From Down Under to Down South

Aussie Mike
  • 5.0 (3)
  • PERSONAL JOURNALS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 10H AGO

    Aussie in America: 6 Meats That Will Get You FINED in the USA

    Send a text Some of the foods Americans once ate — and some you still technically can’t — surprised me more than I expected. As an Aussie living in the United States, I’ve learned that what’s considered “normal” on one side of the world can be completely off-limits on the other. In this episode, we look at six meats that are banned, restricted, or culturally taboo in the U.S. — from historic turtle soup and wild bird laws to roadkill regulations and the long shadow of whaling. We’ll explore: • How certain animals went from delicacy to protected species  • Why some meats are legally restricted — and others are simply socially unthinkable  • The historical moments that shaped modern food laws  • And how these differences reflect deeper cultural values It’s not just about what’s illegal.  It’s about how food becomes emotional. If you enjoy thoughtful looks at the cultural differences between Australia and America — especially the ones hiding in plain sight — you’re in the right place. ==================================================== Support the podcast: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🌏 Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth 📷 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919 🐦 X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 📩 Business enquiries & collaborations: 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

    7 min

  2. 4D AGO

    This Week in America - When Observations Become Political

    Send a text This week I learned something about identity — not from a headline or an election, but from a hospital bill. After a British channel reacted to one of my older videos about healthcare costs in the United States, the tone in my comment section shifted. New voices arrived. Some supportive. Some defensive. Some intense. And it made me realise something important. In America, certain topics aren’t just topics. They’re tied to identity. Healthcare isn’t only about numbers. It connects to ideas about freedom, responsibility, government, opportunity, and national pride. What feels like a personal observation to one person can land as cultural criticism to another. This episode isn’t about arguing policy. It’s about the subtle line you walk when you live overseas — describing lived experience while knowing those descriptions can brush up against something deeply held. I reflect on how comparison can be neutral, but identity rarely is. How online amplification changes tone. And how staying observational — rather than reactive — matters more as the audience grows. Living between countries has taught me that you can appreciate opportunity and still notice friction. You can belong somewhere and still feel culturally foreign in moments. You can say, “This surprised me,” without saying, “This is wrong.” This week wasn’t really about healthcare. It was about identity. Perspective. And the quiet responsibility of speaking carefully — not timidly, but carefully — when culture and philosophy are intertwined. Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth  Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919  X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 Business enquiries: fromdownundertodownsouth@gmail.com Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

    9 min

  3. MAR 9

    Boomer Bosses in Australia & the US: Old Normal, Fired Today

    Send a text There was a time when certain workplace behaviours barely raised an eyebrow. Smoking at your desk. Long “liquid” lunches. Calling the women in the office “the girls.” Bosses who ruled more like monarchs than managers. In both Australia and the United States, what was once considered normal in the workplace would likely end a career today. In this episode, I reflect on how work culture has shifted across generations — and how differently those changes played out in Australia and America. We’ll look at: • What office life felt like in the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s • How HR, legislation, and corporate structures reshaped behaviour • The cultural differences between Australian and American workplaces • And whether we’ve gained something — or lost something — along the way This isn’t a “boomers versus Gen Z” argument. It’s a conversation about how norms change — and how quickly yesterday’s ordinary becomes today’s unacceptable. ======================================= Support the podcast: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🌏 Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth 📷 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919 🐦 X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 📩 Business enquiries & collaborations: 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

    11 min

  4. MAR 5

    This Week in America - When Competition Becomes the Show

    Send a text This week I’ve been reflecting on dance competitions — not the steps or the scores, but the atmosphere around them. Georgia recently competed interstate again, dancing a lyrical solo and four group routines. She’s been on the floor since she was two years old. Eight years of repetition, studio mirrors, and slowly building something real. Watching her in a large American competition environment made me notice the scale of it all — the lighting, the production, the energy, the packed auditoriums. America does audience brilliantly. It celebrates loudly. It shows up. But in that scale, visibility can start to feel like currency. Some routines land instantly. They project. They demand attention. Others — quieter, more musical, more detailed — invite attention instead. This episode isn’t about judging which is better. It’s about noticing how culture shapes what gets rewarded first. As someone who grew up competing in ballroom and Latin — and who still dances now — I found myself thinking about craft versus applause. About depth versus projection. About what lasts long after the trophies are handed out. Because applause fades. Craft compounds. This week in America, I wasn’t just watching routines. I was thinking about value. Visibility. And what I quietly hope endures when the lights go down. Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth  Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919  X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 Business enquiries: fromdownundertodownsouth@gmail.com Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

    8 min

  5. MAR 2

    Work Culture Clash: Top 10 Aussie vs American Office Shocks

    Send a text Moving from Australia to the United States changed the way I think about work — more than I expected. What feels ordinary in one country can feel confronting in another. In this episode, I reflect on the biggest workplace differences I’ve experienced as an Aussie living and working in America — from annual leave and sick pay to job security, office expectations, and the quiet assumptions we don’t realise we carry. We’ll look at: • Paid leave and vacation time • Sick leave and workplace protections • Work–life balance in practice, not just in theory • Communication styles and office culture • At-will employment and what that means day-to-day It’s not about declaring one system better than the other. It’s about understanding how deeply culture shapes the way we work — and how disorienting that can be when you move countries. Whether you’re considering working overseas, or simply curious about how Australia and the US differ behind the office door, this is a grounded look at life on both sides. ================================================ Support the podcast: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🌏 Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth 📷 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919 🐦 X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 📩 Business enquiries & collaborations: 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

    12 min

  6. FEB 26

    This Week in America - Crossing State Lines

    Send a text This week we drove to Atlanta for Georgia’s dance competition — which meant crossing a state line. In Australia, that used to feel like a major event. Flights. Planning. Real distance. In America, it can mean a couple of hours on an eight-lane highway. From enormous roads and midnight traffic to the ritual of stopping at Buc-ee’s (twice), this episode reflects on what “scale” feels like in the United States — and how it shapes even the small moments. We also found ourselves watching Georgia perform via livestream… from the car park of the same building. A very American kind of full house. Along the way, I noticed something else: when I’m calm, I blend in here. When I’m emotional, my Australian accent steps forward — and sometimes so does the reminder that I’m not from here. This week isn’t really about highways or petrol stations. It’s about belonging. Ritual. And the quiet spaces between feeling inside and outside at the same time. Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth  Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919  X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 Business enquiries: fromdownundertodownsouth@gmail.com Thanks for listening. Hoo roo maties. Support the show Check out additional content on our YouTube page! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjipgN51kc8swHyKeSx2tzw

    7 min

  7. FEB 23

    Aussie vs American Boomer Sayings Kids Today Don’t Get

    Send a text Boomer sayings really were a language of their own. Living between Australia and the United States, I’ve noticed something quietly funny: Boomers in both countries confused their kids — just in completely different dialects. From “broken record” and “flip your wig” to references like Fonzie or Ted Bullpitt, these phrases come from a world that feels both recent and strangely distant — rotary phones, four television channels, and physically getting up to change them. In this episode, we explore the expressions that once made perfect sense… and now leave younger generations blinking. We’ll look at: • Classic Boomer sayings from Australia and the US • Where those phrases came from • What they actually meant at the time • And what they reveal about the era that shaped them It’s less about “kids today don’t get it” — and more about how quickly language moves on. If one of these phrases takes you straight back to a moment, you’ll probably know exactly why. =========================================================== Support the podcast: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🌏 Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth 📷 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919 🐦 X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 📩 Business enquiries & collaborations: 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

    11 min

  8. FEB 19

    This Week in America - Warmth & Steadiness

    Send a text This Week in America: Warmth & Steadiness This weekend, Brianna turned seven. Fifteen kids. Rain outside. Glinda from Wicked in the living room. And somewhere between glitter arguments and polite doorway goodbyes, I heard a sentence I’ve come to understand differently since moving to America: “We should do this again.” In this episode, I reflect on warmth versus follow-through — watching one daughter thrive, another quietly absorb disappointment, and having an unexpected conversation about family history with a fellow dad that stretched back across oceans and generations. Belonging isn’t always loud. Sometimes it’s built quietly.  Through repetition.  Through showing up.  Through being there when you say you will. — If you’d like to support the podcast: ☕ Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/fromdownundertodownsouth 🌏 Website: https://fromdownundertodownsouth.com 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FromDownUndertoDownSouth 📷 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100068568677919 🐦 X: https://x.com/aussiemika74 📩 Business enquiries & collaborations: 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

    7 min
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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.

Information

  • Creator
    Aussie Mike
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 From Down Under to Down South
  • Show Website
    From Down Under to Down South