A British couple has revealed what they simply can’t get used to after packing up their lives and moving to Australia a year ago.
Rosie Daniels and Harry Wilde, who previously lived in Manchester, have 5.6 million followers on TikTok on their couples account and had always dreamed of moving Down Under.
But one year in, the couple, who even got engaged in Australia, say there’s certain things that still leave them baffled.
From the coffee shops, to supermarket culture and even the types of food available – there are clearly big differences between life in the UK and their new one in Queensland.
Rosie, 25, even admitted that there’s one very ‘strange’ habit that Brits would never do – and that they’re still getting used to it.
She and Harry, 28, captioned their video: ‘As a British couple living in Australia these are some of the things we STILL can’t get used to.’
Giving a voiceover, Rosie said that in Australia, many cafes will close at 2pm and has more of a ‘morning culture’ than in the UK.
She said: ‘The coffee shops – they close SO early. You get to 2pm and everything is shut. Back in the UK, you could grab a coffee at night without even thinking twice. But here, once the morning is over, you have missed your chance.
Rosie Daniels and Harry Wilde have revealed what they can’t get used to after moving to Australia
‘I guess that’s why everybody gets up so so early here. The mornings are genuinely a different world. You’ll think you’re up early and then you’ll realise that everyone has already been for a swim, done a workout and grabbed breakfast.’
Rosie explained that, while she still considers herself a morning person, she’s been ‘put to shame’ since her move, as those around her appear to get up as early as 5am.
Her next gripe was what she called the ‘barefoot thing’ in Aussie supermarkets and cafes – which she says would never happen in the UK.
Rosie said it’s ‘totally normal’ for people to walk around ‘completely barefoot’, sharing footage of herself and Harry walking around a supermarket with no shoes or even socks on.
She said: ‘We’re kind of used to seeing it now but I still remember the first time seeing it. It just felt really strange coming from the UK where you’d never ever dream of doing that.’
‘I guess shoes don’t really seem to matter here,’ she summarised. ‘People just go barefoot quite literally everywhere.’
Her next issue was a problem she admitted is ‘a very British one’, declaring she can never find Yorkshire Puddings by her new home.
Rosie said: ‘A roast won’t happen anymore but we can’t find them anywhere!’
The British couple have 5.6 million followers on TikTok on their couples account and had always dreamed of moving Down Under
One of the items in the list was ‘the barefoot thing’, which they say Brits would ‘never ever’ do
Filming the sunny landscape as she took her golden retriever for a beachside stroll, Rosie said: ‘What confuses us even more is that this, apparently right now, is winter.
‘I actually don’t think I’ll ever get used to saying that winter looks like this. You can go for a swim, you can sunbathe – that is completely different in the UK.’
Rosie said that the cars people drive in Australia differs vastly from back home – as girls who would usually drive ‘tiny Fiat 500s’ in the UK will be seen in a ‘huge 4×4 truck’ in sunny Oceana.
‘I’m put to shame every single time I try to park our car!’ she joked.
Taking to the comments, Brits were shocked that walking barefoot is a common phenomenon, while even Aussies admitted the coffee situation is less than ideal.
People said: ‘The barefoot thing is not it unless you live in a coastal town!’;
‘Nah the amount of germs on the shop floor I’m surprised people aren’t getting infections left right and centre’;
‘I’m so confused by the bare foot thing’;
Taking to the comments, Brits were shocked that walking barefoot is a common phenomenon, while even Aussies admitted the coffee situation is less than ideal
‘The coffee thing is a deal breaker’;
‘The coffee shop situation sucks’;
‘I hate Australia’s morning culture’;
‘The coffee shops open at 6/7am here that’s the difference! When I went to the UK & Ireland there was no where open that early to get my morning coffee.’
In recent years, Britons have been flocking to Australia in huge numbers to earn an income while enjoying the famously laid-back Aussie lifestyle.
In 2024, nearly 50,000 Brits arrived Down Under on working holiday visas out of more than 200,000 applicants overall, a new record high.
The spike in ‘Poms’ heading Down Under has been boosted by a loosening of visa rules which raised the cut-off age for UK applicants from 30 to 35, allowed three-year stays and axed the requirement to carry out 88 days of farm work.
While Brits tend to face a higher cost of living in Australia, they are attracted by the promise of higher salaries and a range of other benefits, from sunnier weather to a better work-life balance.
Among those taking advantage is content creator Kody Egan, who moved to Australia in August with her partner, Joseph Horrocks.
The couple, who are both 27 and previously lived in Atherton, Greater Manchester, now live in Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Despite only planning to stay in Australia for a short time, they now want to make a new life there.
‘We wanted a new challenge and to try something new after coming for a month of travelling the year before,’ Ms Egan told MailOnline previously.
‘We saved up and made the plunge – mostly to experience more of an outdoor lifestyle including the beach, surfing, hiking and all the amazing nature.
‘It’s a big change and we’d recommend doing what we did and come for a holiday first. We had no intention of living here at first, but wanted to after experiencing the people and the lifestyle! We’re so grateful for the Aussies, they’re great.’
Life in Aus doesn’t come cheap, with the average person paying A$2,715 (£1,344) per month on rent compared to £1223 in the UK.
Groceries are also more expensive, with researchers at Edith Cowan University pricing a trolley of supermarket goods at £160 ($324) compared to £140 in the UK.
However, salaries are higher in the ‘Lucky Country’, averaging $100,000 (£49,480) compared to £37,430 in Britain.
But while many newcomers have adapted well to life Down Under, others have been less positive.
Londoner Owen Willis took to social media to declare he was ‘de-influencing’ fellow Brits by sharing his experience of living away from home.
‘Australia isn’t going to solve all your problems,’ he said in a video. ‘I’m not saying the UK is perfect but my idea of Australia in my head was this utopian paradise.’
Mr Willis, who said he lived in Australia in 2022 before returning to the UK, claimed ‘casual racism’ was a problem in the country.
‘I lived in so many places in Australia I feel like I have a round enough view to categorise the whole country as a racist country,’ he said.
The TikToker claimed that racism was less of an issue in major cities like Sydney and Melbourne but claimed that in Queensland he was ‘shocked by what people would say to me’.
His views prompted a backlash in Australians, who branded him a ‘whingeing Pom’ – a popular epithet for Brits who criticise the country.
There were 213,400 people on working holidaymaker visas in Australia at the end of November – 72,300 more than before Covid.
Out of these, 47,000 were Brits, alongside 23,700 from France, 21,8000 from Ireland, 14,800 were from Japan, 13,400 from Taiwan, 13,200 from Italy and 12,700 from South Korea.
