Losing my Australian filter: the cost of living...

When looking at the prices of anything in the USA, it's easy to think that things are cheaper than in Australia. And indeed they can be, especially blueberries and some fancy cheeses, but clothes and nonessential items can be a little harder to work out...

Last year I bought a pair of gumboots (rainboots over here), and I paid US$26 for them. Now, they're not plain gumboots, and I thought they might be solid enough to be Jimmy's winter boots, so long as he had woollen socks on, which sort of worked. Now, $26 is not cheap for children's shoes, not even in Australia, but I would buy them over there, without a second thought, because they would cost me about an hours work.

But what about in the USA? Well...

The median annual income for an individual in the USA is about US$30,000, this equates to roughly US$15/hour. That means Jimmy's gumboots cost nearly 2 hours work. But most of the population is not on US$30,000 and the minimum wage ranges from state to state. For arguments sake, let's call it US$7.25/hour (which is true of Kansas) and it's even less for workers who rely on tips.

Let that sink in...

Go on Australian readers. Take a minute. Think about it. Minimum wage is US$7.25/hour.

Cheaper gumboots, available online, might cost an hours work for most workers, or two hours for someone on minimum wage, plus tax. But sometimes there's no platform for product reviews, so there's no telling how good the gumboots are.

So, what does this translate for everything else? Well, regardless of how the Australian dollar compares to the US dollar, I find the best way to gauge how much something might cost in Australia is to double the figure. This mostly applies to clothes, sporting goods, some shoes, and beautiful things for the home - most of which we don't buy, because we're only here short term.

Coffee is an interesting item because depending on where you go (and how you take it), is very similar in price, if we're assuming $3.50 has the same value in Australia and the USA. But it doesn't. And most Americans like their coffee to be watery, often filter coffee that tends to sit around for hour or the made-to-order pour over - it's fancy little sister. Regular filter coffee can cost as little as $1 for a really big coffee. Fancy pour overs (and lattes) cost $3.50 or more, which is half an hours wage for most people. This can turn coffee into a luxury item - can you imagine paying AUS$7 for a latte?

There are some things that are cheaper here, or very similar in price. Some things can end up heavily discounted, such as clothes. Some places are amazing when it comes to sales. The other week I bought some new clothes for Jimmy, from the discounted section at one of these places. All the items were subject to a further 50% off the marked price, so I paid US$1 for socks that cost US$4 full price. A friend paid US$0.66 for socks for her son. Again, they were on sale, which is often the case with a lot of places - almost everything can be bought on sale if you know how to play the game.

Sometimes I wonder if this approach - doubling the price to get a feel for how much it might cost in Australia - might all be a waste of time because of the huge difference in wage conditions and workers rights, and so much more manufacturing occurs on US soil than in Australia, plus there is market size to consider too. And transportation costs... Have I left anything out? Basically, there are a lot of factors involved before a price is placed on an item, and the buying power of the average worker may not be a consideration.

What I am certain about is Jimmy's need for new gumboot. His new ones have arrived and his old ones have been given to a friend who will get some use out of them. Did I pay US$26 for the new little gumboots? Yes. Do I scold Jimmy when he doesn't look after them? Yes I do, because I understand the true local value of those boots.

Over the weekend we...

Went to downtown Manhattan, KS, (travelled light, so all photos were taken with my old iPhone). We stopped by the library and tried to go to the Salvation Army op/thrift shop but it was closed (hopefully just for that Saturday). Downtown felt really empty, almost ghost town-like, although not as deserted as K-State during Thanksgiving. I blame the fun run or the pleasant day enticing people out and away from the city.

We did a teeny bit of shopping at the mall before stopping in at Sparrow for some coffee and a light lunch. We needed refueling before we went to the Discovery Center, which we had almost all to ourselves - it's usually pretty packed on Saturdays.

The Discovery Center was a hit with Jimmy, as always. And so was the bus! We caught the bus in the morning but it was the afternoon bus driver who was happiest to see us. That's right, it was Jimmy's favourite bus driver! Unfortunately for her, 2 year olds can be a little shy if they haven't seen someone for a while, which was the case, but Jimmy did warm up and gave her a high five when we departed. Oh and yes, Jimmy sat in a seat all on his own for the very first time, and yes, he was wearing his seatbelt.

On Sunday evening we went to a farewell barbeque/grill for a visiting PhD student. It was supposed to be last weekend, but it was going to be unpleasant. Sunday may have been rather hot, but out by Tuttle Creek Dam and in the evening, it really wasn't so bad. Jimmy tried to push everything that he could push... I think he was just excited to be outside (he'd been inside all day because of the heat).

It's really nice out at Tuttle Creek Dam, and there's camping too. Not having a car means that we miss out on it most of the time, which is sad, especially as there are lots of Geocaches in the area Michael and I enjoy camping, and based on last year's road trip I think Jimmy might enjoy it too.

Jimmy loved the spot that was chosen and really enjoyed running around. It was lovely watching him wander off and explore the area, but I was also keeping a sharp eye on him because he is a toddler and things happen in the blink of an eye... Fortunately, Jimmy managed to remain injury free (unless you count the tiny splinter we found on Monday night, which was out by Tuesday morning).

There were lots of cooks, so I was free to hang out with Jimmy and keep him away from the barbeque and Michael made good use of the light and found a few Geocaches. Everyone seemed to have a good time. The evening was almost perfect, which was especially important for a farewell event.

The only thing that wasn't perfect was the amount of cloud cover: the PhD student wanted to see the sun setting, but the clouds were over the horizon. I prefer to think of it as "enough cloud cover to make it interesting", but that's a sentiment from an old job... We were out late and Jimmy managed to stay awake in the car. He wasn't interested in having a bath, but we still managed to clean him up, even if we were physically exhausted. It was a good weekend.

31/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Cheeky, energetic boy enjoying a late afternoon run around with Daddy.

This cheeky, energetic boy has a new favourite top and some new gumboots/rainboots, and, given how big they are, they should fit Jimmy's ever growing feet for the next 12 months, so long as they hold up to daily wear (yes, even when it's over 30 C, Jimmy still likes to wear them - crazy kid).

All these photos were taken by Michael, who took our restless little boy out for a late afternoon run around at the nearby school playground. Seriously, it was after 6pm when they headed out and they were gone for over an hour.

Quick reads...

I can't believe that it's the weekend already and I haven't even shared the photos we took at the county fair. I'm sorry. Soon, I promise.

My head has been a bit fuzz and I think I've been in shock since my work permit arrived, but it's taking a little longer than I thought it might to get started at work. And that's a good thing because it means that my long days with Jimmy are not going to end on Monday. They'll end after my social security number arrives...

In the meantime, have a great weekend!



While it's hiking weather in Queensland, here are some child friendly hikes around Brisbane.

Some cute mittens for cold days.

After dinner treats in under 5 minutes? Yes please!

What no one tells you about moving overseas. Ok, Michael and I probably will.

A great print to brighten up any room.

Jimmy keeps playing with sticks, and apparently it's good for him.

More annoying, but important things toddlers do.

An interesting place to escape mainstream life, so long as you can live in Spain.

What your socks say about your personality.

This is what it looks like when fathers share parental leave.

I recently found out that a friend blogs, and it's a really good read.

Beautiful moths - because it was National Moth week here a while ago.



(Mittens via Down to Earth.)

A really good read: Euphoria

Oh my goodness! This book broke my heart over the weekend... I've probably said too much already, so without spoiling the end anymore than I might have already, I want to tell you about Euphoria by Lily King.

The first I heard about this book was here, followed by here. As I like how these women write, I figured it was worth getting my hands on a copy, and after a short wait I was able to borrow it from the library.

It was well worth the wait.

Oh my goodness! It sucked me in: I could feel the tropics, smell the cooking fires, taste the breadfruit and yams, and see the lake where most of the book takes place. Euphoria is electric, vibrant, gripping, tantalising, and beautifully written. It made for excellent reading while resting an ouchie knee.

King has taken the story of groundbreaking anthropologist Margaret Mead and created a piece of fiction that is engaging and quick to read. I keep wanting to use the word "elegant" to describe it but there is too much sweat and grime and passion in the pages. I could gush and gush about it, but then I remember King's efficiency with words, so here's a little from the dust cover:

[...] King's new novel is the story of three young, gifted anthropologists in the 1930s caught in a passionate love triangle that threatens their bonds, their careers, and ultimately their lives.

If you're over winter, if it is winter where you are, this book is set in the Territory of New Guinea, which is now part of Papua New Guinea. There is sweat, humidity, and mosquitoes in the pages.

My own time in the tropics, my year in Samoa, is probably the main reasons this book struck such a strong chord with me. Every time Lake Tam was mentioned or visited, I saw Lake Lanoto'o, even though it has no beach. I remembered the heaviness of the air. I remembered how dry the dry season can actually be. Whenever the rivers were mentioned or travelled on, I thought of scenes from the African Queen.

Like Lake Lanoto'o, Euphoria is now etched into my mind. It has provided an interesting and unexpected link between the year Michael and I lived in Samoa and our time here in Manhattan. Getting to Lake Lanoto'o is not easy, and it was not easy to put Euphoria down. It sucked me in and broke my heart. It was a very good read.

Changes...

We are about to have a very big change here at the Playground: I am going back to paid work. Here in Manhattan.

The last big piece fell into place over the weekend with the arrival of my US work permit.

The other big pieces? A job and daycare. Both of which are sorted, but require a bit more paperwork.

And yes, I had the job lined up before I applied for my work permit. The permits cost a bit of money, so I wasn't going to apply for one without something lined up. Turns out there are two people who would like to employ me based on my CV and a brief chat. Yay me.

I did what was needed to apply for the work permit, sent it off and hoped it would come through. Recently I had been kicking myself for not filling out a contact form so that I might hear about the progress of my application but I realised that too late. Oh well.

Once the permit was in I needed to find a place in a nearby daycare for Jimmy. That came through a week or so ago and we arranged for Jimmy to start at the end of August, or earlier should the permit come through. There was a possibility that Jimmy would start daycare and we would still be waiting on my permit. Did I mention that Jimmy was only on one waitlist?

Yes, it might seem like I went about things in a contrary manner, but since signing the new lease money is tight we weren't prepared to pay for the permit without someone wanting to employ me.We also needed to make sure that Jimmy would be in good hands, either at daycare or with Pop, who was going to come over and look after our little man.

Naturally, I had to work out if it was going to be financially worth me returning to paid work. And it will be. Not by much, at least initially, but hopefully working here will make me more attractive to prospective employers when we return to Australia.

What does this mean for the Playground? Well, mostly it means that I might only manage to maintain the 52 Project for a few weeks while we find our new rhythm. It also means that Michael will be contributing written pieces, not just lovely photos. Who knows, I might manage to write enough posts in the next few weeks that there is no difference here, but if not, well, we'll be finding our new rhythm.

Ch-ch-ch-changes.

30/52

a portrait of my son, once a week, every week in 2015

Jimmy: Rocking print-on-print and new sunnies.

This boy has some seriously bold style. He knows what he likes and if his fruit shorts are in the wash or his gumboots are wet, well, he's not really interested in being cooperative but he does acquiesce to alternatives after the fifth "no, they're wet/dirty, you can't wear them".