Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Hello,

I will (hopefully) be moving to OZ next year, and I had my eye on moving to Melbourne as I liked the idea of having a bit of space and the cosmopolitan way of life, all the famous sporting events and good temperatures and affordable living (compared to Sydney I hear thats pricey), ) and good outdoor living and I liked the idea of living in a city that was very friendly despite its size, in fact I never even considered living anywhere else.

I do I.T (SQL Server) for a living and currently live in a leafy part of London, so plenty of parks etc and in my mid 30's, no kids yet. I work in the centre of London.

Now, my other half is looking at improving her IT knowledge and has noticed that the money is better and more jobs around in Sydney, so I am now looking at the possiblility living in Sydney. Now I should point out that I have been to neither places, but Sydney does not appear to offer what I was looking for that Melbourne appears to have. I hear and read that Sydney is incredibly hot, the housing is expensive and makes you feel like there is not room to move, all the reasons I would be glad to leave London.

I feel like if I move to Sydney, then there is no benefit to moving at all, and on top of that, anywhere a person can afford to live means having to drive to a pub because you are so far away from anything. Currently I am stuck in small flat and cant afford to move into a house, but at least I dont have to go far to do a variety of things.

Is there anyone here who has lived in both Cities? Or has a case for one against the other? I would like to hear from as many people as possible, what ever your opinion is, and why you prefer or chose one city over the other. Of course I appreciate that I could try both for a period of time.

Thanks in advance for reading and your input, and please be nice and respect peoples different opinions, I dont want to cause any arguments! :)

Kind Regards,
Paul

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

My partner and I have just recently had this same debate, trying to decide which to move to.

This is what we came up with....

Melbourne
Cold winters, hot summers
beaches not so good
More "arty"
Better sport (Grand prix / tennis)
Closer to the mountains
Closer to Tasmania (we like walking / camping / mountain biking)
Less deadly spiders

Sydney
Warm winters, hot summers
Lots of great beaches
We're into Rugby Union which is more popular in Sydney
More jobs available for us (finance)
More expensive, but better salaries

In the end for us we think Sydney is the better option. One of the main reasons we are moving is to escape the cold dark winters and to enjoy a more outdoor lifestyle. The beaches and warm winters are what made us choose Sydney.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

I prefer Sydney, far more attractions.

However Melbourne is the one city with an extensive tram system (Adelaide's is limited) which can be more convenient for getting around the city than car, bus or train.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

I wouldn't describe Sydney as incredibly hot in summer, though if you end up out west it will be hotter than the east mainly due to the cooling winds coming off the ocean which dissipate the further west you go. And I'm not a big fan of very hot weather.

The Sydney v Melbourne debate really polarises people - I think you need to spend time in both to get a feel for the "vibe" before you make any irreversable decisions. For me, there's no question - Melbourne is just another city, albeit a pleasant enough one, but Sydney is..... well, Sydney. But then again we are fortunate enough to have been able to live near the harbour, which is what to me makes all the difference. If you are mid-30s, no kids, two professional incomes, you could afford to rent a flat in a harbourside suburb, but depending on your income, you might struggle to buy near water, if that appealed to you.

On the other hand, there are loads of people out there who will have positive opinions of Melbourne and wouldn't dream of living in Sydney... horses for courses and all that. Good luck, I'm sure you'll be happy in whichever of the two you end up in!

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

I am sorry but I have to laugh:

"In the end for us we think Sydney is the better option. One of the main reasons we are moving is to escape the cold dark winters and to enjoy a more outdoor lifestyle. The beaches and warm winters are what made us choose Sydney."

If you think Sydney winters are warm then you are moving to the wrong place. Night-time temperatures are down to 3-4 degrees which when you combine with crappy heating and third world insulation then you have a recipe for spending winter in front of the telly wearing a coat and thermals.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Perhaps visit both cities and look at the suburbs where you might live not just the tourist areas.
Syndey is'nt " incredable hot" Adelaide Perth and Brisbane are probably hoter.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Melbourne cbd is lively at weekends and nights unlike Sydneys however few people live in the cbd both cities are amazing and have loads to do and see

in both Sydney and Melbourne you will find places where you have everything you want but as with everything it's subjective, your choice I would never live where one of my friends lives but she drives everywhere whereas I use public transport she adores her suburb.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

If you're reasonably close to the ocean, summers are more warm than hot. Day time highs are 26-27 degrees, so quite pleasant really. Winters are mild, bordering on sub tropical, with the odd miserable wet day. If I had lots of money I'd probably choose Sydney over Melbourne. Melbourne is supposed to be more "liveable", and it is, but the difference is less as time goes by. If you have enough money, Sydney can be extremely liveable.

Culturally Melbourne is more dynamic and the place is better governed. There's a real chance Melbourne will overtake Sydney as the most populous and most important business centre in the next 20 years.

If Sydney could get its act together it could capitalise on the strength of Australia's financial system, its proximity to Asia, a strong domestic economy and become a true world financial capital. There's a real chance of that happening over the next decade or so. The World Economic Forum recently ranked Sydney as the world's second most financially developed city (just behind London) jumping nine places. That's a stunning achievement.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/busi...-1225784707829

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

I'd say Sydney's nights are as cold as Melbourne's if not colder due to lack of cloud cover. Where Sydney scores is sunnier days, and higher maximums - perhaps as much as 5-6 degrees in it. Remember the maximum is short-lived. Having lived in both, I love Sydney winter days.

Sydney is more humid in summer, Melbourne gets extreme heat occasionally - low humidity - but these are telegraphed in advance, the build is often gradual over several days and a change invariably comes in just when you've had enough. Even on Black Saturday a change had come in by 6pm which prevented an even bigger disaster...

The pay difference might not be enough to pay for the higher property prices - this depends. Remember too that salary bands vary and you might negotiate ok in Melbourne.

I have lived in both and considered myself a Sydney boy and wondered a bit about what was so good about Melbourne. Then I moved down here and now thank my lucky stars. Many of my Sydney friends are tiring of it and thinking about making the move. You mention leafy London districts. Parts of the inner East will attract you in Melbourne. I think London people who do not want London but want to retain elements of it do well in Melbourne.

As for sport - I still miss Rugby Union and League of Sydney. I am come to love AFL in it's own right - it helps that St Kilda are doing so well - but it will never be my game.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Oh come on, that's an exaggeration. We spent two winters in Sydney. There was one very brief spell the first winter that made us send home for our winter coats (having gotten used to summer temperatures); when they arrived we never once wore them either that or the following winter. And I know everyone says insulation is poor, but it was never cold in our very average 30's built flat, neither was the heating particularly expensive.

On the other hand, whilst the winters might not be as cold or as dark, the other side of that coin is that summer nights are not nearly as long as in the UK.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

I have nothing to add except to say that Sydney is not warm in the winter. In fact, I practically died of hyperthermia two winters ago in Sydney. However, what you will find is that people refuse to put their heating on, on the grounds that "it never gets that cold in Sydney". It bloody well does.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Completely agree.

Melbourne retains many of the great things about London and has many things that London "ought to have".

This includes absolutely stunning beaches, right here in the suburbs where people who commute live. And we could afford a house within walking distance of the sea here which we couldn't in Sydney.

Buzzy

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

We did 6 months in Sydney over winter. Arrived from the UK in the early May and thought it was a warm climate the whole time. Its just that people get used to the warmer summers so winter "feels" cold. We swam in a outdoor pool everyday and walked around in short sleeves. By contrast, after doing a summer in Perth, we felt freezing this winter. Even though the temperature most days would have been enough to have had us sun bathing back in the UK. Its all relative.
As for the Sydney / Melbourne depate, i have never been to the later, but i fell in love with Sydney and long for the day to move back. (Big hint for any exploration managers from NSW reading this). The city is stunning. While rents are not cheap, they are not as bad as London.

Re: Melbourne Or Sydney?
 

Hello,

Thanks to you all for getting back, its great hearing all the different views and opinions, I'm still leaning toward Melbourne at the moment. But please keep them coming, I have enjoyed reading then and would like to read more. What is (or was ) 'Black Saturday/Sunday'? What is the stand-up comedy and live music scenes (big names concerts, but really more live music bars as I fancy joining a band to make friends etc) like in the two citys?

Thanks again,
P.