Surprising Differences Between the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand in 2026

My wife and I had never ever visited the land down under as well as their Kiwi neighbor to the east. We had really built up the visit to be something over the top spectacular and like nothing we had ever seen or experienced before. It lived up to every expectation and beyond. But…

There are some really odd things about the these islands – at least from an American standpoint. Here is my list of things that totally surprised me. Some in a good way and some not so much. Let’s dive in.

What is up with power switches at each outlet? What a royal pain in the backside. I can not tell you how many times I have plugged in my phone and come back and it had not charged at all because… Yep… The outlet was switched off! I asked a bunch of people why they seem to be the only people on the planet who has this and the best answer I got was that there are so many things trying to kill you down here that we wanted at least this one thing to be more safe. OK then!

I am a fan of all kinds of foods with funk like a strong blue cheese (num), Swedish brown goat cheese (wife hates it), caviar from a tube you squirt on toast or even salt licorice that truly is an acquired taste. But we, for the first time ever, tried vegemite. My gosh – that stuff is just so wrong? Talk about ultra funk. Even a tiny taste stayed with me for some time. Never again.

Another thing that, in a good way, really surprised me is how genuinely nice just about everyone was on both islands. I mean most folks were smiling and so ready to help you or even in general the attitude of everyone was so kind. I think much of that has been lost in the good old USA – at least in the current climate.

Another thing that surprised us both, that I guess we should have known, is how tropical the islands are. I was not expecting so many palm tress and that in some parts winter does not really happen (think Florida like). I mean with Antarctica just south right? I also was surprised just how hot it can get with temps well over 100* F but thankfully those extreme heats around Sydney went away by the time we visited.

While we are on the topic of the two islands we were also surprised by one difference that really stood out between the two. In New Zealand I saw almost no graffiti tagging anywhere (I hate tagging) and everything was so clean. In Melbourne and Sydney it was a different story with tagging much more prevalent and more trash here and there. I mean I know they are different nations and peoples but personally I expected them to be very similar so this got my attention.

Lastly how completely cash less the two islands are. Sweden, where I am from, has also moved this way and not long gone are the days of converting US cash to whatever but there was zero need here. We always chose the local currency when paying (a smart #ProTip btw) and let my Chase Sapphire Reserve®  <-LINK do the conversion with tap and pay. The entire time there I never converted any cash and it did not present any issues.

The last one was so very VERY refreshing as an American. Both islands pay people a living wage so there is no tipping culture at all. I mean none. You are not pressured into tipping nor is it expected. The few times I did tip I tipped in dollars and the reaction was both warmly welcomed and tipping with USD was not turned down (I know the USD is currently stronger than both currencies but still).

These were the things that I did not expect and most of them were very pleasant surprises. Have you ever, as an American, visited down under and were as surprised as we were? Were there other things that got your attention? Let us know! – Rene