06 April 2010

Today was the first day at my new Sydney job.  Having not started a new job in seven years, there was the admitted dread of being the newbie – mostly the part where you get introduced to 3 dozen people whose names you can’t recall two minutes later.  Luckily for me, by the time there was a break in my first day, it was well after 4 pm, which appears to be the time at which there is a mass exodus of staff from the office.  Yes, I think this job will be a perfect fit.

While I was at my new office, Gina was at hers – i.e., Neighbor Cynthia’s downstairs.  Neighbor Cynthia has been super gracious with her internet, letting us hang out in her home when she’s away to check email, post blogs, etc.  The cost?  Simply taking our favorite Aussie puppy Tilly out for a little walk here and there.  I think Gina likes her new office.  It’s practically like being back home in the Beach House – all she has to do is walk downstairs and voila, she’s hard at work, the rapid fire click-click of opening and closing spreadsheets the only sound.

08 April 2010

I am encouraging Gina to guest blog on our website, as she is still out investigating neighborhoods while I am learning my new job, but I haven’t been able to talk her into it yet, so I’ll tell be telling her stories through my eyes and words until I can convince her otherwise.

Yesterday, Gina spent the morning doing her favorite things – catching up on email and working on her spreadsheets.  It was raining here, so she was delaying her departure to Balmain, a neighborhood just west of Darling Harbour.  Once her calculations were complete and the rain had stopped, she took the train downtown and caught a ferry to East Balmain.  “Lovely” is how she described the neighborhood.  She used the term more than once as she described her walking circuit of this suburb, so I think she really liked it.

Gina also confirmed with a local salesperson that in Australian wear, she is anywhere from a size 8 to a size 14.  Sizing is not standardized in Australia like it is in the States.  What this means to us?  When shopping, I will be making lots of trips back and forth to the dressing room, laden down with layer upon layer of differently sized garments, while Gina tries to fit things over her big mane of hair.

After work, we bussed it the Broadway mall, a multi-storied affair of boutiques, chain stores, and an international food court.  We struck gold at the K-Mart, where we discovered retail prices equivalent to back home (e.g., salad spinner = $5).  Bring on the Blue Light Specials – and hand me another size 14.

Today Gina went across the harbour to see an apartment for lease but her appointment got canceled at the last minute.  She will try again tomorrow.  With any luck, I will be able to clear my 7 hr/day schedule and go with her.

09 April 2010

We have learned an interesting fact about rent here in Sydney.  Rental rates are advertised on a weekly basis.  So, when one sees a unit listed for, say, $650/week, then one is likely to assume that that rate adds up to $2600/month.  But that is American math, not Aussie math.  In Aussie math, the monthly rental rate would be $2817/month.  This is the result of taking the weekly rate ($650), multiplying it by 52 (weeks/year) and then dividing by 12 (months/year).  Now technically, that makes sense.  But from an advertising perspective, it’s a bit misleading that one is shown a weekly rate that doesn’t reflect the actual weekly rate.

The lesson here: in Australia, always figure you will pay more than expected.  This has the added bonus of being pleasantly surprised if something costs less.  When that happens, instead of shouting “Bingo!”, we’ll use a more Australia-appropriate recognition and shout “K-Mart!”.

Tonight we looked at the apartment across the harbour in Kirribilli that Gina had tried to see yesterday.  The Kirribilli neighborhood is directly across the water from the Sydney Opera house, with fantastic views back to it, downtown, and the Harbour Bridge.  The exterior of the apartment building was super cute – older, brick, and named the Rialto.  It was a small building of only 6 units, with each unit sporting a classic, retro-ish metal balcony with wide-open views.  The kind of views that shout “Look at me, I’m in Sydney!” with every major Sydney icon laid out before you.

But, here comes the but.  When I said “small” building, I meant S-M-A-L-L.  Although renovated (think newer paint and carpeting), the apartment layout itself was only borderline functional.  There was only one closet in the entire unit and Gina could barely turn around in the bathroom.  With no outside storage, it was hard to picture where we would store our four bicycles, let alone our other 20 boxes of outdoor gear and clothing.  We would essentially only want to live in the livingroom, with its to-die-for view, but I would imagine that after just a few days of sharing a 100-sq-ft space, we would be experiencing a bit of buyer’s remorse.

Disappointed but not dejected – this was only inspection #2 and the place was leaps and bounds nicer than the one we inspected in Manly for the same price – we walked away lease-less to the train back home to Erskineville.  We love our unit here, and it will most likely be the newest, cleanest, nicest place we’ll ever stay in Sydney, we just wish we could see a little bit of the harbour or beach or anything else that shouted “I’m in Sydney” from our front window.  Too much to ask in this expensive and competitive housing market?  Time will tell.