Quote:
Originally Posted by Barnet Flame
Melbourne is a beautiful city - I preferred it to Sydney by quite a margin. I get to go there every other year to visit my brother. Eating lunch outside on Boxing Day with a nice glass of wine at St Kilda = Heaven.
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Yes it is, I have soft spot for Melbourne (always will) but parts of Sydney blow Melbourne out for water. Eastnern Suburbs and North Shore are amazing places to live, Sydney beaches and beachside suburbs >>> Melbourne beaches/beachside suburbs. However the rest of Sydney (other than CBD) pales in comparison to Melbourne. I wouldn't live anywhere west of Broadway in Sydney while I would live pretty much anywhere in Melbourne (SE suburbs are still the best thought).
Sydney and Melb are quite different, Melburne is definitely more cosmopolitan/European/sophisticated (although the stoner hippie culture that was already mentioned and is spot on can be quite annoying IMO) while Sydney is an awesome psycho town with everything that goes with it, good and bad.
Sydney CBD is a lot bigger, never sleeps, there's always something going on, everything for everyone. Melbourne CBD is pretty much ghost town after dark (or at least was when I lived there, I know that City council was trying to do something about it but even then no match to Sydney where you have tons of pubs/bars/restaurants/clubs in the city center while in Melb you don't).
Entertainment/sports/nightlife - depends what you are after. Expensive restaurants and "sophisticated" nights out - Melbourne is your choice, Sydney is IMO more diverse and has more options. Obviously you can meet a ton of people from all over the world in both cities but Sydney is made to socialize with foreigners, half of the city are backpackers
Sports is where Melb wins, thanks to Australian open and Grand Prix. Aussie rules (Melb) and rugby (Syd) both suck tho.
Cost of living - Melb all the way. Sydney is insanely expensive, I can rent a room in Sydney for what it cost me to rent a 2 bedroom apartment in Melb (some time ago but not that long). Monthly public transport ticket in Melb used to cost me less than a weekly tickets costs me in Sydney. It's insane.
All in all, I'd say that if you are a middle class family who enjoys a cosmopolitan yet laid back city, Melbourne is the way to go. If you are young and crazy or rich then Sydney wins by a large margin. And if you are a backpacker, schedule longer stay in Sydney there's lot more to see and do. However, both cities are a must see, that goes without saying.
My 2 cents.