Anyone who has met an Aussie abroad will know that we LOVE our country and well, love to talk about how much we love it. I do (like most) think we are the luckiest country in the world and as much as I love travelling, the more I travel, the more I realise this is true. From our beautiful beaches, to our enviable climate, unique wildlife, laid back culture, delicious cuisine and our countless, incredible natural sites such as Uluru and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia is a country that you are guaranteed to fall in love with. As most of you know, I moved to the UK almost 18 months ago and as much as I love our life in the UK, there’s a lot of things I (and other Aussie expats) seriously miss about Australia, and here are 20 of them!
Obviously I like all expats mostly miss my family and friends but these are the things I also miss (and I also apologise in advance for all the food items on this list…)
1. THE WEATHER
Pretty self explanatory when the average day looks like this!
2. TIM TAMS
Basically the best biscuit in the world (and yes, they are 100x better than Penguins).
3. OUR BEAUTIFUL BEACHES
I’m not going to lie… I think we have the most beautiful beaches in the world! We also have some incredible ocean baths!
4. AN AUSSIE BREAKFAST
My cholesterol levels just cannot handle an English fry up! I miss days sitting in the sunshine at a table on the footpath or by the water tucking into fresh sourdough bread, perfectly ripe avocado, fresh feta and the most perfect poached eggs…
Dan has eased the pain though by perfecting his Eggs Benedict & he makes a damn good poached egg!
5. BEING ABLE TO WEAR THONGS ALL YEAR ROUND
…and being able to call them Thongs without being laughed at by someone saying “Don’t you mean Flip Flops”.
6. MANGOES
Every single time we visit the supermarket I pick up a mango & smell it, and it just doesn’t smell right and so I just put it back. It drives Dan nuts but I keep telling him he’ll understand once he smells (and tastes) the sweetness & deliciousness of fresh mangoes in Australia.
7. AUSTRALIA DAY
I’ve had three overseas and it is always fun abroad, but never quite the same without all your mates, a swimming pool, beers/ciders, sunshine, Triple J Hottest 100 playing and everyone covered in Australian Flag tattoos!
8. OUR LAID BACK CULTURE
Aussies are known for being laid back. One thing I was told before I moved to the UK and now I understand what they meant, is that there is a real culture of “working to live” in Australia whereas in the UK it more is “living for work”. Imagine if this was your daily commute…
9. CHRISTMAS IN SUMMER
I was seriously sad when it didn’t snow this year at Christmas (only to find out it hardly EVER snows at Christmas in the UK)!
Those who didn’t grow up experiencing Christmas in the middle of summer find it difficult to comprehend. Christmas for us is 40°C, backyard swimming pools, mornings at the beach, beers, BBQ’s, seafood galore and spending our time with our family out in the sunshine.
10. FREE STUFF
I used to take these things completely for granted. Such as free parking at the beach (or almost anywhere) and free BBQ’s to use in parks and at beaches.
11. OUR WILDLIFE
I miss seeing Dolphins, Kangaroos & Koalas on pretty much a daily basis and I miss whale watching season. Although there’s a number of our wildlife I must admit I don’t miss like snakes, spiders, cockroaches etc…
Read more: Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary, Whale Watching in Port Macquarie
12. HAVING A LAUNDRY…
A weird one I know, but every single house I have visited in the UK has their washing machine in their kitchen. I know its due to lack of space in houses over here but it drives me nuts!
13. COASTAL THUNDERSTORMS
There’s nothing better than after a stinking hot day then watching a thunderstorm roll in across the ocean.
14. CHICKEN PARMIGIANA
There’s also nothing better than a Chicken Parmy at the local pub…
15. PAW PAW CREAM
Us Aussie girls swear by Paw Paw Cream and you’ll always find a little red tube of it in my bag. It seriously works for everything. It’s nearly impossible to find anywhere but Australia and so I ask every visitor that comes over to bring me a new tube of this goodness
16. AUSTRALIAN WINTERS
Again, pretty self explanatory. I laugh at how I used to think that less than 20°C was freezing, especially when we were counting the days until we hit double digits this year (i.e. above 10°C!)
17. CHICKEN SALT & POTATO SCALLOPS
The UK is known for its fish & chips, but oh how I miss chicken salt on my chips & potato scallops! I cannot handle putting vinegar on my chips like the English do.
18. WIDE OPEN SPACES
The Australian outback is truly like no other place on Earth with wide open spaces and blindingly blue skies!
19. VEGEMITE
Yeah I know you can buy it in the supermarket in the UK but it isn’t the same. I smashed my jar of Vegemite on a hostel floor in Brazil a few years ago and was absolutely devastated that I still had three months left of travel and no Vegemite!
20. OUR “BIG THINGS”
My childhood memories involve visiting a new ‘big thing’ in each destination we visited around the Country. They range from things such as the Big Banana (which is the closest one to my town), Big Avocado, Big Guitar, Big Merino, Big Prawn, Big Boxing Crocodile… I’m sure you get my point…
For some reason they make me extra patriotic and want to tick them all off my list in our future Australia travels!
