EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: Right now, it is summer, and one of the busiest times of the year for town celebrations and events in New Jersey, and elsewhere in the US. As this is being written, it is just one week after the American monster party of the year for the July 4th holiday (Independence […] Continue reading →
THINGS TO DO IN NEW JERSEY: Just as Australia Day is close to many Australians’ hearts, Independence Day on the Fourth of July is a huge day on the American calendar. It is a national holiday around the USA and marked by a wide array of patriotic displays. If you have been living in a […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: As much as I have tried to avoid sounding American in my own parochial way, it’s almost impossible. After seven years, there are many routine words from the local’s vocabulary that have crept into my everyday speech. Here are a few examples of common American expressions that I say frequently: Candy A very […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE IN AMERICA: After six years here, I can say that life as an expat in NJ has been pretty good overall. Once you are settled in, not feeling homesick any more, and your kids adapt to their schools, then life gets a lot easier. In fact, most of the time, it is quite enjoyable. But even living […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: I won’t be wishing for a White Christmas this year – just a cool one. Unbelievably, for the first time since we moved here to the USA, we will be having an expat family Christmas in Australia. Yep, that’s right: a hot, sunny Christmas, where the temperatures can go so high Santa has […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: Shopping in America has always meant for me as an Australian, going to ‘the mall’. Outside these iconic centers of convenient high fashion and merchandise, I knew there were other big-store retailers like Walmart, Costco and Toys’R’Us but didn’t think much beyond these. Well it turns out that these big-box (large) retailers are so numerous in America that it […] Continue reading →
EXPAT LIFE: About now, anyone with a school-aged child in the USA has begun their annual preparations. For what you ask? Not another hurricane but for this whirlwind time of year when one after the other, there is Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas: the Perfect Storm of Celebrations. That’s sure what it feels like. Between October and December, […] Continue reading →
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: What is summer in New Jersey like? Well in a word, humid. And hot… but not as much as you might think. Temperatures can go up to 37C (100 F) but it doesn’t occur often. The 40C+ days that you see in Sydney fortunately don’t seem to happen here. Weather extremes Mostly, the hottest […] Continue reading →
LIFE IN NEW JERSEY: As an expat landing in New Jersey, getting a grip on what holidays are observed here was not as straight forward as I’d imagined. Part of the reason for this is because public holidays are done a bit differently here than in Australia. The USA does not follow the same idea of a […] Continue reading →