Man explains why 'living in America is a scam' after spending a year in Australia. It's eye-opening

The Ohio native, who lived in Australia for more than a year, breaks down his cost of living in America vs there.

UPDATED JUL 19, 2024

Cover Image Source: Pexels | Financial Planning | Bich Tran

A 23-year-old barista recently went viral on TikTok for claiming that we are all getting scammed in America. In the video, Jaxton Bloemhard, explains why "living in America is a scam." The Ohio native, who lived in Australia for more than a year, went on to break down his cost of living in America versus abroad. He shared his weekly cost break up while he was living in Australia.

He was spending $345 on rent, $100 on food and groceries, $15 on health insurance, $10 on Phone, $20 on transportation, $20 on Utilities, $16 on laundry, $26 on gym, which brought the total to $552 AUD or $360 USD.

In the video, which has more than 2 million views at the time of writing, Bloemhard said "I've been having such a hard time getting on my feet, and I was so confused why, but now I know: Money does not go as far [in America], and we're being scammed."

Then he goes on to talk about his weekly expenses living in Ohio, US. He says that living in the US, he is currently spending, $250 on rent, $75 on food, $25 on parking, $100 on car payment, $40 on car insurance, $35 on gas, $100 on health insurance, $25 on his phone, $100 on utilities, and another $15 on gym. After adding the expenses his total was around $565, which was $205 more than what he was spending in Australia.

He then says that this problem escalates when the wages are taken into consideration. As a barista in Australia, Jax was making around $32 AUD or $21 an hour, which is the standard wage in the country. Meanwhile in the US, Jax says he makes only $15 an hour as a barista, which does not include tips. This means he is making way less as an barista in the US than he was in Australia, while working more hours in the US.

"It takes 31.38 hours of work a week just to live. That's before you get to savings, before you start traveling, before you go to restaurants [...] The comparison of the two makes me sick to my stomach," he says in the video, after showing the viewers that it need only 17.15 hours of work to sustain oneself in Australia.

@jaxtonbloemhard ♬ Au Revoir - Sweet After Tears

Many took to the comments to talk about what a great living situation Australia was offering. "17 hrs is basically 2 days of work….unreal," read the top comment, while another said, "This is facts. I lived in japan for four years and coming back to us made me realize how expensive living is."

"You made more in Australia than I make in the US with a masters-required job that sucks my soul away and I work 65+ hours a week," read another comment. One Australian also took the opportunity to back the TikTok creator and said, "As an Australian living in LA last 5 years this is so accurate I had such a better quality life in Australia even tho I make more in US, make it make sense haha"

For more such content, follow, (@jaxtonbloemhard) on TikTok.