IS MELBOURNE BETTER THAN SYDNEY?

Returning to MC's initial question, I liked both cities for different reasons, but-- whereas I could see myself living in Melb.-- I don't think that I would ever live in Sydney.

Adrian, it's not that easy.... about 70% of English people want to leave the country, but about 1% find the resources and the time to do so.

I love both cities.

Set' ask's;



Reverted? It's never been any different.

Drom'.

I don't watch Neighbours or Home and Away, but when I was in NZ I had the misfortune of seeing an episode of Shortland Street and yes it was truly terrible. As for the resources thing, the cheese from melbourne is complaining about SYDNEY being too dear and they COME from Melbourne.
I was simply pointing out that if they think a place is too dear and a "feral hole" then maybe they should leave.

I notice there has been no response from the cheese. Shame, I was up for a little Melbourne bashing. (All in good fun of course :wink: )

dlowan.

Of course you love them both. Compared to Adelaide they're both paradises.

heeheeheeheeheeheeheeheehee . . .


okbye

Adrian

i was forced here kicking and screaming because my dad had to move here to get a raise and promotion or he'd lose his job entirely. sorry i didn't respond before

Ah well, that's different then.

I hereby give you permission to whinge about Sydney as much as you like. Just keep it clean. I'll match you whinge for whinge if I can.

And welcome to A2K!

I wanted to know some reasons as to why melbourne is better than sydney or vice versa, not to whinge, sorry if it came across that way

Full moon in Sydney.




And I might point out that when Sydneysiders revert to a primal wolf-like state, they do it with more class than they do in Melbourne!!

Depend on Mr. Ponquility to provide le mot juste, or, in this case, l'image juste.

Re: Is Melbourne better than Sydney?
Dear Melbournian cheese, are you really from Melbourne? If so, why are you spelling 'Melbournian' with an 'o'?!!

It would be easy to fob off this question as a 'tired' debate, but also it would be easy to underestimate just how important the question is to a lot of people re: career/lifestyle/corporate opportunities/making friends etc. The bottom line is that they are both unbelievable cities compared to some of the ugly crap that exists in the world (e.g. L.A. - what a truly ugly city for those that have lived in NYC/Europe). Here are some thoughts, but I need to be honest to readers and explain my perspective. I am a bona-fide Melbourne boy, but moved up to Sydney for a big Corporate job opportunity, and am now very comfortably resided in Balmain, yet still at times get very homesick for the sheer elegance and theatre/live music/arts/laneway CBD scene of Melbourne.

It all depends where you are coming from, but ultimately I think the best view would come from those who have lived for MANY YEARS in both cities AND overseas in some of the bigger famous modern cities of the world (London, NYC, European capitals). For me, Sydney has changed immensely from the romanticism/unbelievable vibrancy and energy of the early 90s, and I really worry for the city at times.
Housing
For those who dream of ever buying property, it is increasingly becoming 'the dream city', only for those in the top 5% of income globally who can afford to find something in areas like Potts Point/Paddington - because once you leave the 'world famous' harbour/chic inner suburbs, many of the areas of Sydney are truly ugly as anything LA can offer (e.g. Paramatta Road).
Urban Planning/Architecture
Truly a disgrace in Sydney - very much possible that one could spend 6 hours on a Saturday just getting from A to B (e.g. to buy furniture) - there are some real doozy 'highways' - e.g. Pacific
This is NOT just part of being a big, bustling, global city - even in NYC and London, the Subway and Tube are often superb ways to get from A to B. Sydney's public transport system/roads/ability to u-turn or turn right is an absolute disaster. To top it off, the RTA is very much possibly the rudest car licensing organisation in the country
Quality of life
If I want to meet a friend in Carlton or Sth Yarra or St Kilda in Melbourne for a movie/drink/bar/food, even if I live in woop woop you just go. In Sydney, I find myself 'second guessing' about everything - is it rush hour?
How the hell do I get from Inner West to East in time? Will there be parking? Again this is NOT a reflection of big city vs. country town - more a reflection of urban planning (Melbourne is frenetic too, BUT livable - the city's heading towards 4 million soon)
Food
At the top 5% quartile, Sydney kicks arse as does Melbourne (Tetsuyas, Icebergs, blah blah blah). It is in the grey 'cheap eats/middle sector/spontaneous meal' situation where Sydney really falls down. I have lost count of the number of times I have received froth on a cafe latte like a cappucino/been served a burnt long macchiato in Sydney. I have also lost count of the number of Sydney siders who genuinely believe that the best place to get coffee when desperate or not in hip places like Darlinghurst, is in places like Gloria Jeans! (can someone tell me where there are "Laurent"/Pellegrinos/Brunettis alternatives in Sydney please?) And the standard of service is so much lower in Sydney. Indeed Tetsuya's in earlier days was renowned for getting his staff down to Melbourne to see what good, classy restaurant service was all about.
Sydney also seriously lacks good central markets (Paddy's etc no match for the Victorian/Prahran/etc markets in Melbourne)
Style/European vibe
Sydney great for that Mediterranean/sunny vibe, esp in Summer (e.g. Feb). Melbourne just feels SO much more European in its vibe (even the grid-like streets/compactness like many big European cities), with a nicer abundance of parks/greenery in the CBD. A typical night in Melbourne would be lingering in a sexy Italian restaurant with a view of a laneway, then perhaps going to the Melbourne Supper Club, also jumping from bar to bar in Flinders Lane/St. Kilda. In Sydney, a typical night might be more about 'bistroing' and jumping from club to club, or going to multiple pubs with a view.
Friendships
At first, I was convinced that Sydney was friendlier. Then I realised it was more about superficial friendships, especially with the abundance of overseas workers/transient people in Sydney. Melbourne is so much like Europeans in this regard - often a bit harder to scratch beneath the surface, but once done you have friends for life. It is just SO much harder to consolidate friendships and meet for spontaneity in Sydney because of the traffic issues/lack of deep-rootedness among many.
Arts/Architecture/live music/festivals
This reflects the weather I'm sure. As Melbourne is colder, it really has resulted in a far superior theatre, film festival, and live music/comedy scene. And wait until you get into the 'underbelly' of Melbourne and find the plethora of clubs, courses, and meetings that exist (e.g. Philsophy nights: ex-pat Social functions). Architecture is just going off in edginess (Federation Square; Melbourne Museum; RMIT Swanston St. campus.
Sydney is strong too (lacking immensely in theatre venues), but as befits a warmer climate, a bit more outdoors event-focused.

Shopping
Going down Oxford St/Newtown still gets me profoundly depressed when I compare it to Flinders Lane/new QV development/Chapel St/ Greville St/ Brunswick St/list goes on in Melbourne

These are just preliminary thoughts, so much more to talk about re: 2 great cities. I hope I have illustrated that's it's not just about big bustling city vs. country town! (Melbourne 2004 is a really cool place to be - can't think of many better places to LIVE than plonking down in Sth Yarra and living your life). But I worry so much for beautiful Sydney, it's becoming TOO much of a rat race with shocking roads, and a tough city for people making less than a 6 figure salary, inhabited by the yahoo vulgar Russell Crowes of the world. Melbourne is more about a European-style low-key worldliness, which i have found constantly makes Sydneysiders uneasy.


Comba

comba

yes i am from melbourne and it's spelt 'melbournian' on the melbourne grammar newsletter so i would have thought that's how it's spelt.
thanks for the excellent contribution (better than some of the other stuff in this topic) and i hope to see some rebutals (is that spelt right? i never know) from some Sydney siders if they can think of anything...which i now very much doubt. you have thought of some excellent reasons which i had previously never thought of. thank you
oh yeah, WELCOME TO A2K!

For those from overseas, a great way to get a feeling of the 'vibe' of both cities is to do the following:

1) Compare the Sydney Morning Herald journalism to The Age (both the 2 quality broadsheet newspapers of the cities)

2) Compare the monthly 'Melbourne' magazine to the Sydney Morning Herald monthly 'Sydney' magazine

3) Compare Leichardt to Carlton, St. Kilda to Bondi, and Glebe to Brunswick St

4) Compare the soul of AFL football to the NRL

How lucky Australia is to have such contrasts; I mean who wants homogenous cities full of Starbucks and Maccas and shopping malls anyway?!!

some deluded people here

you just say that coz you got nothing good to say about sydney

but seriously folks, i'd like to know if anyone could counter comba's reasons for melbourne rocking the casbah and sydney being a large hole with a harbour shoved in the middle

As long as we always pick on the Kiwis. That's the most important thing......

Why not just move back to England? I'm sure the crimes of your ancestors have been forgiven by now. Maybe that thought will help unite you. Leave the Kiwis out of it. I quite enjoyed Lord of The Rings, and their lamb isn't bad either, though I do prefer our local product.

something good about Sydney: WEATHER!

Something else good about Sydney:

Mr Stillwater
Adrian


Something good about Melbourne:

MsOlga and.........
???????

<National Gallery of Victoria>

<blush>

Anyway, seen as how the two Melbourne expats seem to want to be serious here I must say that I have never really 'lived' in Melbourne. All up I've spent about a month there so I can't really tell you whether it's 'better' than Sydney. What I can say is that trying to compare two cities like that is somewhat pointless. Different strokes and all.

What I have noticed in my time though, is that Melbournians seem to be the ones that worry about it. To quote the noble and wise Wilso;

"In Australia tomorrow, Sydney will still be the biggest city in the country....Melbourne will still be bitter about it............."

So back to the frivolity;

Q. What's the only good thing to come out of Melbourne?

A. The Hume Highway.

or the flight out of Tullamarine (or for the alternative travellers - Avalon!)