Being from Melbourne I could rattle on for hours about your reply lexande. At the end of the day, money aside, I genuinely hope you enjoyed your trip. Australia is NOT the US. And it never will be. It has it's own quirks, good and bad.

To address some of the things you said:

1. Tips are not expected, but people often round up to the nearest 5 or 10 dollars. And the price you see is the price you get most of the time (the exception is more upscale places that have a service charge/fee). No addition of federal tax, city tax, tip, blah blah blah. A $6 burger is a $6 burger. But I know you're going to say "more like a $16 burger!"

2. You should NEVER, ever be charged for tap water. At one stage it was happening in Sydney, but people simply stopped going to the cafes/restaurants. In Melbourne some people avoid cafes that charge more for a 'strong' coffee!

3. Australians are VERY internet savvy (despite the terrible speed and cost - that's the price of distance!) and often buy from overseas. That's why local retail is suffering. On top of that is a current war on the GST (equivalent to VAT or sales tax) on in-store goods versus online goods.

4. The transfer cost at Sydney does suck, but Sydney has a long-standing reputation for ripping people off (which is why Melburnians love to pick on them). I see that Qantas and Virgin Blue, two major airlines, don't seem to charge for transfers from domestic to international (which is usually why you transfer terminal). http://www.sydneyairport.com.au/go/t...-transfer.aspx

5. Done a comparison of living costs with NYC and Sydney recently? I think I know who will win!