Sunday, April 17, 2011

London life has its moments

We’ve just experienced the wettest April day in Sydney for more than a decade. It’s a timely reminder that life in Australia wasn’t as perfect as I’d often imagined while living in London. Since our return home people have been asking me if I miss the UK. While it’s true that I don’t miss the grey skies and drab sunlight of London, I do miss a few things.  Here's a list of things London really does better:
  • The extent and variety of reliable online shopping. Australian retailers are well behind the rest of the world.
  • The underground. Sydney trains are slow to load, always late and still use inflexible paper tickets. I miss my Oyster card.  I read today that Sydney's own Oyster card based system won't be in place until 2014.
  • Low-fat pesto. I never thought I’d miss Sainsbury’s home brand pesto. Sydney supermarkets only offer full fat varieties. However, on the flip side I'm please to have low-fat feta cheese back on the shelf.
  • Cheap European cars. While we were away Australia’s luxury car tax rose to 35% making an average European vehicle up to 50% more expensive.
  • More entertainment options.  Nothing bets the variety on offer in the West End any night of the week.  Sydney definitely has fewer cultural options on the go.

1 comment:

rhonda said...

You should be happy about the on-line shopping. It'll save you both a fortune. Must agree about the tube though--it's terrific, bring on the oyster cards!!!