An Ozzie in Boston

Relocation to Boston - 10 steps to get the most out of the Boston Beerfest

Any Australian worth their salt has been to some sort of alcoholic beverage expo, so when you're an Australian headed to a beer expo, propels expect a lot from you. Here's how to smash beers in the Australian way in a Boston beer expo.

1. Get there early.

The line is attrousious for these things (I think it's got something to do with all the Irish) so you'll want to be there early. Bout half an hour is good.

2. Go straight for the strongest beer at each taste.

They always tell you the strongest one, so go for it. It'll usually be a stout or an IPA. and if you are with some one that thinks they should only drink light drinks, tell them to drink IPAs. It'll be a good time for everyone.

3. Once you've got your drink, go straight for the next line.

No talking, no drinking, just move.

4. Do try and chat up/be a good bloke/sheila to the person pouring your drink.

It usually means you get more. If they aren't a right tool.

5. If you hear someone shout "Aye" you better do it too.

Why not? You're drunk, you want to belong. Better yet, start yelling "Aye" for no reason yourself.

6. If you're a guy, wear a full body condom. If you're a girl, you're in luck!!

These things are basically sausage fests, which is expected since men drink beer, and women drink wine. That's just how it goes.

7. For people paying attention to the above, don't let the drinks affect your standards.

Enuff said.

8. Always, always go to the late session.

There is nothing uglier than the afternoon hangover. Seriously, a Saturday afternoon hangover takes your weekend from sweet to s**thouse in about 5 seconds.

9. Have a ready to go time and meeting point.

You WILL get lost in the sea of beers and sweaty men. It will happen. And you'll be drunk. So just believe me when I say you won't be able to see past your drunken haze or the BO odor you swear you can see rising out of that fat blokes pits.

10. Make sure you go to a seafood place and get lots of deep friend food after.

Your stomach will love you for it.

Hope that helps you survive your next beer expo. Make sure you try to remember your favorite beer!

Relocation to Boston – 5 Tips for Dealing with the Weather

G’day all, if you haven’t been to Boston yet, here’s something you need to know about the weather. It alternates between bloody freezing and just simply numbing in the winter, and can rain at any second in all the seasons except summer, where it will either be pleasant, or humid as heck. America even has a “First Day of Summer” scheduled on all it’s calendars just show people in Boston can at least somehow know they are in summer, even if it’s raining and you’ve stepped in a puddle.

So here’s 5 tips you can use to get ready for Boston Weather:

1. Always carry an umbrella with you throughout winter, autumn and spring.

Sure, the weather looks nice now, but in half an hour, it could be raining. Actually, it will rain, now that you’ve thought about rain. It’s all your fault.

2. In winter, make sure you have a very warm coat, and several pairs of thermals.

Winter usually runs from late October to late March, so have plenty of warm clothes ready for when you arrive. And be prepared to wear thermals 24-7 when you arrive before you get used to the weather.

3. “180’s” Ear muffs make you look like a dork, but at least you’re a dork with warm ears, instead of an idiot with no ears.

Plus, they don’t stuff up your hair. Which is great if you’re about to meet your lady friend slash are an actual lady. You can wear a beanie as well – in fact it’s probably a good idea, but if you care about your hair, go with 180’s ear muffs.

4. Get snow shoes and thick woolly socks.

Normal shoes don’t last long when you are trudging through snow, big wet puddles and sleet. You’ll need to get yourself some Merrells shoes, as they seem to be the best quality snow shoes you can get. Black ones are good as they almost pass for work shoes. Woolly socks go a looooong way to keeping yourself warm.

5. And Gloves.

Basically cover all your extremities. Those are the things that will get really cold and drop off.

Before I go out in Winter, I usually wear:

Thermals, top and bottoms.
Thick Workpants
Woolly socks
Undershirt
Business shirt
Sweater/jumper
Overcoat
Gloves
180’s earmuffs
Sometimes a beanie.
Always a face of grim realisation that I need to go outside into the freezing cold to go to work.

Relocation to Boston - Buying Sports Tickets

G’Day all, here’s another sports related post that’s somewhat topical. Baseball season is currently well underway, and the Boston Red Sox have been kicking the crap out of New York. So basically, everything is right in the world for any Boston sports fan. One of the first things you must know about Boston is the Red Sox are GOD. Never, ever, ever speak ill of them.

There won’t be a bolt of lightening striking you down, it will be a drunk fat guy called “Craig” who doesn’t pronounce his name like the rest of the frickken world. Who the hell calls someone called Craig, “Creg”. Who does that?

Anyways, there’s a few things you can do to buy tickets for a Red Sox game, or any other sports game in particular.

1. Buy a ticket from the Red Sox Booth: Hahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahah.

 
No.

If you can buy tickets, the cheapest tickets are $25, and they are standing tickets.

2. Stubhub.

This is probably your best bet for getting tickets for any events, as places like this buy tickets for events as soon as they go on sale, so they can sale them to you at double or triple the price. For instance, seats on the Green Monster can cost up to $1000!

3. Social Clubs around Boston.

Sell them at double the price. usually standing tickets. And you have to buy them two months in advance. Not the best way to do it.

4. Scalpers.

I’ve never done this, but you can buy tickets from the guys walking around saying “Selling Tickets.” I have no idea what prices are like, but it’s usually not too much over the price of a ticket usually.

5. Be lucky enough to work with Beth Deaconess and be able to get Red Sox tickets at $5 a game if there are any empty seats:

RD, you are a lucky, lucky, lucky man.

Relocation to Boston – Clothes Shopping on the Cheap (and a little packing)

G’Day, in my post today I go through probably the most important thing for you to do when you get off the plane… Buy enough clothes to last you over a week.

When I arrived, I only had one suitcase and a duffle bag. That was enough for 5 business shirts, 2 suits and a little bit of casual clothes. Sock and undergarments are small, so they fit anywhere. You can just stuff them in. The duffle bag was for all the books and such I’ll be taking from home. Unfortunately, the books and other stuff were pretty heavy, so if you’re packing to go anywhere, try and lay off the books.

So you’ve arrived in America, and are looking for cheap clothes to get your set up…. There’s only one place you really need to look. Marshalls. Marshalls generally sells clothes from last season, which doesn’t really matter if you are looking to buy stuff that doesn’t go out of style. This means this place is great for jeans, polo shirts, business shirts and shoes. Basic undershirts, and undergarments are good too. Be sure to try everything on before you leave the store, otherwise it’s a really annoying trip back to the store for you. At least they have a 30 day money back exchange program.

If you are looking to buy stuff that’s a bit classier or more in style, and don’t mind paying a bit extra, you can go to Filene’s Basement. I’m pretty sure that these are only in Boston, but you can buy some great smart casual gear here, and you can get some great suits as well. There’s also a lot of men’s toiletries and stuff like that.

There are outlet shops as well, but I’ve never been able to get out to them, as I don’t have a car. If someone does, can they let me know?

Here’s the locations of the Marshalls and the Filene’s Basement in Boston.

Filene’s Basement
426 Washington St
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 350-7268

Marshalls
500 Boylston St # 16,
Boston, MA 02108
(617) 262-6066

Hope that helps,
Nathan

Relocation to Boston Tips: Bachelor Cooking 101

Www.diningin.com.

That's it.

Well, not really. Especially if you want a meal that looks presentable. Here's my quick primer on what you can do to cook for yourself easily at home.

1. Trader Joe's noodle boxes are your friend.

Seriously, at $2 a pop, and some money for veggies, you've got a healthy, tasty and most importantly EASY TO CLEAN up dinner. Open the noodle box, stir the noodles, add veggies and sauce and microwave for 4 minutes. Eat, and throw the noodle box in the bin. Done.

2. Buy a Wok.

This is probably the cooking intrument I use the most. You can use it for Asian, meat, everything. And it's great for putting spices in for flavour, as you can move everything around easy.

3. Cook in bulk.

Obvisously not on a date, but when cooking for yourself, you can cook once, and have dinner (or lunch) for the whole week. It's a huge time saver.

4. Tupperwear is like a second cousin.

When you cook in bulk, you need somewhere to store the food. Hence the tupperwear. Pegs and elastic bands are a good idea so you don't get stale food or freezer burned food.

5. Spices are like your brother

The best thing about spices is that no matter how bad the food is that you are making, at least it smells good. Always good when you are cooking for someone else.

Well, there's a couple of tips to help any single man get started. Just don't cook in bulk when other people are around, it's not cool.

Hope that helps!

Relocation to Boston tips: 5 Easy Ways to Get a Seat on the T.

Riding the T without a seat is like being in the 1st circle of Hell. You can't do anything; you can't read a book, the paper, anything. All you can do is stare off into space, think of somewhere better you could be and wish you didn't have to catch the T to and from work just to have the privilege of some dirty bastard sneeze all over you.

So here's five ways you can pretty much guarantee a seat on the t. Some may be a little... Unorthodox, but hey, short of roundhouse kicking some one off a seat, what are you going to do?

1.       The IPhone has a great free "fart" application. There are even 14 to choose from. Simply find your seat, turn around, point and press the button. They'll move soon.

2.       Actually fart on them. Extra points for having a burrito the night before.

3.       If you have a cold (and at this time of year, who doesn't) blow your nose has loud as you can near the seat you want. Try and get some to escape the tissue. Show it to the person in the seat, saying "check how green this is! Have you seen anything this green before?" bonus points if you rub the tissue on them.

4.       Rub yourself on the person and moan suggestively. Bonus points if you do 4 and 1 at the same time. Extra bonus points if you do 4, 1 and 2.

5.       Before you're about to board the train and the train hasn't arrived yet, stand where the T's doors usually stop and start talking to yourself (about all the cats you have, how your going to bury your spouse tonight in the backyard, how babies taste great blended, or picked up from the bottom of the pool, how you check out 4chan. etc) you'll definitely be the first person on that train.

Sure, people will stare at you, and they might call you crazy, but they're just jealous you have a seat.

So sit down, breathe in that just sat down (or just farted) air, and enjoy your seat!

Relocation to Boston Tips - The Airplane Flight

So you've planned your trip, you've got your place in Boston sorted, but how are you going to make a 24 hr flight (plus 6-12 hours of layover) as bearable as possible? There's at least one flight you'll be on that's over 12 hours long, no matter which way you do it.

 

I've done the Perth - Boston Trip 4 times now, so hopefully I should have a couple of tips for over people doing the same. Some are probably common sense, but you may see a couple of things you didn't know.

 

Whenever I travel anywhere, I always take:

 

·                     Travel adapters for the US and Australia.

·                     Power boards for Australian and US plugs (really useful! You only need one adapter!)

·                     A Nintendo DS (Ha ha, I know, but more and more executives in are openly admitting in Forbes magazine they play DS on flights. The Brain Training is great, and the Final Fantasy series makes the time fly by.)

·                     The laptop (So I can write blog posts, use Facebook, etc.)

·                     Clear bag of toiletries. Even if you aren't in a lounge for a layover, being able to wash up in the Airport makes a world of difference.

·                     Also, another shirt, underpants, and socks. You feel SO much better with fresh clothes on the 2nd day of flights.

·                     A fair few magazines, books, etc.

·                     One of those flight pillow things, y'know, the thing that you put around your neck.

·                     Eye covers, ear plugs, etc. Sleeping stuff.

 

When it comes to checking in, you can make an economy class seat feel like business class by trying these tips out.

 

·                     Always ALWAYS check in via the internet as soon as you can.

·                     If you want food as quickly as it comes out first time, get the exit seats furthest away from the food prep area. Drinks are a bit hard to come by.

·                     If you want as much free booze as you can get, get the exit seats nearest the the food prep area. Food will usually come to you last.

·                     Exit seats give you the best leg space, but if you can't get an exit seat, an aisle seat will give you the chance to stretch your legs.

·                     If you plan on doing plenty of sleep, get yourself a window seat. It'll give you something to sleep on.

·                     When it comes to food, chicken is usually the best choice. Unless it's breakfast. Then go for beef. Stay away from fish. Really.

 

When it comes to dealing with jetlag, a 12 hour time difference is just about as bad as jet lag will get. Here's what I do to deal with it.

 

·                     I ALWAYS have a big burger before going on a flight. The protein helps me sleep and fills me up.

·                     I never actually sleep that much while I'm on flights. An hour here or there, on flights is always good. This makes me pretty tired when I arrive, but makes changing my body clock very easy.

·                     ALWAYS stay up as late as you can the first night you arrive. Have coffee, Red Bull, whatever you need. The later you stay up, the easier it will be to set your body clock again.

·                     The next day will be rough, but a couple of multi vitamin tablets will sort you right out. Stay up late again.

 

In terms of which way to fly, i find that flying via LA is much easier than via London or Stockholm. The flights are a bit shorter. I usually go with Malaysia Airlines, but New Zealand Airlines is very good as well.

 

Hope that helps. and safe travels where ever you are going!

Relocation Tips – How to find stuff to do in Boston.

 

Me. In Boston. The week before Halloween. Obviously proud that fat can almost be mistaken for muscle.

 

If you’re like any other expat, you’ll want to get the most out of the new city you’ve decided to call home. The question is how do you find out what you CAN do? In most big cities, generally stuff leaps out at you, begging you to go to it.

 

Not so much in Boston. You’ve really got to keep an eye for fun things that are coming up, or else you’ll just be spending another weekend having beers at the local watering hole, wondering what you are doing with yourself (That never happens to me, oh no.) after 3 months of just drinking at the local watering hole for 3 months.

 

So you need to get out, maybe join a sports club, a volunteering group, etc. Hopefully these dot points will help put you on the straight and narrow:

 

• Get on some mailing lists. There are some great sites that have started sending emails out each week full of things that are happening each weekend. Good ones in Boston include:
  • Going.com
  • Boston.com
  • BostonEventGuide.com
• Get out there and join some social clubs! There are stacks of them out there in Boston. Clubs I’m currently going to events for are:
  • Professionals in the City
  • Boston Networking Club
  • The GoTo Group.
  • There’s definitely plenty more.
• Joining a sports club is also a good idea, as it’ll keep you fit. I kinda like the idea of joining a sports club that is basically a thinly veiled drinking club, so sports I’d like (and maybe you would like) are:
  • Dragon Boat Racing (I had a friend in Singapore that loved doing this, mainly for the “pissups” afterwards. Maggot.)
  • Aussie Rules Footie (I’m still waiting for my stuffed knee to work again before trying this. Probably next year)
  • Cycling
  • Hash House Harrying (Hah, they don’t even disguise the drinking! Awesome.)
• In terms of volunteering groups, I haven’t found many in Boston that meet at times I can see them (i.e. the weekend) but you’ve got your standard Lions and Kiwanis and Rotary clubs. They mostly meet during the week, around lunch times. A couple of other ones I found: (doing a Google search for ‘volunteering Boston’ cause I’m basically a slacker, and did no real research whatsoever.)
  • On your feet project
  •  Ooooh, this one is good – Volunteer Boston has a stack of things you can do.
  • Boston Cares looks good as well.

 

And that’s all I’ve got for tonight. That should be a good list of things you can check out if you’re looking for stuff to do in Boston!

Relocation to Boston - American Beers

 

This beer is a lie. (Thanks to www.StrangeCosmos.com)

 

Everyone knows about the canoe joke. You know the one.

 

"What's the difference between a canoe and American beer?"

 

Answer: "There isn't one, they're both f****n' close to water!"

 

Well, the truth is the not all American beers are like that. Here are a few breweries that can put you on a canoe in a river of flowing amber deliciousness. And there are some Australian beers too!

 

Harpoon - There's a Harpoon in Boston, and they make some very delicious beers. Their IPA seems to be the most popular.
Samuel Adams - This is like Boston's trademark beer, they are all good, so if you're fresh off the plane and looking for a beer with flavor, try these out.

Blue moon - this is kind of like a "Red Back" beer, but sweeter, and comes with an orange instead of a lemon.

Magic hat - these guys do great beers, but I'd stay away from their darker ones, they aren't so great. The magic hat no.9 is good, and so is their wheat beer.

Sierra - these guys have a great IPA, but their other stuff is not that great.

UFO - these guys have an excellent Hefeweizen, and they do all sorts of flavored beer. Try them out when you have the chance.

Aussie beers

These are the Australian beers I've been able to find while I've been here. I'm not including fosters because as far as I'm considered, fosters is Australia's practical joke on the world.

 

Coopers - This is kind of common in boutique breweries, which is excellent, because it's cheaper here than back home!

Bluetongue - quite hard to find, but I've found one or two places that stock it. Pretty good stuff.

Also, the bottle store that has these beers and I got to a bit for my Aussie beer fix is:

Charles Street Liquors
143 Charles St
Boston, MA
02114

(617) 523-5051

 csliquors.com‎

It's probably the best place in Boston to buy beer. Try it out!

Relocation to boston - Food prices

Since another great relocation web site I check regularly, “Relocating to Silicon Valley” has the most popular post is “Price of Food in California”, and since everyone complains about the cost of stuff in Boston, I figured I'd do a post on food prices in Boston. That, and it’s easy to just to type out what I bought this week from a receipt.

I generally buy food for the month. It makes it easier to sort out my pay with bills and such.

There are a few food stores is Boston, one is “Trader Joe’s” a great place for cheap, farm fresh food. The reason stuff is cheap is because they produce and sell there food, so there is no middle man warehousing the stuff. I usually buy my dinners and stuff from here, as it’s a great place to stock up on good food.

So here's how much food costs at Trader Joes.

Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce                                                                                               $1.69.

Stir fry Vegetables                                                                                                          $2.29.

Crinkle wedges (go VERY well with sour cream and sweet chilli sauce)                               $1.69

Jarlsberg Lite sliced cheese                                                                                             $3.69

Spaghetti pasta                                                                                                              $0.99

Thai coconut current chicken sticks                                                                                  $2.99

Cod fillets breaded                                                                                                          $5.99

Kung Pao chicken skillet meal                                                                                          $3.69

Orange Mandarin chicken                                                                                                $4.99

Harvest Hodgepodge vegetables                                                                                      $1.99

Annie Chun Noodle Bowl (Man, these are a single guys best friend)                                    $1.99

Joe Joe’s (Like Oreos, except this packet will last you two months)                                     $2.49

96% Ground Beef                                                                                                           $4.67

My total bill from here is usually $40-$50 a month, depending on what they have.

Their food selection changes regularly, depending on what’s in season.

The other place I go to in Boston that’s decent is “Shaw’s”. I usually go here for my junk food and stuff. They sell beer too, which is excellent. If you live nearby a Shaw’s you usually get specials leaflets sent to you. Check those out, as you can get some really cheap deals, like 5 Lean Cuisine dinners for $10. Sign up for their savings card thing as well, you can usually save $10 each time you good)

Here’s how much food costs at Shaw’s

Soft drink (or Pop) Special 3 for                                                                                       $6.00

Tonic water                                                                                                                   $0.89

Fish oil sauce                                                                                                                 $4.19

Kellogg’s All Bran                                                                                                           $2.87

Lay’s (Big packets) Special 2 for                                                                                      $6.00

Lean Cuisine Special 5 for                                                                                               $10.00

Chocolate milk (om nom nom)                                                                                         $3.19

Sam Adams Beer (On special)                                                                                         $12.99

Bread                                                                                                                            $2.00

My total bill here is usually $50-$60 for the month.

Hope that’s useful,

Nathan