Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Melbourne vs Houston: Some observations thusfar

Drinking

Houston- Happy hour means things like $3 margaritas, all specialty drinks half off, $5 appetizers, etc. Drinks should rarely be over $10 unless you're at a "fancy" place like Anvil or an upscale restaurant.

Melbourne- To put it mildly, it's outrageously expensive. We went to a happy hour that proudly 
advertised cocktails for only $13. At least this was $5 off of the normal $18. Yes, you see that price correctly. So basically, pre-gaming is huge here.

This was $16, but hey, there's a syringe! 



Restaurants

Houston- Reasonably priced unless at an upscale place or hip new place that decides to be obviously overpriced. Big variety of restaurants and incredibly international.

Melbourne- At least there's no tax or tipping! As for variety...HUGE. There is every kind of Asian restaurant you can imagine, all within less than a mile radius of me. I've never seen so many different types of foods. Basically I am in heaven. Still skeptical about trying the Tex-Mex places though.




Sports

Houston- I hate football. Everyone knows this. I'd rather go to work than watch  Texans game.

Melbourne- Footy! Sorry, America, footy is about 700 million times better than football. It's fast, there are no timeouts, and meat pies are the concession of choice. Also, the men parade around in short shorts and wear no helmets or bulky padding.




People

Both very similar in this respect, but I almost want to say Melbourners are even friendlier. Plus their accents win.


Transportation

Houston- If your car breaks down, you're screwed. Complete dependence on a vehicle and driving long distances across monstrous freeways is the norm.

Melbourne- If I don't have a perfectly toned butt and legs after all this, there is seriously something wrong with me. All I do is walk, and it's pretty excellent. Example: today I walked down the street carrying the world's most gigantic baguette, and I felt so city-like! 



All this being said, I loved  Houston and I love Melbourne. The city is vibrant, diverse, beautiful, and easy to get around. The beaches are as close as minutes away, and rolling hills and farmland less than an hour out. As hard as it was to pick up and leave my life as I knew it, it's pretty amazing being in a place that's so different. I think it's incredibly important to experience new things and places, so I'm really trying to embrace this new place and life without too much comparison. 


6 comments:

Meg O. said...

Those are some RIDICULOUS drink prices!! Geez! And I totally think you should try the Tex Mex places simply for blogging purposes.

Anonymous said...

When I lived in Sydney it was around 10 dollars for a shot of house vodka, just crazy expensive prices!

Ashley said...

omg that was the price of drinks in Miami and Vegas...my piggy bank is so sad! Should I send you mini bottles? Or should I just save my pennies to come visit?!?

PS - LOVE the new header!!

Sara Louise said...

At least you have all of that delicious Asian food to distract from the lack of Tex-Mex, but still, it's not the same, it's just not the same :( xo

Sara Louise said...

At least you have all of that delicious Asian food to distract from the lack of Tex-Mex, but still, it's not the same, it's just not the same :( xo

Rod and Alex - aka: "Rolex" said...

Eeek! $13 happy-hour cocktails? A terrifying thought!
I was hesitant to pay $7 for my blackberry margarita last night. But, in the future, I'll remember this and feel much better about forking over single digit dollars for happy-hour drinks!

Can't wait to hear more about Melbourne! :)

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