New Years in Sydney was "sun"sational! We spent the afternoon on Manly beach which is only about a 20 minute drive from our house. Will post a photo soon. We loved it. Even the locals are raving about how "brilliant" the weather is. It's typically hotter and more humid this time of year. It's been a perfect 80 degrees since we arrived. Love having all the windows open - think we can get used to this.
We also bought a car. It's a 2008 Holden Commodore (an Australian subsidiary of GM). We actually found car prices to be pretty similar to US.
The exchange rate is pretty much 1 to 1 right now give or take a couple pennies. The currency is AU dollars. Sydney has an extremely high cost of living. It would be comparable to living in NYC, San Francisco or London. So our sticker shock is not due to the exchange rate -- its due from moving from a place with such a low cost of living. I mentioned our rent already. The other really expensive thing for us will be daycare. Daycare for the boys is about 3 times higher than what we're used to, and public school for Charley is $4500 per year for non-citizens. We will eventually adjust!
Many people have asked about our house in Lincoln. It is still for sale. We're confident it will sell in the spring and thank goodness for my sister Sandi and our wonderful neighbors, the Euckers, for helping us out in the meantime. They are so generous, they'll probably buy it if no one else does : )
Cheers to a happy and healthy 2012!
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Getting the hang of it
Tonight will be the first night in our new house. We did some major shopping today to get the place outfitted. Our tactic is for me to drive and Matt to navigate. Made it to the mall and back with no angry honking or wrong turns. Only hit the windshield wipers once instead of blinkers. Matt said we'll have the cleanest windshields ever!
The house is all one level and very long and narrow. There are big decks on the front and back of the house and lots of windows. No air conditioning here. It was probably built in the 60s we think.
Things we like ... pretty hard wood floors, huge kitchen/dining/sitting room, outdoor space, all the wide open windows and doors, big park and recreation center right across the street (the kids are over there now learning to speak Australian and how to play rugby), minutes walk to the bus station (my new commute to the city for work) and the pretty little suburb of Lane Cove with lots of shops and restaurants.
Things we don't like ... bathrooms. Jeez. There are two "full" bathrooms. One is outside on the deck. Has a small shower, a toilet, a laundry room type sink and our stackable washer and dryer. No mirror. The only bathroom inside the house has a shower, bathtub, small vanity and toilet. Basically, a family of five is sharing one small bathroom. I've been spoiled. No more double vanities and huge showers.
Sticker-shock: rent is $4,800 per month. This is jaw-dropping for a family from Nebraska. It's worth every penny though.
Still need to find: a car to buy, a home improvement store, a coffee I like, our air shipment that is still hung up in customs!
The house is all one level and very long and narrow. There are big decks on the front and back of the house and lots of windows. No air conditioning here. It was probably built in the 60s we think.
Things we like ... pretty hard wood floors, huge kitchen/dining/sitting room, outdoor space, all the wide open windows and doors, big park and recreation center right across the street (the kids are over there now learning to speak Australian and how to play rugby), minutes walk to the bus station (my new commute to the city for work) and the pretty little suburb of Lane Cove with lots of shops and restaurants.
Things we don't like ... bathrooms. Jeez. There are two "full" bathrooms. One is outside on the deck. Has a small shower, a toilet, a laundry room type sink and our stackable washer and dryer. No mirror. The only bathroom inside the house has a shower, bathtub, small vanity and toilet. Basically, a family of five is sharing one small bathroom. I've been spoiled. No more double vanities and huge showers.
Sticker-shock: rent is $4,800 per month. This is jaw-dropping for a family from Nebraska. It's worth every penny though.
Still need to find: a car to buy, a home improvement store, a coffee I like, our air shipment that is still hung up in customs!
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Driving on the other side of the road
OH. MY. GOD.
Got a rental car today and drove for the first time. This is insane. Not only are we in a strange, huge city with a lot more traffic than we're used to, you have to fight every instinct and think through every movement. Windshield wipers were flying every time I flipped the "blinker" which should be on the left! It's not! Fortunately, Australians are so friendly and laid back, even their honking and gestures seem friendly enough.
Up until today, we've been getting around via city bus. The kids love it. Quinn fell asleep on the couch last night and as Matt picked him up to put him to bed, Grey said, "See you tomorrow Minny. See you on the bus."
We're hoping to buy a used car this week. Our intent was to lease a car, but were informed that since we're "temporary citizens", the finance companies require a 40% non-refundable deposit on leased vehicles. Plus the monthly lease payment! More on sticker shock later.
Got a rental car today and drove for the first time. This is insane. Not only are we in a strange, huge city with a lot more traffic than we're used to, you have to fight every instinct and think through every movement. Windshield wipers were flying every time I flipped the "blinker" which should be on the left! It's not! Fortunately, Australians are so friendly and laid back, even their honking and gestures seem friendly enough.
Up until today, we've been getting around via city bus. The kids love it. Quinn fell asleep on the couch last night and as Matt picked him up to put him to bed, Grey said, "See you tomorrow Minny. See you on the bus."
We're hoping to buy a used car this week. Our intent was to lease a car, but were informed that since we're "temporary citizens", the finance companies require a 40% non-refundable deposit on leased vehicles. Plus the monthly lease payment! More on sticker shock later.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas Day
We skype with our families on our Christmas Day, their Christmas Eve and show them the view out our hotel window and what we assume is the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge. We're complete goobers. We later realize that its some other bridge. Not at all famous, and not nearly as impressive as the Harbour Bridge. I blame it on the jet lag.
We spend the day down at Darling Harbour which is filled with kid-friendly activities. The temperature is mid-80s. We assume. Haven't figured out celsius yet.
Also trying to figure out how to get a cup of coffee like what I'm used to. I see "flat-white" and "long-black" on the menus and remember Ken Wollenberg's daughter saying she ordered flat white when she lived here for a spell. Its ok, but I just want an extra bold black coffee with cream and sugar. Will keep trying. Interestingly, I have no problem finding a beer that I like.
Have taken lots of pictures but we don't have the proper cord to download them yet. We are awaiting arrival of our 30 boxes of air freight that was shipped from the US on the 21st and expected to arrive Sydney on the 29th of December. Our sea container that is filled with all our furniture and household goods left our US house on the 20th and is expected to reach our Sydney house the first part of March. Have arranged rental furniture in the meantime. Will sorely miss my king-size pillow-top mattress.
We spend the day down at Darling Harbour which is filled with kid-friendly activities. The temperature is mid-80s. We assume. Haven't figured out celsius yet.
Also trying to figure out how to get a cup of coffee like what I'm used to. I see "flat-white" and "long-black" on the menus and remember Ken Wollenberg's daughter saying she ordered flat white when she lived here for a spell. Its ok, but I just want an extra bold black coffee with cream and sugar. Will keep trying. Interestingly, I have no problem finding a beer that I like.
Have taken lots of pictures but we don't have the proper cord to download them yet. We are awaiting arrival of our 30 boxes of air freight that was shipped from the US on the 21st and expected to arrive Sydney on the 29th of December. Our sea container that is filled with all our furniture and household goods left our US house on the 20th and is expected to reach our Sydney house the first part of March. Have arranged rental furniture in the meantime. Will sorely miss my king-size pillow-top mattress.
Getting there . . .
We left Lincoln on the afternoon of Thursday, Dec 22nd, quick flight to Denver, and another quick flight to LA. The flight from LA to Sydney is a 17 hour direct flight. It was after 9 pm when we left LA and we were all tired by the time we boarded the Virgin Australia plane. The kids had just enough stamina to try out their personal entertainment systems and soon fell asleep. They slept for nearly 10 hours, then movies, games and food kept them occupied for the remaining 7 hours. Could not have gone better. Love Virgin Australia. Love Premium Economy seating. Love Dramamine.
Arrived Sydney at 6:00 a.m. Saturday, December 24th. Going through customs was a breeze, finding our driver was even breezier. Weather is warm and muggy. We're over-dressed and in bad need of showers and toothbrushes, but feeling giddy that we made that flight with no melt-downs.
We're staying at a hotel in downtown Sydney for the first 4-5 days as we don't get keys to our new home that we rented sight unseen until the 28th. The hotel is really nice. The first day we just want to stock up on some groceries and catch up on some sleep.
Arrived Sydney at 6:00 a.m. Saturday, December 24th. Going through customs was a breeze, finding our driver was even breezier. Weather is warm and muggy. We're over-dressed and in bad need of showers and toothbrushes, but feeling giddy that we made that flight with no melt-downs.
We're staying at a hotel in downtown Sydney for the first 4-5 days as we don't get keys to our new home that we rented sight unseen until the 28th. The hotel is really nice. The first day we just want to stock up on some groceries and catch up on some sleep.
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