Oh... to the OP, the Mexican foods comment I made has me thinking. If you like Mexican or Tex Mex, get your fill now. Seriously. The situation here is absolutely wonderful for dining out as far as both trend setting top end fare and for a diverse choice of "ethnic" food. With several Chinatowns, Little Vietnams, a large middle eastern demographic and a rapidly growing Indian population and so on, you have a wealth of popular Asian choices. But there are also plenty of not-so-common surprises (at least in the parts of the US I've lived) like Sri Lankan, Afghan, Indonesian, Ethiopian, Nepalese, Persian, Georgian and so on. Also huge Greek and Italian communities here.

However... the Mexican food, IMO opinion is not good. A couple can work their way up to the run-of-the-mill "family run" place you might find back home (think canned sauces, packaged tortillas...). Ok if you <i>really</i> just need to taste *something* with a vague taste of cilantro or jalapeño in it. But after nearly 2 years, when I got home for a short period... lol, I practically lived on Mexican and pizza (which is also hard to find done well. It's either rock bottom or "gourmet". Never just your good variety neighborhood pizzeria type results... the Italian part for some reason didn't translate to good pizza)

So anyway, there's the good and the maybe not so good of dining. But for a few months, it's all about new discoveries anyway.

Where is that .79 a lb for bananas Clifton? Bananas in Perth today were $10.98 per kilo. That's the best price I've seen in months - prices here were up to $16.98 per kilo just a few weeks back. I haven't had a banana in months (but I've been eating fresh strawberries by the pound)!

This wayward Yank refuses to pay the middleman...I bring it back from the US or I go without. Fortunately, I don't miss much, least of all Mexican food, as it's difficult to come by in these parts, although I do carry back my share of Pace and Rotel. And no, Old El Paso is NOT Mexican food! But who can miss Mexican (other than those lovely peppers) when the Indian food is so incredibly good?

If you can't go three months w/o US comfort food, you've got problems, because Australia has everything else in spades, it just costs a bit more.

They've been bad here too Mel. The flood and all. But was talking to some people who work at the main office for one of the supermarket chains. Like I was saying, it's a projection, not what I'm seeing right now. Can't say what it will be in Perth though. As I've been reading ex-pat forums lately, it seems the universal agreement is that Perth seems to have it's own own set of rules for survival isolated on the other side of a large, well, void. And that most who were demanding a move were a lot happier once reassigned to some other part of Oz. Not sure the exact incompatibility there but some pretty nasty assessments I won't repeat here because I have no firsthand knowledge.

I've brought back a bit, but overall, don't come and go often enough to make a dent. So to pay even double for the occasional jar of salsa verde (or whatever - most of their mexican stuff comes from Mexico) is still cheaper than a ticket to LA. :) Agree Old El Paso is not Mexican food.

But I like both Mexican and Indian. Other than that they both use spice (not the same ones generally), I don't find them all that interchangeable, but that's just me. Having a curry doesn't give me a fix for a nice pork tamale ranchero or some flautas. But I still enjoy the curry.

Agree 3 months should be completely doable (the "new discovery" thing I mentioned). But you never know. I've read trip reports where people were Jonesin' for something or another after a couple of weeks!

wow.....an interesting tangent here seeing as we're leaving tomorrow and I'd already taken the advice of earlier posters to bring one bag and buy the rest there.......oh well, it is what it is.....a few basics and lost of accessories to feel like I'm wearing something different.
We're stopping off in HK so we'll be in Melbourne next WED.....looks like rain. How chilly is it?
Can't wait!

You'll be fine Marsha. Just keep an open mind and embrace the differences.

WA definitely is an interesting place, Clifton. To an outsider like myself, it feels like the bastard child of the rest of OZ, but I think the West Aussies like it that way. In fact, there's talk about them wanting to secede from the rest of Australia to hang on to some of that mining tax wealth that is sent over east instead of being spent on much needed infrastructure right here in WA.

We have our own flood related problems right here in WA - Carnarvon, the breadbasket of the west suffered it's worst flooding in 50 years this past December, wiping out the mango and banana crop, amongst others. Vege skyrocketed as you can imagine.

I hope bananas do make a comeback, I miss my smoothies.

And for what it's worth, this expat really likes Perth, oddities and all!

Marsha, Melbourne weather is famously changeable. "If you don't like the weather, wait an hour" is a common saying. At the moment it's about 16 degrees celsius (max) during the day with rain but a week ago it was sunny and around 25. Summer is coming so it should be sunny and warm most days soon.

Forecast for next Wednesday is 23 celsius and cloudy. By then, it could be completely different, don't pay much attention to 10 day forecasts.

About Perth, a work colleague lived there for a while and was made to feel very much an outsider. She was from Melbourne and said even people who had lived in Perth for years were not accepted. I had no idea this went on in our country, it's quite sad. I've enjoyed our holidays in the west but it's different when you actually live in a place.

Kay

That's really interesting KayF - we've found that to be the case too, but we thought it was because we're non-Australian.

That was essentially the tone of the ex-pats on the other forums too, with some comments about attitudes towards other, more pronounced differences thrown in... but like I said, I don't know anything personally. I would like to get out there someday. It looks beautiful and love the trip reports... but still have a lot on this coast to see too. So far, Melbourne has been very welcoming and I haven't felt left out. That perception may be very skewed by having so much family here though, but I suspect it is also due to how diverse the city is and how long that's been the case. It seems to have quite urbane attitudes, on the whole, when it comes to diversity and newcomers.

anyway, Marsha, as Kay said - it's grey and rainy the last couple of days, and in the 60's (F) but it does change often. We were at the beaches off Frankston last week for a walk and some sunshine. If it gets hot on you during your stay, head for the Dandenongs, just 30-40 mins east of the CBD. It never really gets humid, but it can get very hot by Dec-Jan. It's much cooler up there in the mountains. Some old fashioned towns with tea parlours and whatnot up there. My MIL lives up there and it's a nice retreat.

bom.gov.au will get you the gov't weather forecasts.

Clifton

I love this statement:

<<Australians are immersed in the science and art of outdoor clothes drying!>>

Good observation, and it's sensible and environmentally sound! :)

Know better than to believe forecasts! Just arrived Hong Kong...rain predicted....clear and the Chinese National Day fireworks were beautifully visible from hotel room......will be in Melbourne soon. Thanks for all thoughts/advice...to be continued!