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24 surefire signs you grew up in the country.

Dairy Australia
Thanks to our brand partner, Dairy Australia

No matter how long you live in the city, it’s hard to hide the truth: You can take the kid out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the kid.

1. You only become attached to animals you are confident your parents aren’t going to eat.

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2. You’re really good at making your own fun.

Especially when that fun involves a roof-rack and some dead wattle branches.

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3. You can pronounce the following breeds flawlessly and can identify them on sight: Charolais, Fresian, Appaloosa, Corriedale, Sussex, Rhode Island Red.

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4. When people ask where you grew up, you know they’re not going to know the town so you just say “Two hours from Dubbo”.

5. You know that if you hear the following things, you must act immediately:

  • “The cows/sheep/chooks are out!”
  • “The cows/sheep/chooks are in!”

6. You only have an “outside voice”.

7. You still try to hit cane toads with your car.

8. You still have the emotional scars of being chased by (a) a rooster, (b) a bull, (c) a goose, (d) a neighbour, (e) all of the above.

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9. When you go home, you run into parents of the kids you went to school with. You lie about what you do because running a company of 800 people still sounds less impressive than running 800 head or working for Elders.

10. When you list “skills” on your CV, you have to leave off the most important ones, like chook-plucking, surviving electric fences and removing revolting smells from your body, clothes and hair.

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11. With everything you’ve seen, you should probably be a vegetarian (see above).

12. You aren’t a vegetarian.

13. You get overly excited when you unexpectedly hear James Blundell and James Reyne’s “Way Out West.”

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14. City water still tastes weird.

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15. You have to stop yourself from waving at other cars on the road. And when cars honk at you, you look to see whether you know the other driver.

16. The city is too noisy, even though it’s quieter than roosters, kookaburras, cockatoos, bats, koalas, dogs, possums, crows, sheep, shotguns, tractors or your dad when you let the cows out.

17. You know that gumboots come in black ONLY and are for mud.

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18. You learned everything you know about the birds and the bees from watching the cows/sheep/chooks/pigs/birds/bees. So naturally, you’re still a little bit confused.

19. There are very few things that make you queasy. Once you’ve smelled some farm smells, there is very little that will ever challenge your nostrils again.

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20. The kid that lived on the next farm was your best friend, by default. After your dog.

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21. You still get excited when it rains (and you secretly wonder how much rain we’ve had.)

MARGE!

22. You never go barefoot. That’s just asking to walk in cowshit/step on a snake/get stuck by a bindi.

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23. You still watch Landline when no one else is around.

24. There are just some things about your childhood that you’re never going to be able to explain.

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What would you add to this list?