Introduction

My good friend Janet suggested I write an occasional blog that features my visits to Sydney.  This will be an evolving blog as I don't want to bore anyone with the minutiae of my days here.  However, this is a big city and an even bigger country which means there is much to explore.  At times it makes New Zealand feel very small and at other times I am glad I live in a small country that has a gentleness about it.  

It is good to come here at this stage in the New Zealand electoral cycle with an election three months away.  The way the opposition would have it we are a broken country with crime out of control, a cost of living crisis, the health system broken, housing in crisis and the government over reaching.  It paints a very negative picture.   Australia has many of the same issues; the health system is barely coping, cost of living is a major issue, crime is perceived to be an issue, housing is in an even worse state than ours with rental costs in the big cities rising rapidly as are house prices, and shortage of public housing.  Food prices are similar to NZ and going out to lunch in a café costs an arm and a leg. What is different is that people seem more optimistic despite the issues facing the country like the wealth gap, racism and the environment. 

They have the ABC (equivalent of RNZ and TVNZ) is a gem, with documentaries, it's free to air with no advertisements.  The range of cuisines is wonderful.  In the middle of winter there is sun and while cooler this year so far the weather has been good.  

So buckle up and experience the highs an, perhaps, the lows of my times in Sydney.