From Down Under to Down South

Aussie Mike

From Down Under to Down South is a twice-weekly reflection from an Australian making a life in the American South. After moving from Australia to Tennessee in 2018, I began noticing the subtle cultural differences most people miss — the way politeness sounds different, the way goodbyes stretch longer, the way everyday moments quietly reveal what’s different. Some episodes explore those contrasts directly. Others are quiet stories from the week — conversations and small moments that say something bigger. It’s not outrage or culture wars. And it’s not a travel diary. It’s simply one Australian perspective on life between two countries. If you’ve ever lived overseas, loved two places at once, or found yourself caught between familiar and foreign — you’ll feel at home here. New episodes are released twice weekly as part of the broader From Down Under to Down South series across podcast and YouTube.

  1. 6h ago

    This Week in America - Politics, Petrol & Parents Pretending They’re Not Tired

    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 Australia and America, and about my own encounters with Albanese back in Canberra. Then we come back down to earth. Very quickly. Dance has taken over our family calendar. Georgia is dancing five days a week, Brianna is back doing jazz, hip hop and ballet, I’m ballroom dancing three days a week, Nikki is working events at Bridgestone Arena to help pay for it all, and I seem to have become the unpaid transport department. There’s also the extraordinary floor craft of a room full of seven year olds doing jazz, the Nashville Predators returning to Bridgestone, and the Tennessee Titans already trying to sell me next season while this season has barely started. Politics, petrol and parents pretending they’re not tired. Just another week in America, seen through Australian eyes. Enjoying the podcast? Buy this Aussie a coffee! From Down Under to Down South is an independent project, sharing an Australian's perspective on American life, culture and all the little things that make this country fascinating. If you've enjoyed an episode, had a laugh or found yourself looking at America a little differently, you can help keep the podcast going by shouting me a coffee. Every contribution helps me continue creating new episodes, videos and stories. It's completely optional, but genuinely appreciated. Buy Me a Coffee – Support the Show Thanks for being part of the journey! Find me elsewhere YouTube | Website | Facebook | X Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com Thanks for listening. Hoo roo, maties! Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  2. 3d ago

    The Little Things People Never Forget

    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 the person on the receiving end, maybe it isn't. In this episode, I share some of the stories listeners and viewers have told me about small acts of kindness that stayed with them, along with my own experience of an innocent Starbucks pay it forward chain that became considerably more expensive than expected. What started as another observation about life in America eventually became something much bigger. Kindness isn't American. It isn't Australian. It's human. And perhaps the nicest thought of all is that somewhere out there, you might be the person in somebody else's story and have absolutely no idea. ☕ Enjoying the podcast? Support From Down Under to Down South: Buy Me a Coffee   🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth   🌏 Website https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com    📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919    🐦 X https://x.com/aussiemika74    📩 Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com    Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  3. Sep 24

    This Week in America – Heat Domes, Driverless Taxis and Supermarket Bingo

    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 supermarket bars and bingo nights in Florida, learns that the dance studio dads have formed a clique without him, checks in on the storage facility turtle and receives an unexpectedly generous offer involving the enormous tree outside his house. Follow or subscribe to From Down Under to Down South for more observations about America through Australian eyes. Enjoying the podcast? Buy this Aussie a coffee! From Down Under to Down South is an independent project, sharing an Australian's perspective on American life, culture and all the little things that make this country fascinating. If you've enjoyed an episode, had a laugh or found yourself looking at America a little differently, you can help keep the podcast going by shouting me a coffee. Every contribution helps me continue creating new episodes, videos and stories. It's completely optional, but genuinely appreciated. Buy Me a Coffee – Support the Show Thanks for being part of the journey! Find me elsewhere YouTube | Website | Facebook | X Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com Thanks for listening. Hoo roo, maties! Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  4. Sep 21

    Australia Renamed McDonald’s. McDonald’s Gave In.

    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 gave in. McDonald’s embraced the nickname, even temporarily changing the signs on some Australian restaurants to Macca’s. In this episode, I look at how an American icon became part of Australian culture, why Australians nickname just about everything, my own childhood memories of McDonald’s in Australia, and why after eight years living in America, I still can’t quite bring myself to call it anything but Macca’s. From Down Under to Down South is an Australian perspective on America, Australia and the funny little differences you only notice when you’ve lived in both. ☕ Enjoying the podcast? Support From Down Under to Down South: Buy Me a Coffee   🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth   🌏 Website https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com    📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919    🐦 X https://x.com/aussiemika74    📩 Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com    Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  5. Sep 17

    This Week in America - Rabid Goats, Killer Lettuce & Why I Can’t Go to the Dentist

    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 brilliantly. I handled it by staying several miles away from the orthodontist, because apparently my nervous system believes dental X-rays are a perfectly reasonable reason to shut down completely. We’re talking rabid raccoons, killer lettuce, Tennessee’s traditional pre-snow raid on the bread and milk aisle, and the impressive number of medical facilities where I’ve somehow managed to end up on the floor. Plus, This Week in America has unexpectedly gone international, with the podcast charting in Botswana and Poland. Just another perfectly normal week in America. ☕ Enjoying the podcast? Support From Down Under to Down South: Buy Me a Coffee   🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth   🌏 Website https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com    📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919    🐦 X https://x.com/aussiemika74    📩 Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com    Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  6. Sep 14

    Why I Choose to Talk About the Good in America

    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 about why I deliberately don't make that kind of content. America has problems. So does Australia. I've lived and worked in six countries now, and if that experience has taught me anything, it's that countries are much more than governments, headlines, crime statistics and borders on a map. They're people. In this episode of From Down Under to Down South: This Week in America, I talk about becoming an American without becoming any less Australian, raising my children between two cultures, the things I've learned from living overseas, and why I've become far less interested in keeping score between Australia and America. I also explore what constant outrage does to the people consuming it and the people creating it, why criticism is very different from contempt, and why I'd rather spend my time being curious about the ordinary things that make cultures different. I don't ignore the dark. I know it's there. I just don't go looking for it when there's already so much light worth noticing. And if I have a choice about what I add to the world, I'd rather be the light. Hoo roo maties. ☕ Enjoying the podcast? Support From Down Under to Down South: Buy Me a Coffee   🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth   🌏 Website https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com    📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919    🐦 X https://x.com/aussiemika74    📩 Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com  Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

  7. Sep 7

    Why Some American Parents Follow Their Kids Across the Country

    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 the country to be near their children and grandchildren. I’ve even known parents who made the move before retirement. After my own family recently found ourselves all sick at the same time, I started thinking differently about what having family nearby actually means. It isn’t only about birthdays, school concerts, dance recitals or watching the grandkids grow up. It’s the ordinary days. The unexpected moments. And sometimes, simply being close enough to show up when somebody needs you. In this episode, I look at the American families I’ve encountered who have chosen to follow their adult children, why America’s enormous distances can leave families scattered across the country, how my Australian background shaped the way I saw it, and why it’s become one part of American family life I’ve come to admire. ☕ If you enjoy the podcast and would like to support From Down Under to Down South, you can Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🎥 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth   🌏 Website https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com    📘 Facebook https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919    🐦 X https://x.com/aussiemika74    📩 Business enquiries: michael@fromdownundertodownsouth.com    Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties.  Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

From Down Under to Down South is a twice-weekly reflection from an Australian making a life in the American South. After moving from Australia to Tennessee in 2018, I began noticing the subtle cultural differences most people miss — the way politeness sounds different, the way goodbyes stretch longer, the way everyday moments quietly reveal what’s different. Some episodes explore those contrasts directly. Others are quiet stories from the week — conversations and small moments that say something bigger. It’s not outrage or culture wars. And it’s not a travel diary. It’s simply one Australian perspective on life between two countries. If you’ve ever lived overseas, loved two places at once, or found yourself caught between familiar and foreign — you’ll feel at home here. New episodes are released twice weekly as part of the broader From Down Under to Down South series across podcast and YouTube.