Living in Sydney


The last two days have been quiet with me mostly watching the Tour de France, doing local walks and cooking dinner for Bev.  So I thought I would talk about a little about the small things I have noticed on this trip to Sydney.  

The weather has been beautiful.  The days have been warm with the past two days reaching into the early twenties; more like summer in Wellington.  Overnight it has been cool which generally makes it easier to sleep.  Bev's apartment is lovely and warm due in part to its orientation (to the north) and the good insulation as it has double glazing (something that is unusual in Australia).  Unusually, I gather,  western New South Wales has had a reasonable amount of rain.  

The cost of living is an issue in Australia  as are house prices and interest rates.  However, as there is not an election this year it doesn't seem to have as much political weight.  After years of experiencing a very populist approach to governing that has now changed due to a new government.   Scandals from the last government keep coming with some very dodgy things having been done by the Coalition.  Makes the misdemeanors of our politicians look very tame.  Generally in New Zealand while conflicts of interest haven't been declared it seems there is no suggestion of corruption whereas in Australia that is often the case.  At least they now have an independent watchdog to investigate.  Australian politics is fascinating for a politics tragic like me.

In the past year one change that has happened is the number of electric cars on the road.  Nothing yet like Wellington but increasing significantly with brands other than Tesla now featuring in the mix.  

Vegetable prices have gone down since I was last here.  Generally, I would say that overall they are cheaper than in New Zealand, at least when I left three weeks ago.  Capsicums for instance are around $6.95  a kilo,  beans about $8 a kilo, broccoli is $5 a kilo.  On the other hand kiwifruit are about $9 a kilo. 

 


 



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