The totally off-topic thread

[RooFlyer]

I've heard some "third world" countries actually have excellent telecommunications infrastructure, albeit perhaps only in major metropolitans.

I don't know what telecommunications networks are like in Tasmania, but I'd imagine it is not as receptive as in major mainland centres, so we (in the cities) may have an inflated idea for what passes as "to be happy", at least when thinking about cost or reception.

When one can tax deduct on telco costs, one tends to be slightly less critical about the spend.

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Third world countries sure can have good comms. I did a couple of jobs in waaaay-up-country Cote d'Ivoire :shock: , maybe 15 years ago and was amazed to find I had brilliant mobile coverage almost everywhere. Reason being is that they previously had no landlines, and cell towers are pretty quick and easy to put up and was a big new market for the international telcos.

An added bonus in that case was that my Telstra phone worked ... but no-one in Cote d'Ivoire told Telstra. No bills for those trips

Tasmania has traditionally had good mobile coverage by Telstra, poor with Optus and city only for Vodaphone. The latter two are slowly increasing, mainly due to federal funding. One of the reasons I stuck with Telstra when I moved to my country location ( 1 hr from Hobart CBD) was that none of the other carriers had coverage!

What makes me happy in my business is not much different from most other small businesses around the country I can assure you - with my operational bases in Canada and Chile, and a lot of graphics / digital maps, the data line keeps warm. That said, because of the time difference, we can often take our time in swapping files, so a slower ADSL line overnight in early morning and evenings is OK. I use my phone 4G data allocation on my laptop SIM during the day.

 

[JohnK]

Australia is a high cost everything. I can't find anything where it's cheaper here than elsewhere in the world. Anyone find anything?

Pizza in Thailand is expensive. Pizza company, Domino's and Pizza Hut are expensive if you just want pizza.

McDonalds, Hungry Jacks are expensive in Thailand.

Lamb and beef are expensive in Thailand. From memory meat wasn't cheap in Greece either.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Australia is a high cost everything. I can't find anything where it's cheaper here than elsewhere in the world. Anyone find anything?

pizza in Norway? Don't know about now, but we were there with the kids in 2005 and they wanted pizza - it was around $50 for one! We found a Turkish shop selling pide at a much more cost effective price.

 

[RooFlyer]

Australia is a high cost everything. I can't find anything where it's cheaper here than elsewhere in the world. Anyone find anything?

pizza in Norway? Don't know about now, but we were there with the kids in 2005 and they wanted pizza - it was around $50 for one! We found a Turkish shop selling pide at a much more cost effective price.

Almost anything in Norway (even in local currency); almost anything in Iceland. Booze anywhere in Scandinavia.

 

[JohnK]

2 young girls walking through the carriage from Toowong to Milton with ghetto blaster playing some flithy rap and singing along to the filthy words.

Now on train to Varsity Lakes and 2 young boys sitting in the 4 seater with feet all over seats. Another guy in the 4 seater with bag and feet all over seat making it impossible for anyone to sit. South Brisbane and people standing up already. Someone just forced themselves down opposite the lone guy in the 4 seater. The lone guy just smiled and moved his feet off seat and moved bag.

 

[Denali]

Forgot to book accommodation for Kangaroo Island for Christmas. Opps.

Soooo...... not much to choose from but for 1 night, Emu Bay or closer to the ferry/town?

 

[love_the_life]

Australia is a high cost everything. I can't find anything where it's cheaper here than elsewhere in the world. Anyone find anything?

A cup of coffee in London is more expensive - in fact many places in the world cost more than here to eat out.

 

[whatmeworry]

Almost anything in Norway (even in local currency); almost anything in Iceland. Booze anywhere in Scandinavia.

I find it funny in Norway, the hard booze is only sold at a store called The wine monopoly.

 

[Cossie]

Suspicious that the octane availability in the US is 87,89,91 and in some places 93
Here it's 91,93,05,98.

Am I missing something?.
The lower the octane the cheaper it is to produce

Lowest I saw in Germany was 95, don't think they do anything less.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Many are content (genuinely content) renting for their entire life; some would be content if they could actually find somewhere of their own to rent! (The average time for a Lausanne resident to obtain their own place on rent is apparently around two years)

But it's very different in Switzerland... unlike Australia I don't think you have the uncertainty of being moved if the landlord decides to sell. No one really has the urge to buy there. Why bother having a mortgage when you can rent. Foreigners can pay some extraordinarily high rents, but those subsidize the locals.

 

[JessicaTam]

Telechoice might be a viable alternative for some people for mobiles/data. They also use the Telstra network (not totally sure if it extends to all/4G). Telstra is the only network worth considering where we are. Recently noticed the wife of a paramedic posting on a forum looking for a local rental-they were restricted in where they could live because they must have reliable internet/mobile/home phone at their premises.

I am fortunate that if I choose to live in an area with low mobile coverage work will arrange for a pico-cell to be installed. Mind you, the downside is that I am limited in how far from 'home-base' I can live. Which kinda means I may never need to take them up on their offer!

 

[VPS]

Forgot to book accommodation for Kangaroo Island for Christmas. Opps.

Soooo...... not much to choose from but for 1 night, Emu Bay or closer to the ferry/town?

Emu Bay should only be an hour or so but depends what time you're arriving. You don't want to drive at dusk. There'll be more places to eat in Penneshaw

 

[VPS]

Australia is a high cost everything. I can't find anything where it's cheaper here than elsewhere in the world. Anyone find anything?

I find food quite a lot cheaper in the UK but petrol is twice the price. Also for some reason the soap free toiletries I use are very hard to find and four times the price - much wider range at home - quite odd

 

[anat0l]

But it's very different in Switzerland... unlike Australia I don't think you have the uncertainty of being moved if the landlord decides to sell.

It is quite normal for the apartments to be owned by the city (and less often the canton). Unlike "government housing", just because it is owned by the government doesn't mean that they are cheap/nasty/run down or meant for people with financial difficulty. It's just another set of apartments where the owner just happens to be the government.

These government-owned sets of flats are extremely rarely on-sold, so your point in that there is little risk to the tenant being forced to move is true, but that's because many will not find themselves in a situation where they need to worry about the landlord's actions.

No one really has the urge to buy there. Why bother having a mortgage when you can rent.

That's true - again, as I said, prices are very high compared to in Australia. But that said we are very vocal in Australia about our "inability" to afford a home (and let's not dwell too much on this topic as there is already an offshoot topic on it).

Foreigners can pay some extraordinarily high rents, but those subsidize the locals.

I'm not so sure about this. Foreigners may pay different taxes which may be higher or lower than Swiss residents, but that's nothing to do with rents as such.

I'm not convinced foreigners would pay more rent than a local, and my personal experiences seem to back this up. It's more a case that a foreigner may have a much harder time obtaining an apartment in the first place (applying for apartments typically involves submitting a dossier for review by the agent, basically like applying for a job); this is mainly because a Swiss on a job with continuous contract is likely to beat a foreigner who is on a year on year contract. Having connections to people who are offering the apartment will likely boost your chances, as would your ability to get along (which for a foreigner equates to degree of integration, starting with learning the local language). It is no surprise that Swiss organisations who employ foreigners to work in CH will often need to offer help in obtaining accommodation (if even only for the first few months).

 

[Denali]

Wake up at 5am to drive husband to Sydney Tower for a dawn photography thing.

Decided Im going to try to make southern fried chicken today (been craving it since Atlanta earlier this year) - I dont usually fry stuff at home so had to buy a thermometer thingy. Never used one before so fingers crossed

 

[cove]

Sacked from being a CEO of an accounting group but gets $4.9 million from the departures lounge. Something is crazy.

 

[Deleted member]

Wake up at 5am to drive husband to Sydney Tower for a dawn photography thing.

Decided Im going to try to make southern fried chicken today (been craving it since Atlanta earlier this year) - I dont usually fry stuff at home so had to buy a thermometer thingy. Never used one before so fingers crossed

Have you seen the Sous vide recipes for Fried chicken? They take a lot less frying time. And IMHO the chicken is juicier, and more tender after being sous vide prepared. I shall see if I can find my recipe link and post it for you.

 

[Deleted member]

Wake up at 5am to drive husband to Sydney Tower for a dawn photography thing.

Decided Im going to try to make southern fried chicken today (been craving it since Atlanta earlier this year) - I dont usually fry stuff at home so had to buy a thermometer thingy. Never used one before so fingers crossed

Here is a link to the "chef steps" site for their version.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/can-t-f-it-up-fried-chicken

 

[Denali]

Biscoff on special at Coles, $1 per packet.

My husband no longer accepts an icecream sundae without crushed biscoff. Delta sundae dessert trolley has ruined him.

 

[Milboo]

Wake up at 5am to drive husband to Sydney Tower for a dawn photography thing.

Decided Im going to try to make southern fried chicken today (been craving it since Atlanta earlier this year) - I dont usually fry stuff at home so had to buy a thermometer thingy. Never used one before so fingers crossed

Super easy option - stop at Belles Hot Chicken in Barangaroo or Tram Sheds at Harold Park on the way home from picking him up!