Settling in to the City

We have a view of Port Phillip and the City



It has been an exciting week moving in to our apartment and exploring the neighborhood. The atmosphere around Melbourne is lively and cosmopolitan and we are living smack dab in the center of it all. 

One our observations, so far, is how “well-off” the Australians are.  The economy is robust and unemployment is under 6% nationwide.  We see no homelessness, no obvious crime, no poverty; education, health care and retirement are all guaranteed by the government.  Minimum salary is close to $30k which is called the “living wage.”  You can live quite well on that with no college debt, medical bills and nursing home expenses.  Immigration however is very tightly controlled so we won't be burning our return tickets.





Lamingtons and Pavlova for Australia Day

We connected with a few friends of friends who have helped us get oriented to the City.  On Australia Day, (like July 4^th without the parades and fireworks) we were invited to our first “barbie.”  The lamb and steaks were delicious (cattle is grass fed here: there is no corn and also no high fructose corn syrup).  Vegetables and fruit were super-fresh and full of natural flavor.  Dessert included traditional pavlova (meringue cake) and lamingtons (coconut covered petit fours).  



The Australian Open was exciting; Mike and Audrey went to one of the quarter-final matches with the 2-time winner Novak Djokovic.  The weather has been hot and sunny so we slather on the sunblock (the slogan is: slip (on a shirt), slop (on sunscreen), slap (on a hat). When it got really hot, 41̊ C (106̊F) we went to one of the many terrific museums.  We love how hands on the exhibits are and how direct the commentary is at the museums.  No ropes or guards keeping you 6 feet away and clueless.  On cooler days, we have been outfitting our new flat and checking out the gardens and markets.

 

As summer “holidays” come to an end we are joining the rest of the country in getting ready for school.  The girls will be wearing purple uniforms, which we’ll pick up at the school second hand shop in a few days.  We had to buy new shoes though, and the process was painful.  They need a very specific style that was hard to find and, as an understatement, hideous and confining after weeks of flip flops. 

School shoes