Things I'll Miss

Some things I'll miss about the last few months, in no particular order:

Time with my kids and wife.

Kookaburras, Parrots and Cockatoos everywhere.

Seeing Kangaroos, Wallabees, crocodiles, Echidnas and Pythons in the wild.

Living 10 minutes from some of the most beautiful beaches in the world (NSW coast) and only 2 hours from the Blue Mountains (STUNNING).

Having a butcher within a 3 minute walk where when I enter they say "What can I get ya mate?".

Eucalyptus trees in general (there are over 600 species here), and the Tea Tree in particular.

People being more interested in WHO you are than what you do for a living (it often does not come up here, while at home it is a topic covered in the first 5 minutes of meeting someone [this was worse when we lived in the DC area]).

Cheap, GOOD red wine. Not to re-stress this issue, but man-o-man, it is a good thing.

The money... No pennies. No bills smaller than a 5. Bills made out of a polymer instead of paper. Different bills are different lengths and colors. One and two dollar coins are gold, everything less is silver. You can easily carry lunch or coffee money in your front pocket and easily know how much money you have.

Traffic circles. When volume is low they ROCK - You never have to stop. My response time to the station at home would be cut by 2 minutes if we had traffic circles instead of light controlled intersections.

Serviced apartments. Imagine going on vacation and staying in someone's furnished apartment. These things are everywhere and for a family they ROCK compared to a hotel room.

Public restrooms where you'd want them. Parks everywhere. People outside walking, running, biking, surfing, talking - LIVING.

I'm sure there are more. I am ready to leave, but it has been a great ride. Of course I have to grade some papers and exams, pack, etc. 10 Days and counting...