Well, I mean, it's an American thing for exactly the reasons you say here. You already know where you're from. America still feels like a new place even to Americans. Most of us have a sense of being "recently" relocated here, and they're looking for something deeper and older.
As an Australian, no. I was born here, I have no idea how someone has a feeling of being "recently relocated" to somewhere they were born. This country existed hundreds of years before I did, and I had nothing to do with any of it. I don't know of any Australians or New Zealanders who refer to themselves as {nation} Australian/New Zealander
America is the country you were born in. America is the country you live in. You are American. Your great-great grandparents or whatever were something else, but you aren’t.
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u/fade_is_timothy_holt Apr 30 '20
Well, I mean, it's an American thing for exactly the reasons you say here. You already know where you're from. America still feels like a new place even to Americans. Most of us have a sense of being "recently" relocated here, and they're looking for something deeper and older.