Ways that New York is better than Sydney

Window screens: For a country that is famous for the flies and mozzies (mosquitoes) and for a place with lovely weather for so much of the year, it amazes us that there are so few window screens or screen doors. The joke goes that the Australian salute is a hand waving the flies away from your face, so why allow them into your home? Maybe it is a conspiracy by the bug repellent industry. In New York, where the only bugs seem to be cockroaches, window screens are almost ubiquitous.

Service: This is John’s pet peeve. In shops he feels that the clerks don’t “step to it” fast enough. I debate with myself as to whether waiters are allowing us to have a leisurely meal or if they are just slow. Of course in New York you can get terrible service but most often you get service with a snarl but it is fast.

Pay TV: This is a function of both the better weather in Sydney, people spend a lot of time outdoors, and the sparse population of the continent, but the cable options are significantly fewer than in the US. We still miss the deluxe satellite TV we had in the US. I won’t belabor this issue as I already covered in my Observations in October. Just for the record, when John met me I only had a small “portable” black and white TV and it was unplugged and in a corner of my living room. The only shows I watched were “60 Minutes” and “Parker Lewis”. I can’t blame him for my fascination with TV but I have certainly become addicted.

Computer books & supplies: For some reason that eludes me, computer books and supplies are significantly more expensive in Sydney. For example, a book that costs has a list price of US$50 sells for Au$100 in Sydney. With the Australian dollar worth about US$0.75, a straight conversion would be Au$66. A natural conclusion is that the additional $44 covers the cost of shipping the book form the US to Australia. That is a fair argument until you look at electronic components, which are commonly made in the Pacific Rim. Digital cameras are almost double the US price, making it worth purchasing from a US retailer, shipping to someone in the States and asking them to mail it to Sydney. You still save money.

Back to January 2004

Last revised: January 2004