From Down Under to Down South

Send us Fan Mail Halloween in Tennessee, late-night adventures at Waffle House, a McRib heading to court, and a little red bird with a special meaning. This week, I'm sharing one of my favourite Halloween experiences since moving to America. From elaborately decorated houses and neighbours gathered around fire pits to an unexpected conversation about how to pronounce emu , it was a reminder o...

Send us Fan Mail Is Everyone in America Exhausted? When did being busy become something to be proud of? And why does taking a day off sometimes feel like something we need to apologise for? Since moving from Australia to the United States, I've noticed how much American life revolves around staying busy. Work, school, children's activities, household chores and the constant pressure to g...

Send us Fan Mail This week on This Week in America , I'm heading to Nashville for a Dolly Parton tribute concert, where my seven-year-old daughter Brianna gets to enjoy a little of her favourite Dolly song, 9 to 5. I'm also putting myself to the test after reading an article about six hobbies that supposedly make men a great catch. Apparently, I've got a few things going for me! The...

Send us Fan Mail Americans have a reputation for being remarkably comfortable talking to complete strangers. At the supermarket, in a waiting room, standing in a queue... sometimes you can learn someone's life story before you've even learned their name. But when it comes to the people living right next door, things get a little more complicated. Recent research found that Americans are...

Send us Fan Mail 2,500 Job Applications, 4 Interviews | This Week in America Is experience becoming a disadvantage in the American job market? After submitting more than 2,500 job applications and landing just four interviews, I'm wondering whether being 52 is working against me. A recent 60 Minutes report on age discrimination and AI in recruitment has raised even more questions about what h...

Send us Fan Mail Why do Americans say “I appreciate you”? To an Australian, it can sound surprisingly personal. We've only just met. Where exactly is this going? In this episode of From Down Under to Down South , I explore one of those small differences between Australian and American culture that reveals something much bigger. From Southern hospitality and the casual “‘Preciate ya” to the di...

Send us Fan Mail Why does America still have the death penalty when countries like Australia abolished it decades ago? Living in Tennessee, I've found myself asking that question more than once. But a recent failed execution brought the issue much closer to home. In this episode of From Down Under to Down South , I explore the history of capital punishment in America, the troubling questions...

Send us Fan Mail Ask ten Americans what America is like, and you might get ten completely different answers. The funny thing is, they could all be telling the truth. After sharing my observations about American friendliness and why Americans talk to strangers, I started reading the comments. People from different parts of the United States were describing completely different experiences of Americ...

Send us Fan Mail This week in America, I finally reached one of the stranger stages of immigrant life: realising I am no longer just watching the country from the outside. There was long awaited rain in Tennessee, a storage facility tenant who still seems confused about the difference between storage and housing, Georgia’s new dance competition schedule, a fall break theatre camp, baby names in Am...

Send us Fan Mail Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike. The lethal injection began. The drugs were administered. Then something went wrong. Instead of leaving Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in a hearse, Pike left in an ambulance, alive. But this episode isn’t only about what happened inside Tennessee’s execution chamber. It’s about a state that had already failed to carry out another exe...

Send us Fan Mail Nobody actually tells you when you’re getting old. One day you’re driving along, find a radio station playing Supertramp and think, “Finally, some decent music.” Then you discover you’re listening to the golden oldies station. Apparently, this is how they tell you. In this episode, I’m coming to terms with the increasingly suspicious evidence that I may no longer be young. My daug...

Send us Fan Mail This week in America, politics meets petrol prices, dance floors, hockey arenas and the never-ending logistics of family life. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been in the United States, picking up a Global Citizen Award and talking about everything from artificial intelligence to online safety and free speech. It got me thinking about the differences between Austral...

Send us Fan Mail Sometimes the smallest things are the ones we remember for years. A butcher notices a child is missing. Someone sends a quick congratulations to a new American citizen. A family makes room for one more person at Thanksgiving. A supermarket worker remembers your name. A stranger tells you they like your shirt. To the person doing it, the moment might be completely forgettable. To t...

Send us Fan Mail Middle Tennessee became one of the hottest places on Earth, petrol climbed past four dollars a gallon, and driverless taxis began navigating Nashville traffic. This week, Michael looks at life beneath a powerful heat dome, the rising cost of driving, Waymo’s arrival in Nashville and the confusing difference between American and Australian floor numbers. He also discovers supermark...

Send us Fan Mail Australians have a habit of taking perfectly good words, chopping them in half and giving them a nickname. Afternoon becomes arvo. Service station becomes servo. And McDonald’s? That became Macca’s. But this one went further than most. More than half of Australians were calling McDonald’s “Macca’s,” and eventually one of the biggest brands in the world did something remarkable: it...

Send us Fan Mail Apparently, even the baby goats can kill you. This week, I’m trying to understand how a rabid baby goat managed to expose hundreds of people in North Carolina, why contaminated iceberg lettuce made nearly 13,000 people sick, and why the Farmers’ Almanac already has America talking about snow. Closer to home, my ten-year-old daughter Georgia got braces this week. She handled it bri...

Send us Fan Mail An Australian viewer recently told me my content had become a little too “fawning” toward America. They suggested I unleash my “inner Aussie,” get grittier and spend more time talking about politics, crime, healthcare and everything America gets wrong. They also called me a “former Australian.” Apparently I've been sacked and nobody told me. But the comment got me thinking ab...

Send us Fan Mail Apparently, I’m old now. Nobody bothered to tell me. This week, a perfectly ordinary drive to get a haircut turned into an unexpected reminder that time has been quietly moving on without asking my permission. Supertramp is apparently “golden oldies,” my daughters think Home and Away is ancient, Honey Boo Boo is somehow 21, and Squishies are now an essential part of childhood. The...

Send us Fan Mail American families move around. Kids leave for college, take jobs in other states, get married and start families hundreds or even thousands of miles from where they grew up. But since moving to America, I’ve noticed something that I don’t remember seeing nearly as often in Australia: sometimes Mum and Dad follow them. I’ve watched retired parents sell their homes and move across t...

Send us Fan Mail Tennessee is saying goodbye to Dolly Parton. This week, I watched a state grieve for a woman who was far more than a country music star. I share what Dolly meant to Tennessee, the stories I've heard from people who knew her, the generosity I witnessed firsthand while working in banking, and why her death unexpectedly brought back memories of my mum in Australia. But it wouldn...

Send us Fan Mail After nearly eight years living in the United States, I've come to believe many Americans have a hidden superpower—and it isn't what you'd expect. As an Australian living in America, I've noticed that Americans don't just celebrate success. They encourage people to try in the first place. Whether it's starting a business, writing a book, changing care...

Send us Fan Mail We're finally recovering from COVID, but apparently I've been making tea wrong the entire time. This week, Nikki explains why honey should never meet a metal spoon, the turtle in my workplace lunchroom officially becomes a colleague, and YouTube reaction channels take From Down Under to Down South international. I also share why I decided to file a trademark after being...

Send us Fan Mail After eight years living in America, I don't often think about how far away Australia really is. Then our entire household got sick at the same time. This week, all four of us came down with COVID and a collection of secondary illnesses. Nikki and I were completely wiped out, the girls were sick, nobody was sleeping, takeaway became a survival strategy, and at one point I gen...

Send us Fan Mail Living in America as an Australian isn't always about the big cultural differences. Sometimes it's the completely ordinary moments that remind me I'm still seeing life here through Australian eyes. This week, my workplace somehow went from having two cats living in the employee bathroom to a turtle in the lunchroom. The girls went back to school, everyone got sick,...

Send us Fan Mail Why do Americans customize everything? After moving from Australia to the United States, one of the biggest cultural differences I noticed was just how many choices Americans have. Coffee orders, restaurant meals, pickup trucks, homes, phone plans and countless other everyday things can all be personalized. At first, it felt overwhelming. Over time, I realized this isn't real...