The Harbour CityIt has its problems but Sydney is quite a city.
Arriving here many moons ago , in winter, we saw more sunshine during the supposedly "cold"months than we had the previous summer in Europe. There were disadvantages and the adjustment to a different way of life were enormous . Rule numero uno was to reply enthusiastically to anyone who asked what we thought of Sydney that we loved it! We once made the mistake of openly being critical of the things we found different , to which the blunt reply was "Well, you'd better shape up or ship out!' Fairy nuff! (Translation : Fair enough; as a Uni professor once pointed out , we run words together like it was going out of fashion . Eggnisher for example is air conditioner ,which we had to use quite a bit this summer, and narsen parsee is nice and spicy when eulogising on various curry condiments available).
Accents can and do vary. Original Aussies can identify a Melbourne, Adelaide , Perth or country drawl with ease. Then, on the other hand , as one columnist wrote, you can be "flayed with diphthongs" when visiting one of the expensive, very expensive (10% off for additional siblings ) schools. Oft, when catching a taxi from the airport to the city, unwary travellers are subject to a stream of the vernacular that makes heads spin.
This is something very Sydney ( and perhaps the rest of Oz as far as I am aware ) in that everyone likes to know what you think of Australia. I can't for the life of me imagine anyone in Dundee, Scotland asking that question.It would be met with a bemused expression or at the worst by much rolling around accompanied by gales of laughter. Sorry Dundonians. A friend of mine remarked once ( himself a Scot not Scotch) that in his travels he had never met anyone who actually lived in Dundee. They had fled. Much has happened in Dundee since those prehistoric ages but the memory of what it was like still lingers.
To get back to Sydney, one of the lesser known benefits is that on a Sunday, transport passes ( Family Passes) are available that allow travel all day wherever and whenever the fancy takes you for the princely sum of $2.50 p.p.
It allows you to see much of Sydney you would never really visit. It is mooted that those who live on the North Shore never really go South and vice versa. The western suburbs is where the rough diamonds and salt of the earth live , while the Eastern suburbs...well, let's just say they are special.
The painting ( one of mine) is a view of the City which was done in Balmain, quite a trendy sort of place where the aspiring right people live; a bit arty farty although once rough as guts. Being a peninsular, house prices there are some of the most expensive with correspondingly vast mortgages (and parking fees). Still quite democratic though, another good Aussie trait . You've got to give it to 'em, mate! The way that mate is used would fill a book. Perhaps more thoughts on that later.
