LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: When I first encountered local American animals like squirrels and chipmunks , they seemed so cute and harmless, that I was lulled initially into thinking that there was no truly dangerous wildlife in New Jersey. Obviously I was in for a few surprises. Then I started to read different news stories […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: Are you planning on moving to New Jersey sometime soon? If so, and you are an Australian, or expat from elsewhere, you may not know much about this little US state. New Jersey is not as famous as some other big-name American states such as California, Texas and New York. Outside […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: One of the more vexing challenges for expats learning NJ road rules, is understanding how the rules apply to pedestrians. Sure, this may sound straight forward but American rules and practices differ somewhat to how things are elsewhere, at least compared with Australia. Perhaps some proof of this is that the […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: One of the scariest things that can happen perhaps, as an expat driving in NJ for the first time, is suddenly realizing you don’t know what to do if your car breaks down. Sometimes as a new expat, it’s not until you are in the situation that you get this dreaded […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: When you think of American High school, there are lots of images that are conjured up from TV shows, movies and news stories that have been shown around the world including in Australia. Shows such as ‘Mean Girls’, ‘High School Musical’, ‘Heathers’ and ‘Clueless’, help to develop biases and pre-conceptions about […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: NJ drivers have been voted the worst in the USA, in some previous polls (2008 US News). As recently as 2010, they were rated 48th out of 50 states, for their lack of driving rule knowledge. Potential new drivers are required to learn the full contents of the NJ MVC Driver manual before […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: For many new expats, working out what clothing you will need to buy for winter in New Jersey can be a bit of a guess. Many Australians and others from warmer climates often have no real experience with the bitter cold that accompanies a Northeast USA winter. You know that it’s […] Continue reading →
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: OK this is one of my whinge-fests. I haven’t done one of these for a while so I hope you will indulge me and keep reading. At least it does me a lot of good, to get this off my chest, so here goes. Like many people, I hate shopping for […] Continue reading →
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: It’s about now, after 4 months of cold and a seemingly endless number of snowfalls that the locals start to moan about what a pain New Jersey’s winter is, and how they are sick of it. Of course, not everyone feels this way. But even the most avid fans of snow and […] Continue reading →
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: It’s acorn time again. ‘Ouch’ is a common part of my speech at this time of the year (mid-September) as acorns start raining down with regularity, during the early phase of Fall. As I rubbed my forehead this morning, it struck me that this is just one of many repeating seasonal […] Continue reading →
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: When I first encountered local American animals like squirrels and chipmunks , they seemed so cute and harmless, that I was lulled initially into thinking that there was no truly dangerous wildlife in New Jersey. Obviously I was in for a few surprises. Then I started to read different news stories […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: Are you planning on moving to New Jersey sometime soon? If so, and you are an Australian, or expat from elsewhere, you may not know much about this little US state. New Jersey is not as famous as some other big-name American states such as California, Texas and New York. Outside […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: One of the more vexing challenges for expats learning NJ road rules, is understanding how the rules apply to pedestrians. Sure, this may sound straight forward but American rules and practices differ somewhat to how things are elsewhere, at least compared with Australia. Perhaps some proof of this is that the […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: One of the scariest things that can happen perhaps, as an expat driving in NJ for the first time, is suddenly realizing you don’t know what to do if your car breaks down. Sometimes as a new expat, it’s not until you are in the situation that you get this dreaded […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: When you think of American High school, there are lots of images that are conjured up from TV shows, movies and news stories that have been shown around the world including in Australia. Shows such as ‘Mean Girls’, ‘High School Musical’, ‘Heathers’ and ‘Clueless’, help to develop biases and pre-conceptions about […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: NJ drivers have been voted the worst in the USA, in some previous polls (2008 US News). As recently as 2010, they were rated 48th out of 50 states, for their lack of driving rule knowledge. Potential new drivers are required to learn the full contents of the NJ MVC Driver manual before […] Continue reading → 
LIVING IN NEW JERSEY: For many new expats, working out what clothing you will need to buy for winter in New Jersey can be a bit of a guess. Many Australians and others from warmer climates often have no real experience with the bitter cold that accompanies a Northeast USA winter. You know that it’s […] Continue reading → 
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: OK this is one of my whinge-fests. I haven’t done one of these for a while so I hope you will indulge me and keep reading. At least it does me a lot of good, to get this off my chest, so here goes. Like many people, I hate shopping for […] Continue reading → 
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: It’s about now, after 4 months of cold and a seemingly endless number of snowfalls that the locals start to moan about what a pain New Jersey’s winter is, and how they are sick of it. Of course, not everyone feels this way. But even the most avid fans of snow and […] Continue reading → 
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: It’s acorn time again. ‘Ouch’ is a common part of my speech at this time of the year (mid-September) as acorns start raining down with regularity, during the early phase of Fall. As I rubbed my forehead this morning, it struck me that this is just one of many repeating seasonal […] Continue reading →