What 90% of Australians Think Is Normal (But Europeans Could Never) 🇦🇺

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]There are things Australians do that completely feel normal there. But when you come back to Europe, you suddenly realize, oh, that would absolutely not work here. And the weirdest part is Australians don't notice half of them.

[00:00:12]And now that I live back in France, here are the things that stood out the most to me. The hypothetical plans. In Europe, if you make plans, that means commitment. In Australia, on the other hand, plans somehow feel optional. You may get responses like, "Yeah, maybe king. We'll see. And somehow everybody still understands exactly who is showing up. But in France, I can definitely tell you this level of uncertainty would emotionally destabilize people.

[00:00:42]The impossible outdoors.

[00:00:46]You will see Australians sitting outside in strong wind, half raining with a tiny outdoor heater doing absolutely nothing.

[00:00:55]When you'll try to tell them, "Aren't you, you know, cold?" They'll look at you and say, "Ah, it's beautiful outside." It's almost like I can hear my sister-in-law say that, "Ah, it's fine."

[00:01:06]Meanwhile, Europeans would have definitely already gone back inside wrapped in a blanket for sure. The casual authority. Let's just say that Europe has very deep historical hierarchy. Everyone's aware of that. And Australia has, "Hey, mate, I did it. I did it with YOUR ACCENT."

[00:01:23]NO, NO, NO. NO ONE IS ALLOWED to mock me. It feels like the lack of intimidation is wild. Whether it's your boss, your senior manager, my experience in Australia was definitely different to what anyone I knew in force was going through in that regard. In Australia, it's most of the time all first names, casual tones, and a lot of joking around. I just feel like Australians have a massive tolerance for informality. And honestly, it really feels like they do not care about titles, which is one of the best things that I could have ever experienced in my life. And it really set the tone for what I accept in the future. In Europe, I would say that social status is still heavily connected to your formal education and your degrees. In Australia, practical skills are respected. Again, I'm going to take my sister-in-law as an example. She grew up being able to do everything with her hands. She'll be very strong, carry things, cook, know how to garden, use tools. It's something that I feel is really ingrained in the education in Australia and therefore it also explains the respect that comes with trades and all the practical professions. This is probably one of my favorite random interactions. In Europe, it feels like sometimes people subconsciously need a social justification to interact with a stranger. That's something that I've definitely understood coming back to France. In Australia, the interaction itself is normal. You can ask a cashier, "How's your day going?" and you end up with camping recommendations. It's a fact. I have been able to learn so much about things to do through informal random conversations. People in Australia also extremely interested in other people because a lot of the time people will be interested in knowing where my accent was from, where I was coming from, what I was doing in Australia. They always felt very genuine. That's why I can speak from experience in this case. That one is extremely nostalgic. I'm going to say linguistic emotional support. When I first arrived in Australia, I remember working in VIP suites in stadiums. It struck out to me when people would call me champ or legend. And let's just say that coming from France, since I had never heard anyone calling someone else a champion or legend because I served you a glass that you paid for, I genuinely thought, "Wow, people are so kind to the point where I believed that they truly felt I was a legend.

[00:03:58]I know it makes no sense. I took it very seriously until I realized that they were saying that to everyone and that it didn't really mean what it meant. And if I combine that with people saying no worries for absolutely everything, a lot of people in France have come back to me saying again you say like pat problem in situations where I'm not meant to say bad problem. is just that I've gotten used to that habit of saying no worries for everything. You could accidentally ruin someone's entire afternoon and they'll still find a way to say ah no worries you're right mate you know like okay that's the second time I have to stop. It's funny how I feel that sometimes Australians they can honestly emotionally support you while just sending you a sandwich. It's very funny.

[00:04:45]That one is 100% shocking to Europeans or at least I felt very shocked at first. I call it affectionate insults.

[00:04:55]In Europe, certain words mean you are starting a fight. In Australia, language is flipped. I need to put it in a way so that people understand. Australians can insult you affectionately and compliment you aggressively. The context and the tone matter more than the actual dictionary definition. I've heard Australians. I'm not going to say the word, but I'm going to spell it. It start with a cu. I hear people saying that to each other when it's considered one of the worst British insult you can ever use. But obviously, the tone matter because if the tone doesn't follow, then it definitely is the insult. But on the other hand, you're at work and you do a very simple task very well and someone will come look at you dead in the eye and say, "You absolute star. Get out of here." This I've heard it so many times at work.

[00:05:44]I just did a task. This is the one everyone talked to me about when I came back to France. I know for a fact that definitely every European in the room could never bear. And it's coexisting with monsters.

[00:05:59]In Europe, and I'm going to say in France just in case, if someone sees a mediumsized little tiny house spider, someone could honestly reconsider their whole lease. I've seen friends feeling that way, reacting that way to ridiculous tiny insects, and the first thing they say is, "Well, obviously now that you've been in Australia, for you it looks like nothing." And I say, "But it is nothing. It's a peanut." Well, yes, it's true. I've had at some point to cohabit with a massive huntsman. When I think about it, I'm like, it was just randomly walking exactly like this, like behind me on the couch. I didn't realize it until it decided to go down and then walk between the TV and me and then definitely I was like okay I am not in Europe anymore but no one killed it we kept it also why because my friend huntsman they eat the ones that we don't like Australians I think majority of them they'll have almost like a prehistoric looking huntsman in the living room I named it Gary he's harmless he keeps the flies down it's honestly like that I love the giant birds the bean birds these These ones in Europe, you'd be like, "What the?" In Australia, it's normal. You walk around and you see them. Even in Sydney, it's completely random. Even the snakes, I'm fine. I've had snakes. I've had all sorts of animals when I think about it. And you really coexist with them. And I don't want to kill them. Now, this one, the unstructured social life. I'm going to just call it like that. Obviously, it really feels like in Europe when we host, it's usually very prepared, very formal. I'm not going to lie, it feels more performative than what I've experienced in Australia. An Australian social event, I mean, unless it's like super super formal, you can be barefoot.

[00:07:47]You'll have barbecue smoke blowing in your eyes, paper plates, someone will definitely forgot the ice. There's going to be like random folding chairs, and I absolutely love that everyone still have a good time. The massive four-wheel drive. In Europe, obviously, our cars are smaller and a lot of the time tiny because we have very small, tiny streets. In Australia, almost everybody drives this massive four-wheel drives, huge tires, metal bars on the front.

[00:08:16]That was my car, snorkels on the side.

[00:08:18]They honestly look like they're going on a heavy safari. But what's very funny to me, the person who's driving those almost like giant truck, they can a lot of the time be completely barefoot. I again speak from experience. I ended up doing it so many times especially coming back from the beach definitely barefoot in the car, the sand in the car and again I love that as you can understand.

[00:08:42]In Australia there is no fear of embarrassment and in Europe it's very tough to bear that or at least that's how it feels like.

[00:08:53]Europeans spend a massive amount of daily energy trying not to look stupid.

[00:08:59]And to me it felt like Australians seem way less afraid of social embarrassment.

[00:09:04]They will dance badly at a party, speak extremely loud and honestly they'll just happily laugh at themselves even when they mess up. It's really part of who they are. It feels like they have that social confidence that just doesn't rely on them looking perfect. They just don't take life that seriously when it comes to things that don't matter. It's almost like they keep in their soul the inner child as adults. That's really what I felt. The easygoing expectation. H this is probably the deepest cultural observation I've made. It feels like Australia is probably one of the only places where trying too hard socially or even like showing off your status, your wealth can actually work against you.

[00:09:48]You need to stay grounded. It doesn't matter who you are, how much you make.

[00:09:52]Everyone's going to speak to each other with respect from what I've seen.

[00:09:56]People, most of them seem quite grounded. So, always take care of yourself and don't forget because I know some days can be tough. But, um, I'm here to try to put a little smile on your face if they can help. Bye-bye, Australia, the Europeans or anyone else actually. Bye-bye to anyone. How can no one has adopted you yet?