You think the big things will be what you miss when you move overseas.
Family. Friends. Familiar places.
And you do miss those things.
But honestly… some of the strongest homesickness hits come from standing in an American supermarket looking for chicken salt.
Or opening a packet of “Australian-style” lollies and realising they just don’t taste right.
I’ve lived in America for around eight years now, and over time I’ve realised that home slowly becomes a collection of tiny things.
Little routines. Familiar foods. Smells. Phrases.
Small comforts that quietly remind you who you are.
Vegemite Becomes a Survival Item
We go through a lot of Vegemite in our house.
We normally keep four or five jars in the cupboard at any given time.
I have it most mornings on toast, and both of our girls love it too. Nikki’s mum sends it to us in bulk from Australia, so at any given moment there are usually four or five jars sitting in the cupboard like emergency supplies.
If we ever got down to one jar, I’d probably start rationing it.
Americans are fascinated by Vegemite too. Whenever friends come over, it eventually turns into:
“Alright then… let’s see you try it.”
The reactions are usually dramatic. But for Australians overseas, Vegemite isn’t really about the taste anymore. It’s familiarity. It’s routine. It’s sitting at the kitchen table in the morning feeling, for a few minutes at least, like you’re back home again.
I talked more about the strange experience of keeping an Australian identity while living overseas in this article:
Australian Road Trips Just Feel Different
One of the things I never expected to miss was Australian road trip culture.
Growing up, road trips for us usually meant driving from Canberra to the coast, or inland to see Nikki’s family in Griffith. And before every trip, there was always the same ritual.
Fill up the car.
Go into the servo.
Buy a bag of Allen’s snakes, maybe some other lollies, and drinks for the drive.
There was something oddly comforting about it.
Now, in America, we’ve replaced that ritual with Buc-ee’s stops.
And honestly? Buc-ee’s is incredible.
Australia has absolutely nothing like it.
But even now, grabbing nuts or lunch at Buc-ee’s still doesn’t quite hit the same emotional note as buying a bag of snakes before heading down the highway in Australia.
Part of that is because the lollies here just aren’t the same. The snakes are too sweet. Even the Cadbury chocolate tastes different because the version sold here is British Cadbury, not Australian Cadbury. You don’t realise how specific your memories are until you try to recreate them somewhere else.
Every now and then we’ll order a mixed Australian lolly box online just because we are feeling homesick.
- I’ve spoken before about how living overseas slowly changes the way you think, sound and even remember home, the below video is a great example of that.
Care Packages Mean More Than You’d Think
Care packages from Australia hit differently when you live overseas.
Nikki’s mum sends boxes over for us and the girls, usually packed with Australian food, little gifts, chocolates, random surprises… and somehow it always feels bigger than just “stuff.”
One year my old workplace in Australia sent us a huge Christmas box filled with Australian snacks, games, soccer balls, all sorts of things.
It honestly felt like someone had posted a piece of Australia directly to our front door.
And for the girls, it’s not even necessarily the food they love most.
It’s knowing that Nanna packed it.
That connection matters.
I will admit though that they always beat me to the Caramello Koalas, they barely last a few days.
Australian Bakeries Overseas Are Usually Disappointing
This might upset a few people, but Australian bakeries overseas are almost always disappointing.
We’ve been to Australian bakeries in America — including one in Atlanta that’s pretty good — but it’s still not quite the same.
There’s also an Australian-owned café near us in Tennessee that sells meat pies and sausage rolls.
Again… not even close to home.
The funny thing is, the first thing I want when I land back in Australia isn’t anything fancy.
It’s a bakery stop.
A sausage roll.
A meat pie.
A vanilla slice.
And an iced coffee Dare.
That’s home.
I make my own sausage rolls here now because sometimes it’s easier than trying to recreate the feeling through substitutes. We buy Jamaican meat pies and chicken pasties occasionally too, and while they’re definitely not Australian pies, they scratch a similar itch. Close enough becomes an important concept when you live overseas.
Smells Become Emotional Time Machines
Smell might actually be the strongest trigger of all.
The bush after rain.
Gum trees.
The ocean.
Sunscreen.
That hot Australian air right before a storm rolls in.
Sometimes you’ll randomly smell something in America that takes you straight back to Australia for half a second before reality catches up again.
It’s strange how powerful that can be. Even thinking about it now makes me a bit homesick.
Watching Your Kids Grow Up Between Two Cultures
One of the strangest parts of living overseas long term is watching your kids slowly become a blend of both countries.
We still celebrate Australia Day at home, although having a barbecue in January is a bit harder when there’s snow outside in Tennessee.
I try teaching the girls Aussie slang too.
“How’s it goin’ mate.”
“Yeah nah.”
“No worries.”
And Georgia especially will switch between Australian and American words or accents depending on who she’s talking to.
It’s fascinating to watch.
Because in some ways, that’s exactly what living overseas feels like yourself. You slowly become a mix of places.
The Small Things Matter More Than You Expect
I think that’s the biggest surprise about moving overseas.
Home stops being one giant thing.
It becomes little things.
A jar of Vegemite in the cupboard.
A care package from family.
A bag of snakes before a road trip.
A bakery stop after a long flight.
A phrase your kids still say with an Australian accent.
Tiny things that remind you who you were before life got complicated.
And maybe that’s why Australians overseas hold onto those small comforts so tightly. Because sometimes the smallest things are the ones that make a place feel like home again.
If you enjoy these Australia vs America reflections, I also talk about them regularly over on the podcast and YouTube channel:
