My.apologies :(
this post was submitted on 30 May 2025
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Drop-bears are probably the biggest risk he'll have to deal with. Tell him to be careful walking under any tree as you never know when they'll attack.
Be careful of the summer sun.
The sun isn't always a fixed distance from earth. It's closest in January, which is winter in America but in Australia that's summer. So they should be ready for hot summers with a high risk of skin cancer.
There's probably more to worry about in the tropics (invasive species like kane toads and fire ants especially) but I don't live in the tropics so I'll leave that to someone else.
The sun isn’t always a fixed distance from earth. It’s closest in January
Forgive me if I'm just missing a joke, but it's not about the distance, it's about the angle. In the summer the angle means the days are longer, and sunlight travels through less atmosphere (and is therefore less attenuated) before it reaches you and gives you sunburn.
No, it's not the angle. The sun's orbit isn't exactly symetrical, it's a bit lopsided. In January the sun is about 5% closer to earth.
In the Northern hemisphere this is during winter, so it's the best of both worlds. In Australia though it's the reverse. We get extra dim winters and extra bright summers.
Ah, thank you for the clarification! I hadn't realised that the eccentricity of Earth's orbit made an appreciable difference, but apparently yeah, especially at the equator: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pclm.0000436
Appreciable difference? Not really. But a 'calculable' difference. Sure!
However, be sure to appreciate the HUGE difference of the landmasses in the northern and southern hemispheres.
The primary way heat "gets into" our atmosphere is via re-radiation from the "ground".
Compare the amount of "ground" between N45° and the North Pole, with that of the amount of "ocean" between S45° and the South Pole.
At perihelion (around 4th Jan.) the southern hemisphere is in summertime, but the southern oceans easily absorb any extra solar energy by being 'a little bit closer to the sun'. It's roughly equivalent to having the energy used by an extra 5000 cars arrive as solar radiation... and for *most* of that solar energy be absorbed by the ocean.
The tiny (almost insignificant) effect the earth's orbital eccentricity has on weather and climate is FAR less than that of our planet's axial tilt and the position of our continental land masses.
But, sure, if some researchers wish to tweak the underlying data used for the Milankovitch cycles, then, fine.
But our world is still on fire, and our children's future will be ashes unless we act now.
The 7% difference in insolation between perihelion and ahelion (a figure I've seen mentioned in multiple places) seems like it would be significant for sunburn and skin cancer, at least at the population level.
I found an ABC article that doesn't specifically say the 7% figure, but mentions perihelion as a factor in 10% higher UV in Australia. It downplays the role that extra 10% plays in our melanoma rates, though, and I suppose that's fair, I don't think anyone's getting caught out by burning 10% faster, because they would have gone inside 10% sooner if they had known, haha
Together, Professor Whiteman says, these factors mean Australia's UV is "probably about 10 per cent higher on average" than the equivalent latitude in the Northern Hemisphere.
"That would mean for people living in Brisbane it is higher than for people living in Miami in the US, and for people in Melbourne, it's higher than for people living in Athens, Greece."
While a 10 per cent increase in UV is significant, and might account for that sting in our summer sun, reasons for Australia's high melanoma rates are more lifestyle-related, he says.
Ummm...
"No, it’s not the angle."
Wrong. Axial tilt IS what causes our seasons, NOT the distance from the sun.
Speaking of the sun, "The sun’s orbit isn’t exactly symetrical..."
The sun's orbit? Around what? The centre of the Milky Way?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apsis
You're not 100% wrong. Zero_gravitas answered my comment about the apsis with a comment about the seasons, and I called them wrong even though technically they were just referring to the wrong topic. I was right though, the perihelion occurs in January and the anhelion occurs in July, and that this means the sun is closer to earth during Australian summer than it is during American summer.
As someone who moved from the UK to Aus 20 years ago - it’s a great move for your son. It’s has a lot in common with the US but is better than most western countries in almost every way. Aus is a great place to live, incredibly safe and a great lifestyle. Cost of living is currently high and it’s difficult to afford housing, but that seems to be common amongst most western economies anyway.
Once your son is settled, I strongly suggest visiting so you can see for yourself. Also, he’ll be proud to show off his new country to you. None of my family has visited me in Aus, which is disappointing although it is a long trek admittedly.
this is great to hear, and makes me feel a bit better. thank you!
i would love to go with him. logistically difficult... maybe someday!
Just seen from your replies that your son is headed to Wollongong and you were concerned about critters. I’m half hour north of Wollongong - it’s beautiful and a great area to live. It’s also more affordable than Sydney.
The chance of meeting nasty critters is not zero, but there are plenty of reasons it’s not common, and chances are even lower if you follow sensible precautions. In my 20 years here, I haven’t seen any snakes or dangerous spiders in suburban areas like Wollongong - only in less built up areas. Snakes are around but wisely keep out of humans’ way if they can. Spiders: I’ve seen one redback and no funnel webs. Sharks, various poisonous fish, octopi, jellyfish, etc are all out there, but again low chance and following well-publicised precautions reduces the odds further.
Hope your son enjoys his new life :)
I've lived here in Aus all my life. It's got it's problems sure, but it's relatively safe and the people here are alright. I can't say anything from the perspective of a parent, but I think just keep in touch how you can, and see how it goes.
any tips? warnings?
For your kid? Or for you?
If you're ok sharing it with us, it would help to know what city/area they're moving from and moving to, or even if it's city vs suburbs vs rural. Even something as simple as "footy" could mean three different types of football depending on what state they're in (and none of them are gridiron).
If you're not from somewhere with many spiders, might be good for your champ to quickly learn the most common ones here and whether to run from them or keep them around to eat annoying flies. Plenty are harmless to humans.
And if you're not from somewhere with ocean beaches, learn basics (how to stay afloat, riptides, basic beach safety like swimming between flags) and sun safety ("slip, slop, slap").
great info! dangerous critters were my first thought
goin to wallengong? hes coming from the east coast, right on the coast.. but such an [inside] nerd. id be surprised if hes touched the ocean more than a few times despite living a few blocks from it.
He should be fine, his Australian girlfriend should help him out with the normal stuff here.
One thing that might be useful, when visiting the US many Americans would express concern about Australian spiders. I explained that it wasn't really much of an issue, you just make sure to check for spiders before putting your hands in places, putting on shoes, etc.
The shoes thing seemed particularly outrageous to them. It's pretty simple though, you just look at your shoes before putting them on. Any spiders in there? Any sign of webs? Don't put them on. Easy!
I lived in Wollongong for my Uni days and somewhat beyond. Dangerous critters are unlikely. Boredom is a possibility. It's not a slow country town but it certainly isn't a City either. BIG bands don't play there, indie hits do. A car isn't necessary, depending of course on his type of work. You can commute to Sydney by train but it's brutal. Not sure from your 'native' wording if his beloved is just Australian or of Indigenous heritage. There are some volatile sociopolitical issues with the latter. Wollongong is an old Steel town, it leans Left and Union, but is far from perfect.
Not sure from your 'native' wording if his beloved is just Australian or of Indigenous heritage.
ha, ive not met her or seen images..so im not sure! i just meant 'from australia', but knowing my kid her heritage could go either way
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wollongong
Yeah so that's a coastal city south of Sydney, NSW, I don't know much more about it beyond a few quick visits and their university. I had a look at their official website (https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/) and I like that it's got a separate homepage for tourists and residents, so that site will have some useful tips for him.
Australia has a reputation for the dangerous critters but it's exaggerated a bit. It's not like we have bears or wild dogs (apart from dingos), the venomous animals generally want to run away from us. The exception would be crocodiles, and crocs aren't native to NSW.
I don't think there's anything too wild about our culture which would trick an internet-connected east coast fella, maybe that a fair bit of our (colonial) culture is closer to the UK than the US, so we might share things like understatement and a drier sense of humour. This page could also be fun to skim: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australian_English_vocabulary
I don't know what the situation is in Wollongong, but in Sydney there's plenty of opportunity to explore different cultures. Depending on where you are on your east coast, you might have had similar immigration waves (e.g. initial European colony states, Central/South European WWII immigration, Pacific conflicts and general Pacific regional interests (e.g. gold rushes), Middle Eastern conflicts immigration) so in cities there's plenty of great cuisine from all around Asia, Lebanese/etc. food, Italian and Greek food, and plenty else around. Italians are sometimes credited with fueling a notable coffee culture in our cities. Wikipedia says Wollongong has Macedonians rank unexpectedly high up the demographics chart (~2%).
I went to Wollongong once. Had lunch at a place called An Chut Chut. Incredible food.
Sorry I can't tell you more, other than it's a very pretty area. Beaches, hiking, train to Sydney if needed.
It's hard to let them go, but they have to live their own life, and you hopefully did the best you could to give them the tools they will need to succeed. Look at it this way, making such a move early in life lets them sample what else is out there, and no reason they can't either come back or move on to something else entirely, now armed with two different culture experiences. So much better than being trapped in one place or maybe worse, settling for that, and not see other places at all.
I guess the real question is why is he making the choice. Current conditions in the US? Her? A bit of both? Or maybe he's gotten a sample of AU and likes what he saw. As long as it's a good reason(s), and they all are, then why not?
hes spent most of his adolescence interacting online with a group from australia.. ostensibly its where his friends are. he has flown out ans spent some time on-site, so he knows what hes gettin in to.
a friend of mine put it best, 'that cake is baked! all you can do is support it!'
That's sounds like a done deal then, and he knows what he wants. Honestly, as a parent that's all you can ask for.
Hey guys we sure we want yanks?
It is gonna be lowering the IQ of both countries.....