axolotl

Classed by whom? Not all of the Pacific Northwest is a temperature rainforest. Parts of Olympic National Park and Pacific Rim National Park are, but not Seattle, for example. The following site claims that 0.14% of Victoria is temperate rainforest, none of it in the immediate vicinity of Melbourne. It's got a map showing the rainforest pockets.
https://www.vicrainforest.org/

I've biked in Otway National Park which the map show has some rainforest, and yes, parts of that area were indeed rainforest.

I think your original comments gave an inaccurate impression of the climate in Australia overall and in Melbourne. Melbourne receives considerably less rainfall annually, can get far warmer, and gets more sun than Vancouver. Most people would probably consider this a good thing, however. The Australia government, https://www.bom.gov.au/info/ftweather/page_30.shtml , says that Melbourne gets about 600mm of precipitation per year on average. That's about half what Vancouver averages.

Machka 

I did say the following in a previous post on ... Page 3, I think ...

And yes, I will agree that Melbourne is generally a few degrees warmer than where I live. We've travelled down to Melbourne on a number of occasions, and I've been a bit surprised by the temperature. Last weekend, for example, we left our place all bundled up, but when we arrived in Melbourne I was walking around in a cardigan. I'd guess it was at least 5 degrees warmer there.

As it happens, I live in the Central Highlands ... which, as seen on that map you linked to, is temperate rainforest. You can also see by that map that the Central Highlands is indeed in the immediate vicinity of Melbourne ... it's only 100 km from where I live to St Kilda on the Bay. This is a beautiful part of the world with all the manferns and general greenery ... especially this year where we are a bit on the soggy side.

Temperate rainforest map ...

axolotl

Since you also mentioned Mexico, I'll add that most of that country is fairly dry, particularly the northern half. More cacti are native to Mexico than anywhere else. Even much of southern Mexico is not "hot, humid, and tropical". I believe that description would apply to the state of Tabasco. But even the Yucatan has distinct wet and dry seasons and if you bike there in the winter as I did, the weather is far more comfortable than, say, most of southeast Asia. If you go there in the summer, yes, it will be hot and very humid. Away from the Yucatan, Mexico is a very mountainous country. I biked in mountainous central Mexico north of Mexico City, and the weather was delightful in January/February.

Machka 

The pictures I've seen of Mexico are the ones friends bring back from those 1-week vacation packages people go on in the middle of winter. Which, incidently, brings the topic back to the OP's question. In Canada, people will usually get 10 working days of vacation. Quite a few people go on a week-long package trip to Mexico, Cuba, etc., in January or February, and then take another week in the summer to go camping or something.

This is a photo taken of a Queensland beach, and the pictures I've seen of Mexico are similar ... beach, blue water, palm trees ...


The rainforest in Queensland is a tropical rainforest, which I find fascinating. I spent a month up there in 2004, and would like to go back. I love the ocean, the beaches, the palm trees, the strangler figs, the banana plantations, and the sweet smell in the air all throughout that area. Fortunately, Victoria (and Tasmania, which we visit now and then because Rowan is Tasmanian ... that's his home, where he grew up), have lots of ocean, beaches, and palm trees too.

FunkyStickman

I'm one of those Americans who's stuck in a low-paying job with very little time off. When I figure out how to have more than 5 days vacation a year, I'll post it up here. It will more than likely require me finding another source of income or two.

NoGaBiker

But let me guess -- when you get sick you want the people who didn't opt out of the system, who paid the dues and took the short vacations, to pay (through higher taxes) for your care. And when you get old and have saved nothing and can no longer "scavenge off the land" you want to be provided for by strangers who worked and saved all their lives.

Maybe I'm putting words in your mouth -- you didn't say those things after all -- but I often encounter "free spirits" who dream of getting off the grid but lack the committment to truly get off of it, no matter the consequences. Often these people are just shirking responsibility, but looking for the privileges that acrue to those who live amongst the responsible.

axolotl

Sorry, Machka, I don't think you understand what a true temperate rainforest is. That crude unattributed world map you copied (from wikipedia I believe, where it is also unattributed) is inaccurate and very misleading in terms of the vastness of rainforest in some regions, particularly SE Australia and parts of California. 600mm of precipitation per year does not make a rainforest and Melbourne is not in a rainforest. True temperate rainforests are rare and generally found in west-facing valleys in higher latitudes but low altitudes, in regions where storms hit most months of the year. For what it's worth (not much), I happen to have a useless degree in botany. (this is my Marshall McLuhan moment in Woody Allen's Annie Hall)

And a palm tree on a beach doesn't make a tropical jungle. I could show you a photo of some palms trees on a beach along the Red Sea in the Sinai Desert. They were in a wadi and were virtually the only trees around in what is otherwise a stark desert region.

Machka 

You've misread me entirely. I never said Melbourne was in a temperate rainforest ... Melbourne is a big city, and any trace of temperate rainforest that may have existed there a long time ago has likely been wiped out by cement. I said I lived in a temperate rainforest ... I don't live in Melbourne. Although I live relatively close to Melbourne (~100 km), there are very different weather patterns up here in the mountains than there are down there by the bay. Melbourne, incidently, reminds me of a huge Winnipeg ... culturally diverse, artistically inclined ........ (Sydney reminds me more of the city of Vancouver with the way it looks ... and every time I've been there it's been overcast, drizzly, and about 15C, and it doesn't seem to matter what time of year I go. They tell me it's usually a lot warmer and sunnier than that ... I must bring the rain. )

And I never said that a palm tree on a beach makes a tropical jungle. I said that the beaches in Queensland reminded me of the pictures I had seen of the beaches in Mexico and numerous other places. I did say, however, that there are tropical rainforests in Queensland, and that's true ... I've been there, I've seen them, I've cycled through them, and camped in them ... and they are amazing!! If someone does come over to Australia, I highly recommend cycling from Brisbane up to Cape Trib, and taking it all in.

https://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-...inforests.html

https://www.dse.vic.gov.au/CA256F310024B628/0/A2DE9C0F7D9159CBCA257478001F9C1B/$File/Rainforest+Fact+Sheet.pdf

Pedaleur

Everything is negotiable.

TonyS

I think we were looking for more of something in a "SUCCESSFULLY negotiable" though...

And that will probably require firing your boss. Which I did. And I think I'll end up better off for it, but the experience has SUCKED. If I had a family right now I don't think I would have had the will to do it. So yeah, just man up and do what you gotta do, but let's not pretend that anything which is simple is also easy.

Gotte

Maybe that's because in the UK, a product that cost $1000 in the US tends to sell for near enough £1000, despite the conversion rate. Same seems to go for Yen and Euros

jackb

Most American are fools. They believe that the road to happiness lies in pursuing a successful career. The more you work, the more successful you are, thus you are happier. Then there is the ego thing. If you work a lot and are very busy, you must be indispensable to your employer and therefore very important so you work a lot to prove to yourself how important you are. Another foolish thought. And then there are the many Americans who need something to keep them busy because they cannot find anything to do that brings them satisfaction. Then there are the unfortunate few who realize that life is wonderfully diverse and happiness lies in a variety of experiences but unfortunately are hampered with having to earn a decent living and are stuck in all these jobs that demand so much time and work. And then there are the smart ones who put happiness first and live in a way that brings them satisfaction on a daily basis. Only each individual truly knows whether or not he or she is living well. If you are honest with yourself, you know how your life is going and can see through the fog equating work, success, long hours, and short vacations with happiness. But then again, some folks really like to work all the time and have little idea how to spend free time. Whatever works for an individual, though I regret having lived so much of my life around workaholics and other insane people.

benajah

It's crazy isn't it? My wife's sister and brother in law, who live in London, always bring their savings to shop with when they come visit, especially for electronics and clothes.

benajah

This is true, but there is a reason for it. The US, while not a religious state, was founded primarily by protestants, and by folks who had to whittle a living out of a frontier. The work ethic is very strong, and permeates very deeply into the American cultural psyche. Hence young professionals working 60 hour weeks and burning out by the 35th birthday, 50 year olds with hypertension, etc, etc.
However, we tend to talk like this like it is just an American thing, but it's not. Most every competitive economic powerhouse in the world has a similar work ethic...India, China, Britain, Japan, it is not much different. The mainland European nations seem to be an exception though.

Pukeskywalker

+1

I'm only 24, but two years in the business world and I fully agree with you.

Going to go jobless for a year and tour without obligations to anyone. Can't wait.