[AMA] I'm an Australian Working in The US, AMA

Ldown-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:09
Last edited 17/05/2020 - 14:55

Long time lurker, first time poster. Now seems to be an interesting time to do this AMA :). Hope I can answer all your China / Chinese related questions.

Currently working in software related area, but I had experiences in different industries across different disciplines, and recently thinking about starting an aquaculture business.

Of course, I'm not representing any groups, and all my answers will be my personal opinions.

Edit: Just before the post is locked, I changed the title from Chinese Australian to Australian, I know in Oz we care more about country of citizenship than race, and I like it :) (In the US it’s a bit different)

Introduce Yourself

closed Comments

  • battler on 03/05/2020 - 13:12
    +1

    Which state are you in?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:13
      +2

      Washington State, not DC.

      • capslock janitor on 04/05/2020 - 12:42
        +1

        I sped-read the first sentence as "long time f-er" and spat out my tea 😂

      • Kangal on 04/05/2020 - 20:46
        +2

        How is Vancouver, WA compared to Brisbane, QLD?

        In terms of weather, income, people's attitude, liveability, etc etc.
        (Legitimately curious, thx in advance)

        • down-under on 05/05/2020 - 03:48
          +1

          That's an interesting place I've never thought about it before, here is an article about the tax matters (https://financesonline.com/how-moving-to-the-oregonwashingto…), there are more details in the comments.

          The weather there is similar to Seattle, winter is cold and wet, possibly like a lite-snowy version of Melbourne, in summer the temperature is lovely but dry, like Brisbane in September but with half rainfalls.

          Not sure about Vancouver (WA), in Seattle people don't greet strangers in the streets, but it doesn't bother me too much, otherwise everything is good.

          In terms of liveability, if you're ok with the climate and prepared to live with far less street parks and beautiful beaches (the water in the ocean is cold, year around), it should be fine.

          • Kangal on 05/05/2020 - 19:48
            +1

            @down-under: Thanks for the reply. I read that link, was good to get some insight. I didn't even think about the whole "Republican V Democrat" or "Red State V Blue State" thing. Yeah, my plan was to live in VC for the low tax, and drive across the river to Portland when needing Big City stuff. I didn't even know about the sales tax thing, that's another advantage.

            And there's plenty of good redwood forests to hike, ride, kayak, ski, camp around. There's even hunting. And there's also the beach, but it looks much more "grey" than the "yellow" of Gold Coast beaches. Also, it seems possible to buy and pay off a mortgage in the USA in about 5-10 years time as opposed to 20-30 years here in OzBargainLand.

            • down-under on 06/05/2020 - 01:14
              +1

              @Kangal: Yes, properties are more affordable in the US in general. Regarding hiking, beware of bears

              • Buy2Much on 07/05/2020 - 15:03

                @down-under: Yes for the price of a car, you can buy a property outright! E.g. Kansas City, the first city with Google Fibre (1000Mbps), you can buy a small family home on its own land (not apartment) for US$50K.

                • down-under on 07/05/2020 - 15:13

                  @Buy2Much: Yes, there are quite some cities like this in the US. I think these prices are below the building cost of the house themselves, possibly because these cities had more population in the past so they have more properties than needed (checked 2 cities and this is true for both of them, Kansas City and Erie, PA)

        • down-under on 06/05/2020 - 09:59
          +5

          Besides the same reasons why everyone else were doing AMAs, possibly because recently I watched too many videos from Sky News Australia, I did want to check if Australia is still the one in my memory, and now I know it’s still the one I love :)

  • Okayy on 03/05/2020 - 13:22
    +1

    do you think Coronavirus (specifically COVID-19) origin should be investigated?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:26
      +11

      If technically possible, should be. (But I don't know if it's possible, not talking about political issues.)

    • cktftw on 06/05/2020 - 10:11
      +1

      Do you think the origins of H1N1 should be investigated?

      • down-under on 06/05/2020 - 11:14
        +5

        Same answer, if possible, yes. Knowledge is never too much.

  • kahn on 03/05/2020 - 13:22
    +1

    Would you take the red pill or the blue pill?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:29
      +3

      Last time I heard that the same thing happens no matter which one I choose, the red one just has some extra strawberry flavours, I guess I'll choose blue though.

  • Blue Cat on 03/05/2020 - 13:24
    +7

    Do you feel any hatred towards you from Americans because of the coronavirus?
    While we are not sure if China started the coronavirus accidentally or on purpose, I assume people are really fast to judge and shame others even with a slight reason.

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:37
      +31

      On internet, definitely, but still ok, you know, it really depends which forum/website you go, e.g. comments under "7 news Australia"'s youtube channel, are pretty bad LOL. In reality, no, possibly because I'm at home all the time, and my neighbors are all nice.

      I think in general, in real life, when you are 1 on 1 with a person, his/her group identity become less important. So I'm not very concerned about that, yet not zero, at least I know during WW2 Japanese Americans were placed in concentration camps, nothing is impossible.

      • EightImmortals on 03/05/2020 - 16:28

        Yeah you;ll be right, if they go down that road this time it will be non-vaxxers and alt-media watchers. :)

      • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 18:27
        +18

        Actually I mean “Sky News Australia”’s YouTube channel

        • Drakesy on 04/05/2020 - 00:11
          +26

          The amount of xenophobia and far right sentiment that that channel is promoting is frightening. The commenters all seem to believe each others conspiracy theories, 5g causing the whole thing being one of them…

          • Swanson approved on 07/05/2020 - 11:49
            +1

            @Drakesy: I have also noticed a lot more content of Sky Australia is being pushed in facebook feed and sponsored videos despite never going near such content. Had me thinking about the whole Cambridge Analytica thing happening in Australia now.

      • onetwothreefour on 03/05/2020 - 22:51

         neighbors

        Did you start spelling this word like this before or after you moved to America?

        • down-under on 04/05/2020 - 03:53
          +8

          Awkward to admit that I typed 'neighbors/neighbours' wrong and chose the suggested word which is American English because of system settings.

          For spelling if I noticed I always use the right one for whom I'm writing to. Personally I like Australian/British spellings, except for one word: gaol.

          • nobro25 on 06/05/2020 - 00:08
            +4

            @down-under: I like the word Jail better because Gaol just looks like a misspelt version of Goal.

          • gasman70 on 08/05/2020 - 11:49
            +1

            @down-under: Gaol is a very old and now obsolete spelling.

      • Kista on 04/05/2020 - 13:04

        Is Channel 7 equivalent of the Fox news here in Australia?

        • Caped Baldy on 04/05/2020 - 14:28
          +4

          I was channel surfing when I was overseas in January and Fox came on. Honestly, nothing here compares to that drivel.

      • eagleanthony on 07/05/2020 - 14:45

        "when you are 1 on 1 with a person, his/her group identity become less important" How True.

  • Donaldhump on 03/05/2020 - 13:34

    Do you hate c#

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:41
      +3

      Yeah… I am a programmer, and I worked with different languages. I think C# is fine, comparing to x86 assembly language (which I worked with, 18 years ago), so, I do not hate it :D

      • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 14:46
        +1

        I once took a programming unit as elective at uni to get to spend time with someone I had a bit of a crush on. The assignment task was to build a "baby" compiler. God ,that was painful!

        • Zachary on 03/05/2020 - 14:57
          +1

          I once took a programming unit as elective at uni to get to spend time with someone I had a bit of a crush on.

          married to this person now?

          • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 14:58
            +7

            @Zachary: Married her best friend.

            • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 15:02

              @[Deactivated]: Good choice…

              • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 15:32
                +1

                @down-under: My wife used to joke that her real competition was Dr Mary White,the 60 year old, grey-haired lecturer, and not her best friend. She's not wrong. Mary was completely awesome!

                • masterash on 05/05/2020 - 15:10
                  +2

                  @[Deactivated]: That's LTU. I studied there she was the best.

                  • [Deactivated] on 05/05/2020 - 18:48

                    @masterash: When were you there? I may have bumped into you in the computer labs or more likely, at the Eagle bar :)

                    • masterash on 06/05/2020 - 08:20
                      +1

                      @[Deactivated]: I was at LTU from 98 - 2001. Beth Gleeson Building. have done lots of late nights there.

                      • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2020 - 08:45
                        +1

                        @masterash: I started after you left. I was a health science student and that was the only computer science unit I took. I do remember spending lots of late nights at the Beth Gleeson labs that semester and catching the security bus home.

                        Thank you for confirming that I'm not some weirdo and that Mary was completely awesome :)

                        • masterash on 06/05/2020 - 09:03
                          +1

                          @[Deactivated]: Message me directly. I was still at LTU uni for a while.

                          • [Deactivated] on 06/05/2020 - 22:51

                            @masterash: Were you one of the security bus drivers?

            • Zachary on 03/05/2020 - 15:29
              +3

              @[Deactivated]: She rejected you, so went after her best friend instead? Nice…very nice….

              • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 18:33
                +6

                @Zachary: It's a long story but this is not my AMA.

                • Zachary on 07/05/2020 - 03:30
                  +1

                  @[Deactivated]: OOoooh, now I'm curious…..I like story time! Please tell me more! Hahahaha

                  • [Deactivated] on 08/05/2020 - 08:28

                    @Zachary: Let's just say, you don’t find love; it finds you. It’s got a little bit to do with destiny, fate, and what’s written in the stars ;)

                    And think not that you can direct the course of love,
                    For love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

                    -Khalil Gibran

                    • Zachary on 10/05/2020 - 01:55

                      @[Deactivated]: awww, bet she felt sorry for you…

                      • [Deactivated] on 10/05/2020 - 02:15

                        @Zachary: She already had a boyfriend and we met while I was on a date with her best friend. NGL, the odds were pretty stacked against me but True Love won, as True Love always does ;)

        • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 15:00

          Not sure what 'baby' compiler is… but my limited experience is alarming me when I wanted to reply to your comment LOL

          • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 15:03

            @down-under: I think the lecturer started calling it that so as not to scare me off when she realised I was a bio-med student with no computer science skills whatsoever. We used C++ and the lecturer went out of her way to help me get up to speed with the rest of the class. She was an amazing lecturer who was really passionate about what she taught and really cared about her students.

          • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 16:45

            @down-under: Re: baby compiler,

            Just asked the missus and she said that unit was about understanding how compilers work. We wrote a program in C++ and translated it into a minimal set of C, known as Baby-C. Hence, the nickname 'baby compiler'.

        • luffyex2010 on 04/05/2020 - 20:08
          +2

          I had the opposite, the lecturer had a crush on me and it made all lectures super weird as it feels like I am the only student in the hall.

  • TimeAndMoney on 03/05/2020 - 13:40

    how has work changed since the coronavirus became a big deal in America?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:48
      +3

      For me I just worked from home for 2 months already, I'm very grateful for being able to work from home and not worrying about losing the job.

      Although it has become a big deal for quite a while already, the supermarket workers only started wearing masks very recently, maybe because Washington State has been relatively ok, far from what was happening in New York.

  • ihbh on 03/05/2020 - 13:48

    Are you in Seattle? If so how have you found the generosity of the billionaires? (I have family there and the billionaires have provided free tests, etc.)

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 13:57

      I personally had no contact with them, but I heard that my friend went to Bill Gates's home for Halloween trick-or-treating.

      Yeah, everything I heard about them were positive, and I think it's not hard to understand. Except one thing, if you get to their streets and wonder around, police may come to you in 15 minutes (of course they can't do anything to you, just to check up), but I'm not bothered LOL

  • TheMindsetTraveller on 03/05/2020 - 13:54

    whats the best yum cha place in the USA that you could recommend?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 14:03
      +6

      I rarely eat out so not sure (actually I have never seen words 'yum cha' in the US, yet)

      I don't like the compulsory tipping culture so fast food restaurants are my go-to places when travelling.

      • Hangryuman on 06/05/2020 - 09:28
        +1

        'never seen words 'yum cha' in the US, yet'

        suspect the words there are 'dim sum'

    • ilikeradiohead on 03/05/2020 - 23:32
      +5

      Overall Chinese/other asian food in the US doesn't hold a candle to Australia. I lived in Seattle for few months in mid-2019 and you can't compare the variety or quality.

      • TEER3X on 04/05/2020 - 12:07

        Seattle doesn't mean the entire USA though.

        • ilikeradiohead on 04/05/2020 - 12:15

          I've been to other parts too! Seattle is one of the places with more Asian immigrants. I'd say LA, SF and NY are the top tier, then Seattle would be the next group down. I don't think LA, SF and NY are as good as Australia either haha.

          • TEER3X on 04/05/2020 - 12:52
            +1

            @ilikeradiohead: Thai food is way better in the US from my experience, that or its just shit in most of Melbourne

            • Munki on 05/05/2020 - 16:11
              +2

              @TEER3X: Asian food in Melbourne is pretty trash though. Sydney got all the good Asian cooks.

        • Ragnarok1983 on 04/05/2020 - 20:39

          Chinese food in places like New York is still crap, since its has been bastardized to cater for american tastes.

          The variety we have in Aus shits all over the USA.

          • gromit on 05/05/2020 - 20:19

            @Ragnarok1983:

            Chinese food in places like New York is still crap, since its has been bastardized to cater for american tastes.

            The variety we have in Aus shits all over the USA.

            ^this, As a regular visitor to the US for work the food is definitely not a positive on the multi cultural side, the majority has been changed to American tastes (mostly sweetened). When there I try to stick to things they do well there like Steak, fresh seafood or chowder (especially in Seattle).

            • Hangryuman on 06/05/2020 - 09:32
              +1

              @gromit: 'Chinese food in places like New York is still crap, since its has been bastardized to cater for american tastes'

              normal - in LA Orange County some Chinese friends took us to their favourite Chinese restaurant - the food all tasted sickly sweet to me like orange jam

              in Germany a local took me to his favourite Chinese restaurant - it tasted heavy stodgy laden with pork like German food - ugh.

              • gromit on 06/05/2020 - 09:43
                +3

                @Hangryuman: I still remember the most disappointing meal I ever had in the US, think it was in San Diego, after a few days of crap food including the sweetest tasting Mexican food I had ever tasted I decided to have breakfast (often I skip it while in the US), I went down and my eyes lit up as instead of just the usual crap they had fresh fruit salad at the buffet so I piled a plate high and sat down with what passes for coffee. I nearly spat my first mouthful across the table, all the fruit had sugar syrup doused across it.

          • virhlpool on 05/05/2020 - 22:18

            @Ragnarok1983: Mexican and Tex-Mex food shits over many other food options though and they got plenty of options obviously due to close proximity to Mexico.

            • gromit on 06/05/2020 - 07:35

              @virhlpool: hmmmm, personally I find Mexican and Tex-Mex the worst of all, overly sweet and under spiced to match American tastes. I am sure there must be some decent places for it somewhere in the southern parts of the US but I have never found any.

              • virhlpool on 06/05/2020 - 10:02
                +1

                @gromit: I loved the chains called Chipotle, Moe's Southwest Grill, etc. They aren't fine dining but great fresh food and very reasonably priced too.

    • Kamsi on 04/05/2020 - 11:36
      +1

      Probably check out Mikey Chen youtube channel :)

    • idonteven on 05/05/2020 - 11:54

      The best har gau I’ve ever had was in San Fran. And I’ve eaten lots of har gau.

      • Pumpkin_rrr on 07/05/2020 - 15:13

        Oh love to have the address please. Our trip is postponed due to Covid but still hope to go later.

    • Eeples on 06/05/2020 - 18:09

      I haven't really got my head around what Americans think is good food.

      I remember being taken out to dinner by well off Americans to a place because they had the 'best onion rings'.

      I don't get it.

  • nfr on 03/05/2020 - 14:00

    Aquaculture business, like salmon and lobsters?

    • follow on 03/05/2020 - 14:01

      sea cucumbers?

      • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 14:06

        Not familiar with that one…

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 14:05

      Still doing my research, more likely to be prawns or some fish that can be grown in ponds.

      • Hardlyworkin on 03/05/2020 - 17:12

        You must like gambling! For me aquaculture is like traditional farming with more things that can go wrong. One day things are going great and the next minute everything is dead!

  • Ghost47 on 03/05/2020 - 14:05
    +1

    What's the story about how you ended up moving to the States? Do you prefer it over Australia? Do you come back often to see family?

    • down-under on 03/05/2020 - 14:30
      +27

      I had a not very successful entrepreneurial adventure a few years ago (but no regret at all, if I go back time I'll make the same decision again, definitely), then I needed money badly and this job pays pretty ok, so ended up here.

      Prefer it over Australia? No, nothing beats Australia's weather, and I prefer Australia's culture. When I was in Australia, I only knew China and Australia and I thought developed countries are all as good as Australia, and I realized I was wrong when moved here.

      My family is with me so haven't been back to Oz yet, but will go back after the pandemic to explore what I can do if I move back, trying to find something that is in regional area, can provide me a good living, and can help me to contribute my bit for Australia to maintain its lifestyle (both China and US's lifestyles are not ideal for me, so Australia is my last hope LOL)

      • Wiede on 03/05/2020 - 22:01
        +20

        Nothing beats Australia’s weather? Definitely not from Melbourne then

        • TEER3X on 04/05/2020 - 12:09

          So many different and largely populated cities in the US you'd be hard pressed to find that AND your ideal weather situation in Australia. I despise Melbourne weather.

        • down-under on 04/05/2020 - 14:43

          Hahaha, yep.

        • LordPanda on 05/05/2020 - 21:21

          And definitely not from Canberra either :)

      • yoba on 05/05/2020 - 16:34

        would you expand a little bit on things where US's lifestyle is not that great VS Ozzie one, please? Aside from well known seppos nut jub culture =)

        • down-under on 05/05/2020 - 18:44
          +6

          As mentioned in some other comments, guns, too much political correctnesses, compulsory tipping culture, a failed health system, etc.

          But when the job pays good, I can ignore these issues, no problem.

          The real deal for me is, here it’s too hard to escape from the crowd and get relaxed. I tried driving to national parks, beaches, or even the desert once, but just couldn’t find the feeling of being away from other humans (and/or man made structures) 😂. While in Australia, by either walking on a quiet beach or in a rainforest, or spending a day or two in Mount Kosciuszko National Park, I can always feel the nature and its peacefulness, and get the best version of myself back in no time.

      • virhlpool on 05/05/2020 - 22:23
        +1

        Don't you like the fact that luxury (including clothes, shoes, accessories), lifestyle (car, house, gadgets, energy/fuel), and holidays (accommodation, travel, cruises) are much more affordable in the US for the income in a similar job (comparative income in the US is actually higher now with the current Xchange rates despite slightly lower absolute numbers at worst)?

        Another +ve that goes for the US is the ease of finding a good job or changing the field (e.g. entering into IT or any upcoming industry) as jobs are plenty even in cities which aren't top 5 (e.g. Charlotte, Dallas, Richmond, etc). Obviously, many more negatives over Aus (no doubt about it) but these are some of pretty strong positives in favour of the US. Your thoughts?

        • down-under on 06/05/2020 - 11:22

          Yes that’s why I’m here right now. But I’m at a stage that soon job will not be the only thing of my life.

      • Hangryuman on 06/05/2020 - 09:34
        +1

        'nothing beats Australia's weather, and I prefer Australia's culture'

        after several trips to the US, lastly a month driving around the US Deep South [politics - shudder] a couple of years ago I settled on

        'the US is a great place to visit - but I wouldn't want to live there'

      • gofish on 07/05/2020 - 14:22

        Come to Hobart!

        • down-under on 07/05/2020 - 14:41

          Username checks out. I love fishing too : D

  • [Deactivated] on 03/05/2020 - 14:24

    MJ or LBJ?

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