Lilly93

I forgot to mention one thing... I suffer from heatstroke if the temperature rises above 28 or 29. It happened to me in Croatia, and I could do nothing but sleep or swim, because it was just too hot for me to function.

From what I've heard, Sydney is hotter/more humid/more tropical than Melbourne?

Hehe. A lot of people might say it just makes Australia a bad idea full stop. I'll deal.

bcworld

Have a look at some climate stats:

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...6071_All.shtml

Melbourne has on average 30 days a year over 30C although I think that number would be quite a bit higher if you include the high 20Cs.

Obviously it varies from year to year...in my first year here we had several days over 40C...including consecutive days at 43,44,45 and then a couple of weeks later 46C (an all time record).

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averag...6062_All.shtml

Sydney 15 days a year over 30C...but yes there will typically be many more days with higher humidity which make it feel 'worse' than a similar temp in Melbourne.

commonwealth

thats what aircon and bottled water are for. you can try tasmania if you want, its on similar latitude as kiwiland.

Buzzy--Bee

Sydney is definitely more humid than Melbourne. It also gets significantly more rain than Melbourne, although the rain is heavier and therefore less frequent I believe.

Melbourne is a very dry heat which makes higher temperatures in summer quite bearable.

BB

Lilly93

I suppose the humidity is where the beach comes in... One can go swimming quite easily when the weather gets unbearable.

Has anyone ever been to Tasmania?

It sounds quite extreme then.. Torrential rain, humidity... Could be interesting

I think I'll probably go to Sydney.. My uncle lives there, and I'm interested in this whole 'County Bondi' thing that the resident Irish have been cultivating.

BadgeIsBack

I performed a google and heard the view of Australians on the age old Syd vs Melbourne.

Many Melbournians stated the rivalry was a Sydney chip - they visited and everyone banged on about it - and many Sydneysiders had the same experienced when they visited Melbourne...seems to me they are both as bad as each other.

I spent a fair amount of time in Sydney and prefer Melbourne - on so many levels. To be honest, there is a lot of mileage in the notion that Melbourne has more liveability.

There is no doubt that of the 2, Sydney is sort of the world city -although neither are true world cities - but I think this is more of a marketing outcome bourne of circumstance.

Melbourne +

+Ease of getting around
+More 'culture' - terms of atttitude, not availability
+The city itself - to be honest, outside the Northern Shore nothing about Sydney really impresses me apart from fleeting visits. The actual CBD is a bit of a dump really. I like Melbourne's laneways, inner East, the various precincts.
+Cheaper

Sydney +

I prefer Sydney's winters. This is the only time in my opinion Sydney has better weather than Melborne. Both get hot summers, yet Melbourne has welcome cooler breaks and lower humidity - I've said before that Melbourne has the 'best' summers in Australia for this reason!

I miss the Rugby Union and Rugby League.

BadgeIsBack

On my first day in Sydney it was just over 30 and I was rugged up straight from the plane - in t-shirt and winter rugby top yet it felt like 23 degrees. I've never quite worked out why I was so blase about it.

When I returned with my wife, it felt very humid - infact, too humid, if truth be told.

If 30 is a problem, then as BcWorld says, take into account the humidity - Melbourne 30 feels like a London 25. You might notice that the sun feels harsh too. Melbourne doesn't really feel hot until it gets into the mid 30s.

Petals

Lived in Sydney on the North Shore so ferry to work ok, lived in Neutral Bay and McMahons Point, love it around there, however its $$$$$$ to live in these areas and as has been said the rest of it you can keep.

Bondi did not do it for me much preferred Bronte Beach if I was over that way, there is a nice walk around the beaches over there though.

Shopping prefer Melbourne every time.

Melbourne has a different vibe altogether than Sydney, Sydney can be club based i e Leaque Clubs, RSL Clubs, every nationality clubs etc. Not so in Melbourne although there are some of course.

Expensive to rent and live in Sydney

moneypenny20

From a personal point of view I completely disagree with that. I find the dry heat hard to bear but love the humid heat and feel 'less hot'.

lapin_windstar

I'm surprised to hear Sydney described as being humid when it's hot - it's a pretty dry heat to me. It's not really tropical like anywhere further north.

I haven't spent time in Melbs in the middle of summer so don't know myself - but I was told by a couple of Melburnians that in Mel it doesn't get a lot cooler at night in the middle of summer. I seem to remember hearing on the radio there were quite a few nights when it was 30+ overnight a couple of years ago. Sydney usually has a breeze going, too.

But heatstroke is serious - you wouldn't be able to swim.

A lot of Europeans and North Americans don't know how to dress for summer. I've done a fair amount of physical outdoor work with non-residents and recent immigrants from Europe/N America and most of them tried to strip off as much as possible, take a small bottle of water out for the whole day and put sunblock on once it started to get really hot. Wrong! You want to cover your skin, wear a hat and sunblock up right from the beginning of the day. That and drink lots and lots of water, constnatly.

bcworld

Actually the opposite is true...one of the noticeable things about Melbourne, speaking as someone who lived in Brisbane is that it generally drops to a comfortable overnight temp in summer...see the stats above - Jan / Feb mean minimum 14C. Yes there are some hot overnights - not many - there was one a couple of years ago where the overnight low was 34C!!

But from the numbers you'd see it drops about 12C from the daytime high in Jan/Feb...more than Sydney or Brisbane.

commonwealth

True, it's more dry heat; once in a while we have humid days but usually it's dry heat. I have different types of moisturizers for each season.