until COVID hit and our government said ‘ok everyone can take up to 20k out of their super account if they need it in lockdown’ I went online and checked my super account and had like 85k...I’m 30 and don’t retire until 65, of course I took the 20k out! Haha...plus the remaining money in super account is always making interest and being added to by employer 👌
I should clarify you’re usually not allowed access to withdraw anything from your superannuation until you reach retirement age, 65, this was a one off thing for the government during covid
In Australia, there are basically no education loans apart from the HECS/HELP system which are loans from the government's at 0% interest but the can go up a small amount as they are indexed with inflation. You don't have to make any repayments until you are finished your studies and are working and receiving income above $40000/year, at which point repayments are automatically deducted from your pay like taxation. The system is very fair and reasonable.
Food Quality in Oz. Several decades ago, lots of our food was chock full of additives and growth hormones, too. Looked good, low cost, but had no taste, and was lousy in terms of health. Then the Health Dept woke up and we got regulations to stop all that. Farmers and food processors are controlled in what they can add to feed, fruit or meat. Add to that, food processing at all stages is fairly heavily regulated and monitored. The nett effect is that food in OZ is safe, and generally good for you. (Except cheerios, not sure what is in them!) Life expectancy in Oz is 3 or 4 years more than in US. The food we eat has to be a factor.
Hi Kaitlyn. It has always dumbfounded me on the push in the US (especially in the media) on "Gotta go to College, Gotta go to College!" Even the POTUS has a plumber that fixes the taps in the white house! Can I also add that Tradies get a very very good wage in Australia, depending on your employer.
The Imperial measure system I learnt at school here in Australia many years ago just my dead in. Think of inches, feet, yards, League, miles, chains, furlong, rod, perches, etc. The people of who thought of these systems must have been on drugs. The metric system is so much easier . I am so pleased that we changed to a sensible system that is easy to follow and understand.
My personal nightmare was doing subjects like Mechanics in both Physics and Maths 2 - one in Imperial and the other in Metric! So two different formulae for each thing. Aargh!
We came out to Australia from Germany in 1960. My father was a bricklayer by trade and was used to working in metric. He had to convert over to imperial when we first came out. Then in the 1970s, he had to convert back to metric. He thought imperial is the most illogical measuring system ever invented.
Thanks so much for posting these videos - I'm enjoying them a lot. Again, I could write bucketloads about what you raise here... Speaking as a (life-long Melbourne-living) local, even though we whine a lot about 'stuff', your videos would be very informative to many Aussies who really don't understand how good we have it in Oz... and how restrictive and...hmm... 'wealth-based'... 'basic services' are in the USA when compared to what we often take for granted here. I've only been to the USA a few times (in the '90s.. all up, probably spending maybe 4 months over there) as a visitor (not really a tourist and not to work)... but I certainly gained a 'flavour' of the life over there through the friends I visited... and while the unis and their campuses were impressive (loved Purdue - hey, I'm an engineer.. ha!) and a lot of the folks were very nice.. I'd still trot out the ol' adage, 'It's a nice place to visit.. but I wouldn't want to (try and) live there' 😁
Australia transitioned to the metric system in the 60's and 70's. As a young Aussie kid learning the English system of currency was a nightmare. From memory, it was twelve pennies to a shilling, twenty shillings to a pound and twenty one shillings to a guinea. In February 1966, Australia converted to decimal currency (100 cents in the dollar). It made our lives so much easier.
![Going back to America after living in Australia [CULTURE SHOCK]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/gVfAxBqOmUs/mqdefault.jpg)
![Going back to America after living in Australia [CULTURE SHOCK]](/img/tr.png)
I've never been to America but my eldest has been living there as he has an American gf. He says living there is a HUGE eye opener as to just how good we have it here in Australia.
The government helps us with alot here and I'm so grateful 🙏
Great, you're lazy and dependant on the gov like a true commie
After numerous holidays I did a stint with my work for a few months. It was a struggle with the food to get the nutrition in veges.
The government never gifted us with what we get so there's no reason to be grateful, the government works for us afterall, we earnt it and are owed it..
In the States they should be angry and disappointed in their past generations and government for the hopeless situation they are in now.
They let themselves be exploited and brainwashed, in Australia, NZ, U.K etc we wouldn't let the government take the piss like they do.
It’s NOT the government’s responsibility to “help” you.
They need to stay the F out of peoples lives.
That is the difference between a true American and you.
Great! Enjoy my taxes.
Many of the working conditions we take for granted here were fought for by our unions. I don't think people always respect that these were not things that employers or the government gave to us they were fought for. Support your unions.
yeah nahhh
Unless its the AMWU who walks in to your printing company, tells you what's wrong (but isn't), signs you up and takes your money then never comes back or offers help when something is actually wrong.
How can we support unions? When they don't support the workers? Did you forget what happened during the pandemic? The unions supported the government not the workers!
They had their place and time. Now is the time for right to work.
Right to Work!
In particular, public employee unions need to be abolished: In particular, police, fire, teacher.
Now that's the happy girl we love to see. FYI, some trades in Oz can earn as much as doctors.
And some can earn significantly more. Think electricians..
MOST trades earn a load more than doctors lol, not some, but most.
I'm a stone mason and all i do is installations and i earn over $300k, let alone high end trades like plumbers, electricians, roofers, plasteres etc.
Same here in NZ. We had some major wiring and plumbing upgrades done on our 100yr+ old house we had and over a cuppa with the tradies found out how much they made each year. My wife who holds three degrees said afterward that knowing that and given the choice she would have become a plumber instead of teaching at a top private school. Incomes weren't even in the same ball park.
@@colmastro4373 buuuull shiiiiit
@colmastro437well thats a joke and try finding a trade to do work.
It blows the mind of Americans I meet when I tell them that I work for one of Australia's most well known big companies, and if we build up too much unused annual leave by not voluntarily taking it, they publish a list of employees with the dates that they are to be on leave. This is: "You are on paid leave for these 6 weeks. Do not turn up to work." It's not an offer or an invitation - it's a company directive not to attend for work! This just leaves many Americans shaking their heads.
And then there is long service leave.
Companies see it as a liability, they want you to use it before they have to pay tax on the money they’re holding to pay you for it basically! Not to mention having to pay you last years leave after you’ve had a pay rise.
What a dumb policy.
@@davidmarkmann6098 not for company with 30,000 employees all building up annual leave entitlements it isn’t, at least from a financial management perspective. And we get our chance to ask for leave dates. It’s just that if you don’t use it, you’ll eventually get put on it anyway.
@@dutchroll In America you can often just hold onto it or convert it to cash if you don't take it. I see no financial risk to the company. Forcing employees to tale leave is very old-fashioned and heavy handed.
I lived in Illinois for a year, but also travelled through many other states. I was blown away with the amount of homeless people everywhere you go, and was so sad to see so many young families living under bridges etc, and came across MANY very ill people who couldn't afford to go see a doctor. It broke my heart. I have many friends in the states, but I was soooooo happy to land back in Perth - I actually 'ran' down the airplane stairs, burst into tears, and kissed the ground (I was there 01/02), after being there for Sept11th. I've also lived in Singapore and Greece, which I would go back to no worries at all, but I'm afraid I wouldn't go back to the USA, because I found it to violent, the gun culture is too scary, and the people have this thing "we are the greatest" - well I'm sorry to point this out, but America you guys have now dropped to No19 on the "most democratic countries in the world" list, but the American people refuse to believe that we here in Australia live a much freer life in many ways. It blew me away seeing kids going to school wearing bullet proof backpacks - our kids go to school without the fear of a gunman bursting in and killing them all. America used to be the leader of the Western free world, but not anymore - America hasn't progressed with the rest of the free world, they've become stagnant, and are actually going backwards in area's...I'm glad and proud to be Australian 🇦🇺
The stupid 2nd Amendament has destroyed America
I couldn't have said it better....!
I'm a homeless university student and I'm fighting to finish my degree, but I don't have anywhere to stay, so my days are taken up with searching for somewhere to stay, some way to get a meal to eat, somewhere to shower and wash my clothes, etc......
The United States is such a joke, a laughable joke for a so-called "developed country".......
I don't know how long ago it was that I actually was able to go to a doctor and get a prescription......
Medical care is just insanely expensive here.....
I already have a lot of medical debt, and as a student I have a ton of student debt.......
@@andrewstephen9096 Hearing that makes me sooooo glad I'm and Aussie. We do have homeless people everywhere here (from cities to small country towns) as well, they are not so visible and begging is not encouraged, but is not illegal; however there are many charities and Government assistance groups that can help out. Not everyone who is homeless is there by choice, some are, and most aren't. They CAN get help and even those with a roof over their heads and struggling to buy food have Charities such as 'Second Bite' and 'Food Bank' and other local and community based assistance.
@Rod Gale actually begging is illegal here, well certainly is in South Australia, we police officers rarely apply this law other than moving them on when there are complaints
I'm in the Royal Australian Navy and we accumulate 2.5 or so days a month in leave when not posted to a ship, when on a ship we accumulate 3.5 days or so a month. Once our leave is over 50 days we have to submit a leave plan to demonstrate how we are planning on reducing leave balances. We take leave seriously, everyone needs a break, and they make sure we get it when we are due. Having said that I also deploy away from home for weeks and months at a time so what goes around comes around.
I was, got out in 98
I worked for the ABC and had to be forced to go on leave after a staffing issue lasting years... the also paid me overtime rates for the time they could not afford to give me off!! ( pretty big tax slug in one pay week though)
Thank you for your service.
I agree. Retired from similar role and leave was very important.
As an Australian I can say this is one of the better AUS vs US videos I have seen, the reasons you give are reason-based and intelligent, not just random complaints. The work-life balance is indeed one of the best things about Australia, but don't be fooled we have our fair share of tyrannical bosses over here as well.
I’m just like, Australia’s better, that’s all there is to it.
And she hasn't noticed all the unpaid overtime Australians do, among the most in the developed world.
This video is stupid. The USA is the best country in the world
@@Texan_christian1132 Australia is home to me, but I've always had a fascination with the USA. I would love to visit one day for a holiday.
@@goldentwilight1944 I suggest you move here.
Glad to see you smiling again Kaitlyn, though I imagine you're still crying on the inside. I know you have a schedule to keep for RUclips, but I do hope you're taking the time you need for yourself.
An other thing about TAFE courses is if you continue onto Year 12 you can do a part time course during school time on a TAFE subject so when you graduate high school you already have completed a section of your course
Yes, this was me, in year 11 when i picked my subjects i chose to do a TAFE course. Every Friday afternoon around 1 our regular school lessons would finish and the buses would come to take us over to the local TAFE where our class would start from 1:30pm and finish around 5pm. We had kids from other high schools in our TAFE classes too. Back in the days i did it the acronym it went by was JSST(Joint Secondary Schools-TAFE) however by the time i got into Year 12 the acronym changed over to the new TVET system.
I completed certII in engineering when I finished year 11 and Then dropped out of school to start an apprenticeship as a boilermaker and I’ve nearly finnished my apprenticeship and certIII at 19 years old
@@jackthomas3837 You'll probably be making more than most grown adults in desk jobs.
My wife taught at university and some of her students were Americans who decided to study in Australia because of the difference in student fees they got a lot more for their dollar here and could have an overseas holiday at the same time . Both my son and daughter elected to skip university and do the tafe route both have jobs that pay them ov er $120,000 a year and my son will eventually start his own business which will obviously earn him more , you are correct in saying that the vast majority of Australians work to live and not live to work .I have an American friend who has to practically beg to take his annual vacation and he doesn't get paid for public holidays , even Christmas and Easter . And he considers his job to be a desirable one . I've said it before we might not be the best country but we're way ahead of whoever is in second place .
My cousin married an American who did her Masters in Oz. $50K AUD for the 2 years compared to $120K USD
Sorry, that l have to correct you, l am originally German from Berlin, and came here with 40 y old.
Germany has one of the best social networks in the world. All schools are for free, have no uniforms, boys and girls are mixed, and private schools are for difficult children. Universities are often for free too, and NO pay backs for Germans. When l decided to do a Teaching Degree for Primary School, when l was 30 y old, l could do it for free too, and making a practice at a school l got paid.
While working in different jobs, we got also superannuation paid by the company, we worked for, we did not needed to put any money in ourselves. We got 2 extra payments a year in summer 1/2 year double salary, and in December another double salary, as bonuses. Our health system included everything. I never paid medicines, nor for Dr appointments, nor dentistry, or a sickness being in hospital. But of course you could have private Health insurance.
I get regularly my German pension here in Australia.
I would like to say, that l did not come to living in Australia, because of better working, and living conditions, l came here for other personal matters, and reasons, l do not wish to discuss in this comment.
I have learnt here another way of life, much more relaxed, l love my environment, sea side living in a house, and working conditions were acceptable, and l love the multiculturalism in Melbourne. In my lifestyle l do not miss much from home, and l have been lucky enough to go to Europe for holidays every year till the pandemic came along. And l felt much safer in my area, as here is so much space, as l ever felt at home, in all these crowed homes, blocks.
You are lucky, English is your first language too, l miss speaking, and reading German, and my culture, including European culture.
But l am happily living here.
Two things l don’t like here much, are related to driving in opposite to your experience. l never will understand, that you just put a L-plate on and learn driving with whomever. In Germany you must learn driving with an Driver’s School, and your teacher accompanies you through the Driving Tests with two Government Instructors, and the written 10 pages test.
Here many accidents occur, because many, especially young drivers, do not use the indicator, can’t park proper, change lines with no attention, what they are doing, driving regularly too fast, and so on.
The other thing is, if you do a mistake, for example park too long, a fine from $ 96 arrives, when you per accident on a quite large highway must drive 60 km/h , but drove 65 km/ it come to $ 227 + 1 demerit point. In Germany for a parking violation you are paying Euros 15, and all other it like 5-10 std/km Euros 25-30. Demerit points you get for real violations like red lights, and real speeding in residential areas. I have had never a fine in Germany, but a few fines here in 30 years, because l never could adjust to driving on big highways, freeways 60, 80 or 100 km/h, because in Europe there are none such huge highways in residential areas, and on freeways you can drive as fast as you feel fit, and safe. So, l always must restrain myself on freeways.
I found your comparing AUS v. USA interesting, and enjoyed your presentation, observations, and experiences very much.
Thank you. Greetings from Melbourne Judy
In australia its weird people are more important than companies.
Our vote is encouraged too and imagine an organisation that neutrally organises electorates and impartially counts votes (while being overseen by the parties)
Im going out today l wont see guns be aware of them afraid of them ready to duck and cover roll over. We send our kids to school and they come home. If we get a call its just that theyre sick and need to come home alot of us ask our boss and they understand we take leave and our colleagues cover for us.
@@paulclissold1525 People power VS $$$$$. Mob I did some work with had an offer by the staff to buy the company. The formed a board & fired the executives & tripled profits. I was happy to be an observer
@@circusbrains cb you will use your guns on your brothers and sisters we still have guns in our community but the criminals use them on each other. Your freedoms are indiscriminate but never fail to seek out the innocent. Coff coff. The rest of the world just sit back and shake their heads. You guys really dont believe in democracy. Its just all talk. Go and do what you have to do but know that when you come back we wont be here.
One of the key elements of HECS - HELP loans as compared to student loans in the US is that the money from a HECS goes directly to the University. So there is no over borrowing to cover things not education related. The University cannot charge more than the set fee, and students cannot borrow more than what is required to cover the fees. In the US, students can take up to a set amount regardless of if it used for tuition, books, rent, eating out, concerts, a car, you name it.
Yeah we have Ausstudy to help out students who qualify for living expenses. Note I'm a 50 year old college drop out who has never had to pay off their HECS.
Yes. My 2 sons & my youngest sister had HECS loans. Paying them off apparently gave them a good enough credit rating to apply to The Bank for a housing loan.
As someone who has lived in both countries I confirm and endorse what Kinda says. I happen to be living in Japan at the moment. But if you asked me whether I would live in Australia again I would say definitely yes. If you asked me whether I would live in the US again the answer would be definitely no, especially the way it has been going over the last few years. The recent Australian election confirmed for me that Australia is a better society than the US.
There is little doubt that in America the system is heavily weighted towards business owners and against workers. Incredible to think that in such a rich powerful nation there is so much poverty due to things other western countries take for granted e.g decent basic wage,paid leave, universal healthcare, adequate welfare etc
They systematically destroyed the unions. America used to have really strong labour movement that got fair pay for work. Not so much anymore corporations spend millions to illegally union bust and feed propaganda. Used to be like 60% of workers were in a union now its barely 10%.
And btw unions are not perfect but what they are is lobbyists for workers and if corporations and companies have lobbyists so should workers its only fair.
In a perfect world neither should exist.
America was founded by the rich in favour of the rich.
The declaration of independence is largely bs.
If all men were created equally then there wouldn't be poverty at all.
American is the biggest contradiction on earth.
Buddy you should do some research about what you're talking about, yes there are a few countries who have a higher minimum wage for Holy Cow look at the world market, there are a lot of countries where the minimum wage is less than $300 a MONTH1 Some where it's as high as $620 a month and some where it's less than $100 for a 44 hour week! BTW most countries do not offer much in the way of benefits. Places like Western Europe with high minimum wages and great benefits are the exception not the rule.
@@lennybuttz2162 😂😂😂
Hope you're feeling better Kaitlyn 🙂. I enjoyed this list. It wasn't the usual ones we see (like gun laws, health care, coffee etc). Btw even Aussies are divided on kilometres. Some people say it the way you do and others say it the other way🤷♀️. Both are acceptable imo.
Yeah the metric system just makes more sense and is easier. Hence why everyone else uses it. I hear that a lot about fruit and veggies tasting a bit bland or watery in the states and also about the seafood. People who didn't care for it much over there, really enjoyed it here.
My oldest sister went to University for FREE, Bachelor of Science; Masters Degree & Honors Degree...then the Government abolished that. HECS is great, only a small % of your pay is taken & you have a long time to pay it off. I'm surprised about the veges & fruit....😮 Health care should be on your list & long service leave, which is awesome. I'd be interested in a video stating what America does better than Australia. Nice video Kaitlyn, thank you 💕
I had contributed to superannuation as well as savings before superannuation was created. My personal opinion is that all children born or arriving in Australia should be allocated a Superannuation account into which parents, grandparents and spare cash can be deposited. This would carry on into employment, so that when the child becomes an adult the superannuation account has been operating for 18 or more years. I would be interested to see what your circle of friends think of the idea. It may need some government legislation. This would be encouraging saving at an early age.
Love the fact you say bikkie. It would be nice if Aussies could say bikkies instead bloody cookies.
In 1967 when I got my driver's licence, my instructor said "All you've learnt is how to get a licence, now you learn to drive".
The drinking age Australia nationally was lowered to 18 in September 1971. The argument was, if 19 year olds were being sent to Vietnam, the drinking age should be 18.
New South Wales has had the 18 year old drinking age since 1905.
Maybe because kids went to WW1 and WW2 at very early ages maybe even 15 ,16 17 etc.
I am biting my tongue a LOT about the changes in language we are experiencing, frequently thanks to the influence of the USA.. what with younger folks using the word 'like' as a 'spacer'... using verbs as nouns and vice versa... and talking about 'DEE-fence and OFF-fence' in the footy and such things (ya, I'm a grumpy bum... Pffft)...
Sidebar: I find it fascinating to hear the different accents of USA-based folks. How many ways can you pronounce 'door'? ..particularly when considering folks in New York (City) and its boroughs... 'DAW'... 'DOO-er'... 'DOR-wah'... 'DERR'... (Professor Henry Higgins I'm not)...
When I visited the USA for a bit, I spent some time in the southern states (for example, Georgia, Louisiana)... and I always enjoyed the reaction.. when I would say something like, "I came into town today"... and the locals would look all sad... as they thought I'd said "I came into town to DIE"... 😁 ...and (most) everyone thinks we have no accent..(!)...
We now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...
The USA is so big and people from many different countries have moved there especially since the late 1800s early 1900s , many living in certain parts of the USA
I'm not surprised about the different accents, but I am surprised they are not more harder to understand.
Yet when I watch US news channels, interviews with locals who witnessed a shooting or an accident, no matter what state, as an English guy I haven't heard any that I find hard to understand.
Yet I'm my own country, which is smaller than Texas
People a couple hundred miles west or north from London can be really hard to understand.
The geordie accent ( Newcastle) is completely different from a London accent, as is the west country accent, Bristol, most Americans wouldn't understand a word of anyone with a strong Newcastle accent,
It's hard enough for us from southern England .
If anything Americans speak better English than the English.
Some towns are so violent you may have been close.
TAFE = Technical And Further Education. TAFE is a good stepping stone into Uni and its a good break for kids who struggle with the "high school" environment. I completed my School Certificate (when it existed) at TAFE. Ive also done back to work courses and cert requirements for working in clubs and pubs. Its a great institution for those who dont feel the need to go to uni or dont want to but but want a degree.
At 6.09 you said 'styoodent' rather than 'stoodent'. Well done. When I started work in 1979, partway through day 1 a man came to see me wanting me to fill out a form and sign it. I asked what it was and I didn't understand most of it but it had to do with paying into something or other. I said I didn't want to and he told me straight out that he would not leave until I signed it, so I did. It turned out to be a superannuation account. I should point out that back then, it was not compulsory and you actually had to sign up for it and rather than brow-beat me, he could've taken no for an answer and walked away. I retired 2.5 years ago at the age of 59 with $1.3m. If I could find that man today, I'd (slang alert) shout him all the piss he could drink. Oh yeah, partway through all that I took 7 months of long service leave in one go.
1986 & I was the same thing. I was 5% of my pay n the 90's & got my redundancy. Borrowed the Super to buy a business & sell it for double in a month later. I placed it all back into Super & paid the lot back plus interest. I was lucky my employer paid for my Uni & MBA then give mr money to leave LOL.
Re GST and price tags: the GST is a tax imposed by the federal government and is a uniform rate of 10% across Australia. That certainly makes it much easier to include in prices when compared with the system in the USA, where tax rates can vary from state to state and - absurdly - even from city to city.
I remember before GST when the tax rates were all over the place, I used to assemble computers in the 80's and 90's and there was 3-5 different tax rates on computers depending in which components were used and they ranged from 14.5% to 32.7%. GST is such an improvement!
Many people don't know it replaced dozens of other hidden taxes & simplified things in electronics / electrical goods.
Unless you live in the US and get to choose the lowest tax state to live in. Then we don't want any federal GST
@@yaimavol Many people here in Oz how many taxes the GST eliminated in 1 swoop. USA has 3 levels of government with 3 levels of taxes. Very confusing as an Accountant. I do know people often go to New Hampshire due to lower taxes & on some sales they tax refunded. Tax laws are always evolving & all governments around the world will find a way to bleed more money from you.
I keep hearing this excuse for the USA. But it makes no sense for most bricks and morter stops. I mean unless you are sell things out of a van or something your shop is not going to be crossing any state lines. It will be in the same state tomorrow as it was today. And if you can caculate the correct tax at the register you could have done the same before putting price labels up.
She's the kind of person I love to see coming here. I actually think USA is an amazing country. I know they have their problems but being a fan of machines and technology, America has given the world so much. I also like the way they will step in to help countries that need it.
At 6:45, ironically it was an American woman (a supervisor)who made me feel so guilty about leaving work early to pick up an Army buddy of mine at the airport. It was a Friday as well and that was some 20 years ago when I used to work at one of the big banks in Melbourne. And I’ve even notified my manager a week prior and was chill with it. Maybe it’s because she knew I was American as well and know how I think.
We tried to migrate to America in the late 80's But after few months, we decided to go back to Australia, and it was the best decision we ever did. Those family members who decided to stay there went back financially. They been struggling big time ever since. The Life balance does not exist over there. While we have the flexibility to enjoy life here more and we are more contended people compare to them.
I’m also an American; I’m doing a work and holiday year starting in March and have been watching your vids to learn more about Australian culture. Thank you so much for this info. It’s making me feel more prepared about the jump halfway across the world.
Also we’ve raised the smoking age to 21 now too to be consistent with drinking lol!
Hi there...sorry if I am repeating stuff already said. With your leave don't forget that there is also "Long Service Leave" ( I had nearly 9 months when I retired) and FACS leave which was for things like your funeral leave and if you need to stay home for a plumber etc...Don't forget that many places offer salary sacrifice options so for example your mortgage repayments can be deducted from your pay BEFORE the tax is taken out so you don't have to pay tax on that portion of your salary etc...Distances; old people like me frequently do not use kms etc we use time:- how far is it to Canberra? OH about three and a half hours...extremely interesting video !!!!
I just know I'm going to get a lot of flak for this, but here goes. Most of the advantages you spoke of came from Unionisation. I do wish the younger generation were aware of this.
Holiday leave loading, long service leave and being paid for holidays not taken when you resign or retire from a job. Never heard an American ever mention these things.
so agree with you...a union member for nearly 50 years...it pains me that so many younger aussies don't understand the benefits they enjoy because of the union movement and the continual attempts to erode them from the Lib/Nats...sigh
@@jaynemeulman8484 Not just those arseholes. As a union member myself I've learnt unions have no allies. Even some of the union officials are no better than politicians.
@@jaynemeulman8484 I must say though I expected negative comments and quite a few of them. Must be the outsider's per spec on what we've got in this country.
Spot on
You came up with a really good list, Kaitlyn 🙂 I think it'd be really confusing to have to mentally add sales tax to totals every time you bought groceries, homewares etc - not to mention adding 15-20% to the bill for tips in cafès and restaurants!
I believe it's because it is a different rate in different State over there.
@@SaulKopfenjager yeah but still the individual stores could just put the sales tax on
I remember when the GST came in there was some controversy on what was taxed and what wasn't. Fresh foods weren't taxed but prepared foods were, soft drinks (soda) weren't taxed unless they were refrigerated and a whole host of other peculiarities. But at least this was all sorted by the time we had to pay for the items, it was just confusing for the shop owners.
It is much better knowing how much of your purchase is between you and the vendor, and how much the government just takes.
but even though it's all included here, the Government component (at least the GST) is normally listed separately on the receipt.....so you still know how much the Government is taking and how much is the vendor.
We can play a game that lasts for 5 days and still not get a result, and it can be quite intriguing and interesting and suspenseful to watch. Most Americans I've spoken to can't understand this.
Honestly test cricket is great backhround noise to have on. Then 'tune in' when a replay of a big play
I'm Australian born and bred and don't get it. But then sport sucks, to me, in general.
Have you ever read the Funny Rules of Cricket?
@@abigailcramer6514 I worked once at the SCG for a test - NEVER AGAIN I swore !!!!
@@arokh72 Fair enough that you dont like Criket but saying sport sucks in general is such a wide bizarre statement. There are thousands of sports. Bout as bizarre as saying "reading sucks" at least to me anyway.
Great video. As an Australian living in Sydney, I was thinking about moving to the US at one stage of my life, but everything cost so much there just to live a basic lifestyle. I have travelled there especially to Texas and California and everything cost an arm and a leg. Even though there are lots to do over there comparing to Australia, you need lots of money to do it (break the bank after I returned from US.) Learning the US customary unit (like Fahrenheit, feet, inches, pounds etc) did my head in and had to convert them to metric to get an idea of the quantities required. It was an experience at the end of the day. US is still great country though but nothing compares to Australia.
You went to 2 very expensive states haha! But yes it’s expensive
But Sydney is not cheap either, mate.
Retired Australian here. Superannuation is a wonderful thing - it's let us live a very comfortable retirement. Put as much as you can afford into your super account, Caitlin. It seems like a long way off, but believe me when I say you'll never regret it.
Maybe if you have the taxpayer-funded version of super, 13% and with guaranteed minimum 10% increase each year. In private industry unless you are a high earner there is almost no way the super from a lifetime of working a regular job will support you in retirement.
Indeed the US Social Security system put in place by Democrats is the WORST national retirement plan of any country in the world
@@MrGutfeeling you suppose to put extra money and pump it till like 15% and you will probably end up comfortably to retire. Like I do salary sacrifice. Hubby did it and it works for him.
It will be a big help before you become reliant on other assets or the government.
@@MrGutfeeling my hubby, who has mostly worked in private industry with the mandated 10% super contributions is looking at retiring this year with $1.5 million in his super account. He may have been lucky his original super was with UniSuper since he did his mechanical apprenticeship at a university, they have nearly always been one of the top performing super companies and have very low fees. His super is still earning and I'm pretty sure we are looking at a comfortable retirement. OK, he has put extra into it along the way but it was so worth it. He has never earned big money, it can be done.
Love your videos. You're such an intelligent, compassionate and beautiful person. Thanks for promoting Australia - and for living here! Cheers, from Adelaide
Interesting video. I’m an Australian and this just reinforces my question… why would anybody want to live in America?
I travelled there as a tourist about ten years ago. Wouldn't go back if I was paid to.
It's that old cold war era myth about America being the land if opertunity.
It doesn't work that way anymore.
Don't forget asking questions like that. Remember they vote too so ppl from the USA voted themselves to where they are. Do not encourage them to come here.
Well it's not easy to leave without a foreign spouse.
@@fionacarty6647 popular vote here does not elect our highest officials. Are a lot of Americans stupid? Yes. But please know what you're talking about
I’m an American just starting the process of moving to Australia and your videos have been helpful! Ty keep it up 💕
Come over, you'll love it!
Congratulations!
Small point; The US doesn’t use the ‘imperial system’ it uses the ‘statute system’. The two use the same names but the conversions to the Metric system differ - eg 1 gallon (US) = ~ 3.8 l whereas 1 gallon (imperial/UK) = ~ 4.5 l. This US/UK difference gets tricky, for example, when you are cooking from online recipes (or old cook books) that don’t give metric measurements, you need to check where the recipe came from to figure out which set of conversions to use.
2 things that you haven't mentioned about are the roundup round down at the register as well. Secondly the blood alcohol level is lower in Australia, and that ties in with how much (if any) the driver on the different plate levels in Australia.
You correctly pronounced it "Hecks", I'm a public servant and mine doesn't even appear on my payslips. I pay back about $110 a fortnight and have been paying it off for about 15 years but I also had a bit more than average to pay back.
My work also forces me to take time off if I accrue more than 33 days of annual leave which is separate to my pool of sick/carers leave which I can use instead of annual leave if I'm sick or if I have to care for a sick member of my household.
Always loving your comparison videos Kaitlyn.
I am thankful for the HECS system. It's a system that is actually being copied by other countries such as the UK.
One feature I do like though is that if you are citizen, there is a subsidy.
I think the current subsidy is 60%, but when I went to university, it was 80%.
The way it works is simple. I paid 20%, the government paid 80%.
Paying is straightforward. When you have a job, you simply tick a box stating that you have HECS debt. This is treated as an additional tax withholding that without any further processing, is immediately sent to pay of the HECS debt.
Additional, at any time during a degree, or after a degree is complete and while there is a HECS debt, any payment in advance receives a further 10% discount.
I took advance of this when I was working a year after my degree. I elected to payout the remainder with discount.
If you have the debt paid off, but still have the HECS debt tax box ticked, any excess monies are simply paid out during a tax return.
The biggest difference that shocked me was a few years ago here in Oz I did a Microsoft exam and the paper said "no guns are allowed to be brought into the exam room". I went WTF!
bet you were glad you wore a shirt with sleeves !!!!!!!!!
@@stephenwhitelaw4873 absolute gold comment 💪🏾😎
How was the school meant to be shot up with no guns?
It could be worse. They may let you bring guns, but check them for programmable equations at the door. No cheating allowed !
Interesting point, in Australia all degrees are Bachelor Degrees, there are no other degrees.
Glad you're feeling better after the shock of the Philly incident.
A lot of people, especially if they don't have kids, often tack a day of leave onto one end of a public holiday. 4 day breaks can be quite relaxing
I'm an Aussie and live in Melbourne. I'm glad you love it here even though its bloody freezing. When I got my licence in the late 90s we only had the red P plate system. Which you had to have for 2 or 3 yrs I can't remember lol I do like our licence system
Hey mate. Glad you're having a good time in Oz. My misses is a professional chef who's lived in the states and she said the produce is a much higher quality here in Australia. She said I'd hate fast food in America
My wife and I were in the US for a month in 2019 and had a great time but I have to say the coffee was lousy. In all that time the only decent coffee I had was in New Orleans made by a lovely young woman from Brisbane who was living there with her american husband.
About fifteen years ago my husband and I visited LA and we tried Starbucks... our first and last time! Their coffee is terrible...
Melbourne and Sydney have an amazing coffee culture...
1: That's interesting. Back when I was young enough to be learning, we could get our L-plates at 16 yrs and 9 months. If we took professional driving lessons as well as learned with parents etc, we could apply for our P test on our 17th Birthday. Then, 12-months later we had Open licenses. I got my C-Class (Truck license) at 18 by driving a truck around the block and then reversing parallel to a curb.
2: I left my truck driving job at age 34 and started a degree at uni. That was in 1998. I stopped studying halfway through the degree because I got a job at the uni. I still have a HECS debt 20 years later. But that's because I've spent a lot of time out of work over the years.
3: For many years I assumed the rest of the planet had paid annual leave. And yes, I've heard many horror stories from US friends about their bosses.
4: The fruit and veg thing is weird! I will say that tomatoes here in Australia have declined in flavour, but increased in toughness. Transport and storability...I try to grow my own when I can. We do get great fruit though (trivia: I worked on a farm in NSW in 1987/8 and they exported Rockmelon to California).
5: Oh, yes! If I went to the US, buying stuff would freak me out! Just tell me the price FFS!
6: TAFE. In its heyday, it was massive. So many kids went straight into TAFE or did TAFE part-time while at school. It is a brilliant way to learn more skills. In the grand scheme of things, Tradies are the backbone of a country. Whether that be a builder or a truck driver (yeah, it's a trade/profession) or whatever.
7: Yep. I grew up learning both imperial and metric, but I think more in metric nowadays, but can easily convert to miles, or pounds etc. Is that advice like, a litre is the size of a quart, and 2 litres is about a half gallon? A pound of butter is about 500 grams.
8: It seems reasonable that if you're old enough to vote, you're old enough to drink...LOL I wrote this just as you were saying it...
9: Super is good. Some dodgy employers have been known to avoid paying it in the past...
These seem like really well considered things/ideas that matter, in a practical sense. We were kind of lucky that the metric system was phased in over a few years. My car had kmh and mph on the speedo which helped. Spanners, nuts, bolts, etc. can still be in fractions of an inch on older machinery (then there's BS, AF, BSW, ...). I still think of some things in imperial. Cheers. :)
Great list! I was really surprised about no annual leave, I feel sorry for teachers during the US summer break
Regarding our university fees, it's probably important to note that, as an Australian citizen, the government supports us by paying about half the fees in the first place. It's called a "commonwealth supported place". This does not have to be paid back. We can then choose to pay the remainder up front or use HECS-HELP, which is a loan from the government, not a private lender. The amount you pay back (through the Australian Tax Office, because it is a government loan) is indexed according to your income. To be honest, I don't even look at how much I owe. It just sits in the background and my employer makes those payments happen, along with my tax, each time I get paid. In the years since I got my degree I think I've only ever had one conversation about who still owed HECS and who had paid it off (I work in a job where you have to have a degree). We literally don't really think about it and I'm always so heartbroken for US students who carry such an enormous burden about something that shouldn't be like that for them.
Interesting video. As an Aussie, the comparison just further illustrates how good it is here.
I was in primary school when we transitioned from imperial to metric, but I still use occasional imperial measure for distance even now; "it's about an inch", but if I measure accurately, it will be metric…
I was also fortunate to get TEAS for tertiary education, unlike HECS, that was not a loan, but a benefit paid that could cover education living expenses, like accommodation, food, clothing, texts, and stationery.
Yeah we do appreciate our Tradies, the country's infrastructure depends on them. Yeah we need smarter people (for a short while Uni was free here, sadly no more). Super is a great thing and helps not only the individual but the country as well, when you are retired you still have money to spend in the economy. Don't worry about the metric thing, I'm old and was taught the Imperial system and the only thing that gives me a problem still is a persons hight, just can't picture the size in my head so... people are still feet and inches to me ha ha! Love your video's and so glad your loving Oz.
Sorry are you suggesting tradies aren't 'smart'?
@@rhyswoodman6781 Absolutely not, the smarts required for an electrician or builder just for an example involve some science and engineering at much higher levels than high school. I had many skills in my working life but only got to a Diploma level with education. However I managed several small businesses, worked in every single facet of the record industry (except operate a record press), qualified network engineer, Cisco instructor, computing teacher adult and high school and musician with global releases. I am retired now, i had a very interesting life for a disabled person. Sorry working class rant :-)
Over here if go to TAFE over here your more likely to walk straight into a job, which a lot of people don't get to do after going to uni. People that go to TAFE and get a trade job can earn more money than someone working in an office.
Thanks for your detailed comparison, Kaitlyn! You bring up the more unusual subjects. It's also good for Australians to appreciate what good things we may either not know or take for granted. There will be aspects of living in the USA that you prefer. Are you likely to do a reverse comparison. It would be good for Australians to know where we can improve.
When my dad lost his son my brother. He told his boss and he said to my dad take as much time off as you want. Basically saying don’t come back until your ready too. And i had to be the one to tell my dad that my brother died as soon as I did I heard a thump followed by sobbing. My dad had collapsed from shock and started crying
So sorry for your loss
@@kayelle8005 don’t be. I felt like i was on the outside looking in. Like a homeless orphan in the middle of winter peering through a pane glass window of a house looking at the family inside eating a Christmas ham. Here i was at the funeral seeing everybody else cry and me unable to shed a single tear wondering why everyone was crying. I found myself both confused about it and laughing at their grief and misery over his death
Sorry about that
Where you born and raised down Australia? I never visited but had a friend down Sydney but not anymore I lost him years back
@@stevebusto8192 yeah i was born and raised in Australia
Oh sure do you ever visit Kentucky?
In NSW at least (because I can only speak on where I live) it takes minimum 4 years to go from L's to full license.
Driver Knowledge Test. Learner for at least 12 months and a minimum of 120 hours driven (20 of which must be at night). Then a Hazard Perception Test to get the Provisional 1 license. After 12 months you can update your license to a Provisional 2 for like $92 and then you're on those for 2 years. Then you automatically get your full license.
Hey Kaitlyn, nice to you see smiling. Driver licencing varies by state, but the fundamental requirements are generally consistent. You can get your licence at 16.5 in NT, 18 in Vic, 17 everywhere else.
The drinking age used to be 21 before the war, and after the war, the governments decided that if you're old enough to die for country, you're old enough to have a beer. Exactly your thoughts.
Imperial system, I guess a lot of Aussies are comfortable with it, as we watch a lot of US shows, and a lot of US recipes, so we need to convert. Temperature and liquids I struggle with, but pretty good with distance and weight. Ironically, most of us in Aus still measure our height in ft/in. But can someone explain why a US gallon is 3.875 litres, and a UK gallon is 4.54 litres?
I think the difference between the gallons might have something to do with the UK/Aus pint being 20 fluid ounces and the US being 16 fluid ounces, and the conversion of those measurements to metric... someone correct me if I'm wrong...
It stems from a time when there were different names and volumes for the units which measured wine, beer and grain based alcohol in the UK and early America. So 3 names and 3 different sized units. Realising that was a bit daft it was decided by the Brits to use a single unit for all of them. They roughly averaged the 3 old units and settled on the Imperial gallon of 160 fluid ounces or 4.5 litres. Meanwhile in America they stuck with the Queen Anne gallon of 128 fluid ounces or 3.8 litres.
I think the metric thing is really most confusing for American people as far as temperature goes, due to the Fahrenheit to Celsius conversion. For everything else, it’s just a matter of learning to remember the everything is multiples of ten. Once you learn that, you’re ok.
Super IS your pay!!!!
Super was started with an in lieu of a pay rise of 10%, superannuation payments were made to take burden off pensions!
It is not your boss being nice!, its not a tax on business!
IT IS YOUR WAGE, YOUR MONEY!!! that's why every company pays super!
❤❤
Love the channel.
Hi Kaitlyn, I noticed in one of your videos there were Bundy run bottles on the shelf, I used to drink this when I worked in the outback (WA) with water out of a water bag. Really nice refreshing drink if you have no Ice. If you have ice it is really nice mixed with Bundy ginger beer. Always in moderation But remember “ Bundy rum makes Willy wagtails fight emu’s “ ( Willy wagtails are a very cheeky small bird in WA). Cheers!!
In 1972, the Australian Government declared pronunciation as 'kilo metre'. Most people pronounce it like 'thermometer''. Recently I heard Professor Roly Sussex, a language expert say either is acceptable (because of common use of both).
Who cares 🤔
Your call on food is spot on. Loved for over a year in the states. Flavourless food in general.
I’m Australian. I pronounce kms the same way you do.
Aussie Nurse here. My employer ( state government) will only allow me to accumulate 400 hours of leave max. You get notified that you need to take holidays. If you don’t plan for holidays after this you will get payed out an amount of those holidays but get taxed not at 30% as most employees do but at 50%. I can also apply for meritorious sick leave by being employed for more than 26 yrs so that gives me an extra 13 weeks of sick leave on top of any that I’ve accumulated which does not have a max amount. I can also take my long service leave after 7 years and take it at half the wage and basically doubling the time I can take ( there is no limits to the accumulation of that. ) I cam also take maternity leave and men can take paternity leave and do the same as the long service leave.
At one stage I could have taken 6 months off of work fully payed as I had accumulated so much leave.
Me too, working for the DHHS. When l retired l got still paid 4 months accumulated leave.
The way you said kilometre is perfectly fine. I think that’s actually the normal way - saying it as two distinct words sounds stunted. Though in common conversation we usually just say “Ks”
Talking of food quality in the states, I remember going to Universal studios LA back in 2013, and in the food stand they had a sign saying that some of the soda drinks "will give you cancer" not may or can but will. I took a photo of it to show the family and they couldn't believe it either.
Soda is not good for you, in any way, but that sign is not based on reality. It was simply required by the insane nutjobs that are running the state of california into the ground. Nearly every product sold in America has a calinfornia cancer warning on it, only so it can be sold in california, not because it is true.
When I was im the States I noticed the majority of adds were for fast food, medications and invitations to join civil suites against different companies. It was a weird reflection of what Americz is about.
I'm so so sorry to hear yet again about another senseless shooting in Philly, where a number of innocent lives were lost. I saw your video yesterday Kate and I was far too shocked for me to make a reply. My heart goes out to the familys right now must be feeling so so distraught at the loss of their loved ones. Rip for all the young ones whose lives were taken away when only they had just started out in life. May GOD take care of all those and may he keep them safe in the Kingdom of GOD. 😭😭❤❤❤....Pete from Tasmania
I'm a 6th generation Aussie and I say kilometres both ways. Easiest fix is just shorten it to k's or clicks. How far is the next town? 25 clicks.
Hi, i'm an Aussie and I enjoy your videos. Just to confuse (maybe!!!! ) the issue further vis-a-vis the different measuring systems, there is the US gallon and an Imperial gallon, with the US gal. being 3.78 lt., the Imperial gal. being 4.55 lt..
Thank you for lovely presentation. Would love to hear one or two similar things America does better so we could perhaps learn.
Yeah wonder presentation,Australia one place I could want to visit one day
Maybe Sydney,where you born and raise down there?
@@stevebusto8192 As a native Aussie who has lived all over Australia and who has just visited USA I can say the USA has the following over Australia.... 1. American people are more polite and friendly. This might be because you have so many people in America, however they are definitely more friendly. 2. You guys can sure build a museum/memorial/attraction every construction is well done. 3. Your airports are cleaner and much better designed compared to our major airports in Sydney and Melbourne. 4. In the main your retail/hospitality/service staff are extremely helpful and polite. Not saying they are not helpful here, but the go an extra mile in America.
@@DeneNorton yeah you’re right but a friend I had Patrick from Melbourne was so cool and friendly and I guess you are too.I never visited Australia but I could love to some day guess I have no place or who to visit cause I lost Patrick years back and it hurts so much he used to live a walk away from me day Wisconsin but now I lived down Kentucky,have you ever visited Lexington I have a home here and bet you could love it mostly if you love horses a lot of horses races”Kentucky derby” but I never raised any myself but maybe some day
I saw a good thyme for remembering celsius temperatures:
30 is hot
20 is nice
10 is cool
0 is ice.
As an Australian I don't need it :) but I know several people who it has helped.
Hi love! You said kilometres right the first time, keep saying it that way. I’ve never heard of anyone who says it the other way. And you’re saying HECS and HELP the right way too, you’re one of us! There’s a saying ‘Tradies get the ladies’. They always have a job and decent wage so… 😄
G’Day Caitlyn, I hope that is spelt correct? Anyway in regards to the metric system you are saying kilometres correctly. Over here it is said three different ways and it is your choice even though there are two most common ways and they are; Kilometres which is pronounced the way you were saying it but you thought you were wrong, the other way is K’s just like you say for $1000’s .
As far as a gallon is concerned there is approximately 3.8 Litres of liquid in a gallon.
I hope that has helped you so you were not wrong. Great job with your Channel I quite enjoy it and I always watch wanting to give you advice but I refrain from doing do. Stay Safe
Meat and fish here are superb. Fish is fresh and from the ocean and freshwater fish. The food here is superb, much better than in the US. I made the move in 1988, and have had no regrets.
Australian fruit and veg is pretty good but the best fruit and veg I've ever eaten was when my wife and I lived in Laos. It leaves the stuff you get at Woolies and Coles for dead,, and cheap. We were paying around 40c -50c for a kilo of tomatoes. The fruit and veg also keeps longer than the Woolies/Coles fruit and veg.
please do the video regarding the studne loans..... I'm thinking of leaving Minnesota, quitting my job, and moving to Australia.
With education, disadvantaged, disabled or people experiencing high impact heath issues can do TAFE and other College as well as some aspects of university courses completely funded or discounted. This enables thses people access to education and have certificates to facilitate employment
With the metric system, it is not uncommon to hear a older tradie say "cut 1500 (mm) of that piece of 4x2 (inches)"
Surfboards are still measured in imperial
Thank you for a very open comparison 🙏 and using everyday items
And strangely enough, that 4 x 2 is actually not that real measurement anyway but somewhat smaller. (more like 3 and 1/2 by 1and 3/4 anyway.)
Hi Kaitlyn,
Regarding the US using the Imperial system I was corrected by an American RUclipsr that they use Fredom Units. Not Imperial.
Just because I suppose.
Cheers from Newcastle
The sales tax thing perplexed me. You wind up with so many pennies and such. One time I was buying a shirt or something and I scrounged up the correct amount to get rid of the coins only to realise that the price listed wasn't the full price so I ended up with even more coins.
Don’t worry about getting used to the metric system. It does take a long time. It changed in 1974 when I was 12, and there are certain things I still think in imperial. The biggest is height- I am still 5 foot and a bit, not 152 cm. I cannot think of a person’s height in centimetres.
Also as regards the pronunciation of kilometres as far as I am aware both are used. I use both interchangeably. I wasn’t even aware that one was preferred.
Hi, Aussie here. I say kilometers like you said the first time, 'kilomm mehters'. Not 'kiloh meeters'. I think it is optional, and nobody cares. I'm liking your videos.
Me too! Killermetres sounds stupid!
Kilo-meters like kilo-grams is the more correct propitiation (based on the metric system) but either are acceptable due to kil-om-eters being more commonly said.
In regard to GST there is no sales tax on fresh food from the supermarket so things like Fresh broccoli, fresh oranges, fresh juice, eggs etc. If you are an apprentice doing TAFE you are able to get a loan up to $21,000 through the Apprentice Board (Trade Support Loan) to buy a vehicle or tools. The government realised that some apprentices travel large distances that have no public transport access.You also get a 20% discount once you complete your apprenticeship and are "signed off". The loan is paid back similarly to Hecs once you exceed approx $47000 in income, its interest free but indexed annually with the CPI (consumer price index)
You did not mention that the Government pays 75% of university fees and then loans you the rest at no interest above inflation. So anybody can afford to go to university.
Not sure what they do with that GST in the US (probably each business keeps it lol), but here it it is a separate way of ensuring that states with huge infrastructure costs for roads etc have money coming in from the Federal government. For example a few criteria are followed, What is the population of the state, what is the net amount of GST the state collected to put in the GST pool and the size of the state etc. For example: Victoria is the third smallest state in Australia, but it has a population almost the size of NSW. that means the cost of our infrastructure is less than any larger state more than likely, and so we get less money back than what we put into the pool which some consider an equitable redistribution of wealth generation ....sometimes. It is a great idea, like paying 1% cent in the dollar earned levy to cover the coast of medical needs. If this happened in the US the southern sates wouldn't struggle so much to meet a decent standard of living for the people there. It sure is a heartless place.
With 4 weeks paid annual being the norm or 6 weeks paid leave if you do shift work, we also get annual leave loading of 17 1/2 % on top of your paid leave. This is a conditions unions fought for years ago to compensate for the higher costs of actually going on holidays. Further employees get Long Service Leave ie when you have worked for an employer for 10 years you are entitled to an additional 13 weeks paid leave. All of this including Superannuation was negotiated by unions. I understand Unions in the US are not very powerful hence your poor industrial laws and conditions.
The public service gets that but out in the real work force it is fats disappearing. There was a time that public servants were paid less than private workers because they had permanent tenure Not today they are the favoured ones and constitute the majority of union members. For many of us out in the private area we have very little respect for public servants
The coal industry long service leave is 13 weeks after 8 years,5 weeks annual leave or 6 weeks if you have to work more than 32 Sundays a year and it’s a 35 hr working week.Any hours more than 35 are paid at overtime rates.15 days sick leave accumulating.In my position I get unlimited sick leave non accumulating plus 15 days carers leave accumulating but not payable on retirement.
Spent a lot of time in USA. Corn syrup in everything as a result of the lobby to use corn. I was trying to pure milk. US milk has added sweeteners, you have to buy organic milk to get milk. Cheeses are similar...colouring and additives. Actually US dairy foods aren't imported into Australia, New Zealand and EU as they don't meet pure food standards. Beef is same ..a key reason is hormones are fed to dairy cows and beef. Around thanksgiving and Christmas some US stores sell NZ lamb and it gets snapped up. US lamb is awful.
Having 4 weeks annual leave really helps the local tourist industry.
Australia is also the only country in the world where ALL employees accumute long service leave on top of the 4 weeks annual holiday paid leave. The law states that employees are entitled to 13 weeks of long service leave upon the completion of at least 10 years of continuous employment with their employer. On top of this, they are entitled to an additional 1.3 weeks of long service leave for each full year of service after the initial 10 years.
I was lucky to be born in the early 50's so that when I graduated from seconday school in 1970 I was PAID by the state education department to go to university to become a teacher. University was free at that time so I had no debt. I got a fornightly wage as well as accumulating superannuation and long service leave entitlements while at university. As a result I retired from full time work at 51 having gained the required 30 years of service to have a full pension from the State Government, payable from the age of 55. Most of my fellow teachers retired before aged 55 as that provide the most benefits.
That is why Australia is called the Lucky Country.
I have a friend who lives in texas, her family has passed away sadly, shes struggling, I want her to come here whether it ends up in a relationship or not, like we're friends first and formost. I sent her the 10 lies americans were told, i stuck around until the end to make sure it was factual. I understand her hesitation in thinking australia is a better place for her. I try and send her the positives and the negatives, but i think she'll make more money over here and have a better quality of life.
Here in Aus many employers force you to take your leave. Could be because they care for you. In some cases it’s because they don’t want to pay you at a higher level if you take it 3 years down the track.
Part of that is if companies are audited and people didn't have holidays they get fined upto 500, 000 dollars per offence does not apply to family run small business to best of my knowledge
That's happened to me. I'd been full time at a job for three years and hadn't got around to taking any holidays. The company accountant came and said they needed me to take time off. Otherwise the company would be stuck with a huge payment in lieu if I left the company.
It's good fraud prevention practice to require employees to take their leave, and have someone else do their job while they're away. A decent accountant or auditor will recommend that as a standard practice. The idea is that if you have an employee who's got a regular fiddle going it'll probably come to light when someone else does the job while the permanent guy's taking the holiday.
I'm retired now. I worked for a company for 19 years where you couldn't accrue more than six weeks annual leave, unless you had good reason. Once you've reached six weeks, the boss would wave an annual leave form at you and told you to take some leave. You didn't have to take the full six weeks but enough to reduce your accrued leave. We also had unlimited paid sick leave.
I'm Australian & was very surprised in the US when I went into a store & bought an item for $10 & had $10 in my hand & they said $10.75 & I'm like "What". It's City Tax. Don't start me on tips. How about here I can go see a Doctor if I'm sick and I don't pay anything & if I'm really sick go to the hospital & get free operation if required. It's not a perfect system but you don't pay $15,000 like you do in the US to have your tonsils out.
My family's entire lives were ruined, forever, because of my parents' health problems and the subsequent cost of getting health care and medical treatment here in the United States.......
Going back years ago, when the tv show Neighbours - one of the families in the street was a plumber - debuted in the UK, they were “how does a plumber live in such a posh house?” Aussie were “why does a plumber live in a mediocre house?”
Plumbers in America do really well, so we wouldn't think of them as being poor. I didn't realize that wasn't the view everywhere.
Drivers license can take 4-5 years depending on the state
Re Super, I’m old enough to remember that there was a wage rise agreement a few decades ago where the workers agreed to forego part of their wage rise and that it be put into superannuation. So while employers pay the money administratively part of it at least is what the workers would otherwise have got in their pay.
Great video as always! I just wanted to add an additional benefit for university and TAFE students. The government provides income support payments to students studying full time (and apprentices I think…?) that aren’t loans to be paid back later on.
For 16-24yr olds it’s Youth Allowance, and 25yrs and over it’s Austudy. It’s barely enough to live on, but allows students studying full time to focus on studying, not working full time and stressing about failing. Of course it’s means tested, and other conditions must be met, but students are able to work casual, even part time jobs as well if they wish.
I’m so proud Australia looks after our people. Education wise, there is no financial barrier to getting a solid and industry respected degree, no matter how humble your beginnings may be. It’s available to everyone at a very reasonable cost, and it’s paid off pretty quickly, so doesn’t usually affect your ability to get a mortgage or your credit rating. Win win!
Every point you've made is made with the facts and the figures, you've given no strength to national partiality, but just to what you know having lived in both countries and your study of the actual practices and figures. There are a lot of differences in administration, but there is also a lot of principle behind those administrational differences, superannuation here at 10% demonstrates the keenness and efforts of key people who have established a system fair to all, and at their retirement they can often self-fund. As lovely Kaitlyn points out so well for each point, but in the US it can vary from place to place and employer to employer. So it's evident that pressures from companies have found more sympathetic ears in the US, than for the reasonable rights of the worker. Thank you Kaitlyn for your excellent presentation, and factual rendering of what needs to be said in pursuit of fairness and fair play. Please do more videos when you can, and oh please stay here we need you.
I’m with you I love love love superannuation, instead of penny pinching on just a pension I can live quite comfortably in retirement with my Super.
My wife and I are both retired now. We did pretty well on superannuation. No mortgage, no rent, no debts, savings and part pensions.
I went to college in UK between 1982 and 1986 and there was no need for student loans back then. The local government provided a grant that paid the fees and gave the student money to live on. In most cases the students parents were required to contribute so the grant was reduced according to the income of the parents. In my case I was a mature student so I got the full grant. There was no stigma about leaving school at 16 and at my high school they didn't even offer courses for over 16s so you would have had to find a different school.
Hey! You pronounce kilometres totally fine, I say it exactly the same and I was born here. Don’t worry about it! 🐨
Sure where in Australia??
Do you ever visited Kentucky?
Love your videos. Superannuation is so good here, every job you ever have your employer pays a minimum of 10% of your wage, on top of your wage, into your super account. Started work at 14, done various jobs, didn’t really find out about superannuation until COVID hit and our government said ‘ok everyone can take up to 20k out of their super account if they need it in lockdown’ I went online and checked my super account and had like 85k...I’m 30 and don’t retire until 65, of course I took the 20k out! Haha...plus the remaining money in super account is always making interest and being added to by employer 👌
I should clarify you’re usually not allowed access to withdraw anything from your superannuation until you reach retirement age, 65, this was a one off thing for the government during covid
Be nice to see a comparison of education loans in America and Australia Kaitlyn.
In Australia, there are basically no education loans apart from the HECS/HELP system which are loans from the government's at 0% interest but the can go up a small amount as they are indexed with inflation. You don't have to make any repayments until you are finished your studies and are working and receiving income above $40000/year, at which point repayments are automatically deducted from your pay like taxation.
The system is very fair and reasonable.
Food Quality in Oz. Several decades ago, lots of our food was chock full of additives and growth hormones, too. Looked good, low cost, but had no taste, and was lousy in terms of health. Then the Health Dept woke up and we got regulations to stop all that. Farmers and food processors are controlled in what they can add to feed, fruit or meat. Add to that, food processing at all stages is fairly heavily regulated and monitored. The nett effect is that food in OZ is safe, and generally good for you. (Except cheerios, not sure what is in them!)
Life expectancy in Oz is 3 or 4 years more than in US. The food we eat has to be a factor.
Why, as an Aussie (which I assume you are) would you eat cheerios? I only know about them from ads in Yankee comic books as a kid.
Hi Kaitlyn. It has always dumbfounded me on the push in the US (especially in the media) on "Gotta go to College, Gotta go to College!" Even the POTUS has a plumber that fixes the taps in the white house! Can I also add that Tradies get a very very good wage in Australia, depending on your employer.
College degrees graduates are a dime a dozen and most have no jobs for their qualifications.
Love your reaction video. Also look into Long Service leave after ten years of working for your employer
The Imperial measure system I learnt at school here in Australia many years ago just my dead in. Think of inches, feet, yards, League, miles, chains, furlong, rod, perches, etc. The people of who thought of these systems must have been on drugs. The metric system is so much easier . I am so pleased that we changed to a sensible system that is easy to follow and understand.
My personal nightmare was doing subjects like Mechanics in both Physics and Maths 2 - one in Imperial and the other in Metric! So two different formulae for each thing. Aargh!
We came out to Australia from Germany in 1960. My father was a bricklayer by trade and was used to working in metric. He had to convert over to imperial when we first came out. Then in the 1970s, he had to convert back to metric. He thought imperial is the most illogical measuring system ever invented.
Thanks so much for posting these videos - I'm enjoying them a lot.
Again, I could write bucketloads about what you raise here... Speaking as a (life-long Melbourne-living) local, even though we whine a lot about 'stuff', your videos would be very informative to many Aussies who really don't understand how good we have it in Oz... and how restrictive and...hmm... 'wealth-based'... 'basic services' are in the USA when compared to what we often take for granted here.
I've only been to the USA a few times (in the '90s.. all up, probably spending maybe 4 months over there) as a visitor (not really a tourist and not to work)... but I certainly gained a 'flavour' of the life over there through the friends I visited... and while the unis and their campuses were impressive (loved Purdue - hey, I'm an engineer.. ha!) and a lot of the folks were very nice.. I'd still trot out the ol' adage, 'It's a nice place to visit.. but I wouldn't want to (try and) live there' 😁
Moving to Melbourne from Missouri in about 3 weeks!
Good luck with your transition. Many Americans have moved here and decided to call Australia home.
Australia transitioned to the metric system in the 60's and 70's. As a young Aussie kid learning the English system of currency was a nightmare. From memory, it was twelve pennies to a shilling, twenty shillings to a pound and twenty one shillings to a guinea. In February 1966, Australia converted to decimal currency (100 cents in the dollar). It made our lives so much easier.