Tonight we take the commuter train to the suburbs. We want to see what that’s like. What is it like to work in the city and live in the suburbs. We are taking the double decker train from ‘Central’ to the suburbs. We don’t recognize any of the names, not that it would make any difference. We ride about 15-20 minutes, which seems like a normal commute, if that’s what we were going to experience.

We find a hotel on Priceline. There’s not much to say about it other than it is above a bar. There are a dozen rooms above a bar in a suburban area. Around the area we find the usual suburban things like auto parts stores, fast food restaurants, and of course this neighborhood bar.

Tomorrow we are going to Bondi Beach but tonight we are going local.

“Going loco?”

Not yet. 

When we check-in to our hotel above the bar there isn’t actually a front desk. Behind the bar is a restaurant and beside that is a convenience store. These are all in the same building but seem to be separate businesses. The convenience store doubles as the front desk of the hotel.

I notice the pricing of beer. I have an idea what beer costs so this is a good measure of what things cost here in the suburbs. It isn’t airport pricing and it isn’t downtown pricing either. This is what a typical Australian is facing.

In Las Vegas a 6 pack of beer like Heiniken will cost no more than $10. Here it is $20-25.

“But the exchange rate!”

The exchange rate is $1.40 Australian to $1 United States. That makes it $14-$18 for a 6-pack of beer. That’s a lot. The price of everything is high compared to Las Vegas.

I ask the man behind the counter about other things like cars and homes.

‘Out of sight’ he says.

What happens to people? I’m not hearing about big raises and if anything wages are not rising at all. How are people getting by?

“It doesn’t look like the suburbs are any better than the city.”

That was depressing to see how the ‘regular’ people, the suburbanites, aren’t so much better off than the city people.

We are going to Bondi Beach today. We decided yesterday that was the place to be.

The Opal app on iPhone makes it super easy to navigate and get to where you want to be. I can get anywhere I want to go by entering the location and it gives me choices on how to get there and how much it will cost. Really efficient to travel. No need to own a car and I don’t need Uber. It is available but not necessary in the city.

Losing the vehicles is an option in my new life. If I had rented a car I would have had a whole new set of problems to deal with like parking and gas. Both of those things seem like something to avoid. There’s no need for them in this city. Not for me.

“Those costs really add up!”

If there’s a way to live without them I’m interested.

“Ohhh this is nice! I like this a lot. Bondi is a nice place. And a great beach too. Great choice! What time are we meeting Ling?”

I’m sorry, you are trying to access a restricted area. Credit Card and CVC code please.

“What!? No thanks! I’ll just watch from over here then.”

Ok, you can watch but don’t say anything!

“Nope, not me. I’ll be strictly Heisenbergian. Vapor. A wisp. You won’t know I’m here. I’m a vault, nobody is gonna get anything out of me.”

The sand is soft. You can run around in bare feet and not get cut up by seashells and coral.

“I never think about that when I look at pictures of beaches.”

These aren’t real surfers! They don’t even know who Laird Hamilton is. There’s no pipeline. No jet skis towing them out to the big waves. Nothing like that happening here.

“Longboard city. You’re just used to extreme everything. This ain’t the North Shore. Everybody has to start somewhere. Maybe they just enjoy floating around on the gentle surf. And it is technically, surf, so that means they really are surfing. 🏄‍♂️ 🏄‍♀️ 🏄 Looks cool to me.”

They certainly have the look down. Lots of surf shops to sell the gear. That much is the same everywhere.

It’s summertime here. Ice cream is in season.

“Winter is summer. Is that why there are so many people out?”

They aren’t real to me. They are very limited in what they say and do.

“That’s what you think.”

It’s like they are trapped in the simulation, they are part of it, and they can’t leave it. They can’t come with me. If they were real they would be with me after each reset.

“Really?”

Pretty sights. This bridge and the Opera House are iconic. There is lots of grass all over.

“We don’t have grass in Las Vegas.”

There isn’t a lot of green where we live. I take note and appreciate the fact it doesn’t come with a a noisy lawnmower and gas blower to ruin the peaceful image of it.

“For today anyway. They are coming, you know that.”

This is Barangaroo Park. I saw it on Google Earth so I wanted to explore it. It is a nice park and there are a few people out enjoying it but not as many as you might think.

“Everyone is working.”