Ioana on TikTok: Canadian expat shares five culture shocks about Australia

A Canadian expat who has been living in Australia for almost seven years has revealed the five culture shocks that ‘blew her mind’ and why cockroaches are the ‘scariest’ part of living in the country.

Ioana has lived in Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales during her time Down Under, and was surprised most by the outrageous rental prices, ‘balanced’ portion sizes and coffee culture. 

In a video, the expat detailed how Australia differs to what she’s used to in Montreal.

At the start of her three-year stint in Melbourne, Ioana was shocked when she first saw the rental prices and described Australia’s housing market as ‘crazy unaffordable’. 

‘I thought they [the prices] were monthly, um no, they’re weekly,’ she said. 

In a video posted on TikTok, the expat detailed how Australia differs to what she’s used to in Montreal. At the start of her three-year stint in Melbourne, Ioana was shocked when she first saw the rental prices and described Australia’s housing market as ‘crazy unaffordable’

‘The base price in Melbourne is like $500, $600, $700 a week. It’s insane and that blew my mind,’ she continued. 

‘I’m from Montreal where sometimes you could get places as low as $600 a month.’ 

Currently Ioana lives on the Gold Coast and claims rent ‘isn’t much cheaper’ there now compared to Melbourne. 

Next, when dining out at a café for brunch she noticed the portion sizes are much smaller and ‘less gross’ compared to the food served in Canada. 

‘I actually had reverse culture shock when I went back home a month ago because I had breakfast in Montreal and this is literally what they served me,’ she said, sharing an image of a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese, beans and toast.  

‘I didn’t even get the whole breakfast in the photo, it’s just slathers in sauce and sugar and super disgusting. I also had four pieces of toast in the corner there. No one should be eating that much food.’ 

To compare, the young expat also included a second photo of an egg bagel she had for breakfast in Australia recently. 

‘As you can see, it’s a lot more balanced,’ she said. 

She also described as Aussie coffee as ‘some of the best coffee’ she’s ever had. 

Ioana then commented on what she thought about how Aussies aren’t required to tip and the standard wage.  

‘No tipping is pretty cool but I think the bigger culture shock was that everyone is kind of paid a living wage. The median salary is a lot higher here than in North America and that’s why the cost of living is much higher cause people make a lot more money,’ she said. 

And lastly, Ioana added how some a lot of people walk barefoot in public – which she dubbed as more of a ‘Queensland thing’. 

‘Queenslanders love to walk barefoot everywhere.. in changing rooms, in shops.. I think the ‘no shoes, no service’ North American thing is stamped in my brain,’ she said.

‘I’ve seen people half naked at the store just in their bikinis barefoot.’ 

Next, when dining out at a café for brunch she noticed the portion sizes are much smaller and ‘less gross’ compared to the food served in Canada. ‘I actually had reverse culture shock when I went back home a month ago because I had breakfast in Montreal and this is literally what they served me,’ she said, sharing an image of a huge breakfast of eggs, bacon, cheese, beans and toast (pictured) 

The detailed video is part of a series shared on Ioana’s TikTok page. 

In another video, she revealed what scares her the most about Australia – with her ‘biggest ick’ being cockroaches. 

Ioana thought Australia’s giant spiders were ‘actually OK’ and said she wasn’t afraid of snakes but ‘massive’ cockroaches are where she draws the line. 

‘I lived in northern New South Wales for about a year and a half very close to the beach and our house was infested with cockroaches, we had to get it fumigated twice a year,’ she said. 

‘They were massive, they were flying out of lamps. I’ve also has massive cockroaches on the Gold Coast as well.’

In another video, she revealed what scares her the most about Australia – with her ‘biggest ick’ being cockroaches 

Ioana shared another clip of her not being able to sleep because of a visiting cockroach and gecko on her bedroom wall. 

‘That’s probably my biggest ick about Australia – the cockroaches,’ she finished. 

The Canadian’s clip quickly racked up thousands of views and many Aussies in the comments agreed with her take. 

‘As an Australian, you are absolutely right. It’s so the cockroaches,’ one woman replied.

‘I had one fly into my mouth while I was sleeping. It was massive. I instinctively reacted violently resulting in it exploding. I tasted rank,’ a second wrote.

‘Hate them so much. They use your face as landing pads,’ one man said while another called the pests ‘unrelenting’. 

‘The absolute worst is when they fly towards you, f****** gross and scary,’ another agreed. 

Ioana has more than 27,000 followers on TikTok for sharing her hot takes on Aussie culture as an expat.