Melbourne Culture Shock, Eight Things Nobody Warned Me About

My biggest Melbourne culture shock wasn’t the weather or the accent. It was the little things that nobody puts in a moving guide. I’ve lived in Indonesia and Singapore, so I thought I was ready for anything. These are the eight that got me most.

1. Everything closes so early

Shops shut at 5pm and the city goes to bed. In Jakarta and Singapore, 9pm is when the evening starts. Here, 9pm is when you realise you forgot to buy dinner.

2. The malls close too

In Asia, the mall is where life happens. It has aircon, food courts, a date and a family outing under one roof. In Melbourne, the mall is for errands, and it closes before you’re done.

3. People hang out at home

Because of number 2, Melburnians hang out at each other’s houses. Dinner parties, backyard barbecues, board games. It took me a while to stop waiting for someone to suggest a mall.

4. Everyone is so friendly (and stylish)

Strangers ask how your day is going and mean it. They also look effortlessly good while doing it. I still haven’t worked out how.

5. McDonald’s is junk food

Back home, McDonald’s is a treat, a birthday party venue, a place you dress up for as a kid. Here it’s what you eat at 2am. My inner child was offended.

6. Pasta is everyday food

Growing up, pasta was “Western food”. It was something you ordered at a fancy café on a special occasion, usually with a side of garlic bread and a lot of excitement. In Melbourne, pasta is a Tuesday night. People boil a packet after work, toss it with whatever is in the fridge, and call it dinner. With a city this proud of its Italian roots, from Lygon Street to the nonnas who still make their own sauce, pasta isn’t fancy here. It’s home cooking.

7. No salt (or spice) in the food

Australian food asks you to season it yourself. As someone raised on sambal, I carry my own heat.

8. Shoes inside the house

We are a shoes off household, always. Watching people walk across their carpet in outdoor shoes still makes me wince.

Bonus: people eat lunch at their desks

Lunch in Asia is a social event. Here it’s a sandwich next to a spreadsheet.

The Melbourne culture shock I feel most is about food. In Singapore, I picked where to eat based on local food bloggers, and there was always someone who had already tried it. Melbourne has great food but far fewer food bloggers to guide you through it. So maybe that’s my job now. Culture shock fades, but the habits you bring with you stay, and mine are shoes off, sambal on hand, and always asking where to eat next.

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more updates.