the edge of the world

I’m back in (or out) the thick of it.

So it’s been a full 25 days since I last checked in. Unfortunately, my laptop was in repair for the the first 2 weeks of that period (how does every other Macbook Pro logic board end up faulty?) and I just couldn’t share anything without the ability to import photos or use a physical keyboard. Anyway, some of the things I ought to share will come in a trickle in the next few days. Food, television, hearing Mass and music will be discussed, with the occasional slight reference to work.

But the first big thing I’ve been meaning to get out there after being in Sydney for a little over a week is the whole idea of how the “City” actually only refers to the central business district and everything else outside of it is a suburb. This is no small distinction apparently. To quote our German training manager in the office, Sydneysiders judge people based on which suburb they live in, much like Germans would do the same based on what car a person drives.

Apparently some generational shift into wanting to “be closer to the action” has occurred over the last years and has driven up rental prices. What that action is, I’m not yet entirely sure, but here’s what I’ve seen in the first few days:

Pitt Street Mall. Ramblas, anyone?

My view for the first 2 weeks, from Quay West Suites in the Rocks.

The City, for all its hype, is probably best for anyone who’s purely interested in living with the pulse of everything. In my first nights I’ve seen:

* Massive Thursday post-work drinks start at 6:30pm and end at 9:30pm

* More drunk pedestrians than I’ve ever seen anywhere before 10pm

* Clubs and bars closing at 3am and the insides pretty much made up of men in suits and “women past their prime” single-mindedly trying to “get some”

* All shops, except supermarkets, pretty much close at 5pm (except on Thursdays when they open until 9pm I think)

* People flock to the food courts because they’re cheap and fast

* The Sydney everyone knows and loves - Harbour Bridge, Opera House, Botanical Gardens - in 26 degree weather. Not bad for winter.

It’s pretty awesome, BUT, (1) I do have to be in the city for work and (2) I’ve always set my mind on finding a big, homely flat I can retire to after all that hustle. We have to mention the effect of the mining and commodities-driven supergrowth on inflation and the currency. #7 in the world? Not surprising (http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/sydney-now-seventh-most-expensive-city-20110816-1iwhr.html). It does kill one’s chances of a beautiful apartment “in the City,” though.

So this is where I tell you that the next time I’m here, I’ll talk about the outsides of the City and why Sydney still lives up to its moniker, “the City of Villages.”