Well, it’s been a hectic time here in Sydney over the past few weeks. There were packing and logistical preparations for last Saturday’s move to Bondi Beach and race preparations for Sunday’s Mother’s Day 8K Fun Run. One involved a little exercise and the other, a bit of wine, and not in the order you’d expect.

Re-packing our suitcases wasn’t too great of an effort, although it was a bit surprising that what had arrived at The Motto by one car had to leave by two. Being super cost-conscious and not wanting to replace all of the “stuff” we just downsized, we did not feel as though we had added much to our material lives during our 6 weeks at The Motto. And in fairness to ourselves, that was pretty true – the addition of a Nanna Trolley (coming soon in a future blog) and some pads of paper upon which to record our adventures were relatively small potatoes. It was really the borrowed household items (our slow boat of belongings doesn’t dock for a few more weeks) that added to our bulk – the iron, clothes drying rack, and linens, to name a few.

To our moving entourage, Neighbor Cynthia wisely added BJ (Bondi Junction) Helen. BJ Helen drives a Subaru wagon, ideal for transporting our bulging duffels. Little Tilly was also added to the moving mix – a big day out for our 3 kilo friend.

First stop – the property manager’s office in Woollahra. There was the minor business of signing the lease to be taken care of. Native Aussie Neighbor Cynthia accompanied us inside as our Interpreter. Leases in Sydney appear to be much like leases at home – reams of paper that you don’t want to read but know that you should. We paid a bit more attention here, though, because some things are different – namely how rent is calculated and how you go about paying it.

Let’s start with rental rates. In the States, you typically rent by the month, right? Some months have more days, some less, but it all evens out in the monthly rent you pay. A rounding issue, if you will, one that Australia embraces with regard to grocery prices (that $4.98 item actually costs you an even $5) and tips (don’t pay 20%, just round that final bill slightly up to an even number). But when it comes to rental costs, the Australians collect for every minute you live in their property. Rental rates are advertised by the week, but are calculated down to the nanosecond. Here’s an example of how it’s done:

• Take the weekly rental rate ($700) and divide it by 7 to get your DAILY rental rate ($100).

• Now multiply that daily rental rate by 365 days to get your yearly rental rate ($36,500).

• Now divide that yearly rental rate by 12 to get your monthly rental rate ($3041.67).

• Now round that final number up to give your landlord every last penny (of which Australian currency has no such thing) to get your final monthly rental rate ($3042).

So through the miracle of mathematics, what you thought would cost you $2800/month (that advertised $700/week multiplied by 4) is actually going to cost you $242 more per month.

We understand the math, and the numbers do add up, but it’s really a misleading way to advertise rental rates, in our collective humble opinion. And maybe we wouldn’t rant about it if what you received was worth that every last penny, but based on the number of dumpy properties advertised at our example rate and higher, it’s a bit maddening. We’ll gladly pay top dollar for a product that has high value (think 3 bicycles each), but the condition of most rental properties in Sydney doesn’t hit that mark.

On the flipside of this blemish is being able to pay rent – or any other bill or person for that matter – via direct, bank-to-bank, online transfers. Doesn’t sound like a new concept, does it? And yet, did you catch the “person” reference? Here in Australia there is the online banking concept of “Pay Anyone”. All you need to do is give me your bank routing number and account number and I can transfer money online directly from my account to yours.

Pretty cool … and yet, if you asked me back in the States to give you that information and you were anyone other than my employer setting up direct deposit, I would be more than hesitant to do so. Down here? It’s completely normal. Of course, that bank has all sorts of disclaimers around the transfers – get the details wrong and send money to the wrong person or account and it’s your problem, not theirs – and I bet in the fine print somewhere it states that all errors will be rounded up to the nearest hundred – but it does simplify the banking, so kudos to the Aussies for that.

With the lease signed and the entire moving entourage loaded back into our mini caravan of cars, we were off to Bondi Beach. Bondi Beach Café, that is. One can’t move 50 lb duffels up two flights of stairs on an empty stomach, particularly if one’s name is Gina. Fully satiated, we hauled our belongings up to our top (third) floor apartment. This was preceded by a mini and mostly mock protest by Neighbor Cynthia and BJ Helen when they learned there was no lift, but this was short-lived and paid back when they helped us reposition a 200 lb wardrobe that wasn’t quite where we wanted it.

The next few hours were spent unpacking, having a minor meltdown or two over the project in front of us, and walking the length of the Bondi sands to regroup. Moving is an intense and stressful endeavor – at least for us – and we feel like that is all we have been doing for the past several months. A choice we made and one that certainly has its benefits, but a stressful time nonetheless. Strolling the shallows of the South Pacific reenergized our afternoon which we most certainly needed, for next up – the Mother’s Day 8K Fun Run.