Sydney, like many metropolises, is a huge city but a very small world. I found this out the awkward way when my friends and I ended up at a 30-something-year-old’s birthday party in the garage of...

Growing up, my family spent many summer weekends in Ventnor City, New Jersey, one of many towns that South Jerseyans affectionately refer to as “the shore.” Each weekend started the same way: my...