Back when I was in Australia (I spent a month in and around Sydney), I was astounded by the number of homeless on George St. I spoke to one guy, no joke, that I'd passed several times. He asked me for change each time. I had none and he always thanked me for my time. That struck me as odd as I've never encountered polite panhandlers. Anyway, we got to talking and the young man, according to him, was a cook in a local restaurant and he and his roommate, also a cook, couldn't make rent and eventually winded up on the streets. Both working full time.

I can't say I was all that surprised by that time to be honest. I was invited to do my PhD at Monash University and checked out rents. I thought they looked reasonable, until I saw they were listed "per week," not monthly. Yikes! Honestly, I wonder how anyone who isn't wealthy survives there! Such a shame because it's such a beautiful country.