UK 🇬🇧

Mark, 32

Born in Cambridge, UK

Came to Australia in March 2020

What is your occupation?

I work in real estate, raising finance for different types of real estate investments. I started my own company called Macbeale, and I have 2 UK-based partners who do the majority of in-person work like meeting clients.

Why did you come to Australia?

I was living in Manila, the Philippines with my partner who was working as an Executive Assistant Manager in the Shangri-La Hotel there. The Sydney Shangri-La needed to temporarily fill a position so they asked my partner to fly down and work here for 2 months. At the time, I was volunteering for the ANZA community in Manila when I was warned by the Australian Embassy to consider leaving the country as a lockdown was imminent. I managed to fly to Australia two days before the borders were closed here. It’s all a bit crazy.

I’ve been staying at the Shangri-La Hotel since March and I’m finally moving out next week to Lane Cove.

What do you like about Sydney?

I really enjoyed how quiet the city was during the lockdown; it felt like a nice neighbourhood rather than a bustling concrete jungle. I’m grateful that I got to live smack bang in the middle of the street.

Sydney is a very pedestrian-friendly city.

Compared to where I’ve stayed in the last 10 years (Jakarta and Manila), the public transport system is amazing here. You can get anywhere pretty efficiently by train, bus or ferry.

What don’t you like about Sydney?

The price of eating out is extremely expensive.

Even beers are at least $10 a pint and food can easily surpass $25 at restaurants here. This is a big difference to Asia, where the cost of living is so much lower.

I’ve heard the summers are swelteringly hot but I guess I have yet to fully experience it yet!

What would you like to say to Sydneysiders?

To all skateboarders of Sydney: get rubber wheels! The screeching is so loud!

What languages do you speak?

English, Indonesian

I speak fluent Indonesian. When I arrived in Jakarta to work as a financial adviser, no one spoke English in my office. I literally couldn’t communicate so I was forced to learn.

I don’t know that much Tagalog because most Filipinos speak great English. It’s so Americanised over there.

I learnt a bit of Spanish when I was on exchange in Valencia but right now, I can only understand a bit now since I haven’t practised in ages.

Teach us one word/phrase from your native language.

Ruby

When we say we’re going out for Indian food, we say “we’re going for a ruby.”

It’s like cockney slang, Ruby Murray rhymes with curry.

What is one thing you want us to know about your native country?

We don’t all talk like the characters on Downton Abbey.

To me, the best place in all of the UK is the Lake District. I spent every February there. There are so many beautiful hikes to do.

Who is the most famous person in your native country?

Queen Elizabeth II

Elton John

Paul McCartney

There are so many out there - where do we even begin? There are so many famous British people.

A fun fact is that Princess Anne loves my mother’s brownies. She works for a catering company and I’ve heard the Princess is a big fan.

What is the best dish in your native country?

Fish and chips is a go-to dish but honestly, I’m not that big a fan of it.

I would say the best dishes are our desserts, like scones, carrot cake and sticky toffee pudding. Our British desserts are better than Asian desserts in my opinion. Western cuisines have better desserts whereas Asian cuisines have better dishes. Sidenote: durian is disgusting.

Disclaimer: All posts are personal opinions and perspectives of the interviewees and are not a perfect representation of the whole country/experience.