Tuesday 9 September 2014

Sydney vs. Melbourne

It’s the ultimate debate for all Australians. If you’re from Sydney you will fight to the death to prove Sydney is better than Melbourne, and if you’re from  Melbourne you’re too good to care which city is better, because you know Melbourne is. And if you’re from any other city in Australia you wonder why yours doesn’t appear in the debate, but will still back up either one. The idea is, our capital city Canberra was chosen being in between both Sydney or Melbourne, and even our nationals couldn’t decide. OK I don’t know if this is a real fact, but that is what all Sydney-siders and Melbournians say to get over the rejection.

I have lived in both cities, so I think I am more than qualified to weigh these champion cities out. So, if you’re thinking about travelling to or making either of these cities your final destination, here is a little guide to help you decide.

Weather:

Sydney
Melbourne
Although Sydney gets more rainfall in a year than Melbourne, you can hardly tell.
Sydney is basically Australian for sunshine, blue skies and phenomenal thunderstorms. For me anyway, I love the smell of the downpour from a typical Sydney thunderstorm accompanied by shards of lightning that brighten the sky for a split second and the rumble and crackle of the air and ground colliding. This is a symbol of Summer, minutes before and after it’s nothing but 30c days and blue skies. If it’s Winter you’re after, temperatures can still be seen up in 24-25c, but settle around 18c. Spring has just begun and today I didn’t bother putting on a coat or a scarf, and embraced the 27c, Summer can wait if Spring is going to be like this.
Do you like rain? Despite the bucketing down thunderstorms of Sydney dropping more rain than Melbourne, it is just constant on and off drizzle. You must always be accompanied with an umbrella because you will be more than likely stuck in a bit of rain. Given it is south and the coast of Bass Strait, the winds there can be ferocious as well with a bite of frost. I was really confronted by this in November still no sign of 20c days of sunshine, locals said February just wait Summer will be here. There was a period of 2 weeks in February which involved hot sticky 45c days majority. Melbourne does heat waves very well. Safe to say my Summer there was a total of 4 weeks broken up across February – April.

Winner: Sydney

Rainy days in Melbourne - St Kilda Pier

Nothing but sunshine in Sydney - Cronulla Beach


Food:

Sydney
Melbourne
I think the restaurateurs and café owners around Sydney have started to put up a fight against the hipster vibe of Food in Melbourne. Lately places have been popping up that offer great competition to the Southern State rival. There a great pockets throughout Sydney City and its suburbs that offer quality food. The restaurants have been in the past sterile and offer food without the vibe, atmosphere and design, you know a row of options that offer the same thing. However, things are improving and you can find a great spot depending on what you’re after. My tips are Surry Hills, Newtown, The Rocks, and Darlinghurst.
Where do I start. When I arrived in Melbourne, I knew I would be spoilt for choice with places for food, the trick is you have to find them. Part of what makes Melbourne so iconic is the variety of cuisines, cultures and the platter in which they are served to you. Generally in a back alley camouflaged with graffiti, plants walls and brick facades, you will be presented with a dining experience like no other, with some of the best Australian and International chefs calling this place home. And guess what, it is affordable! Great food is not hard to find, you do just have to search for it and here is a little help: Specific streets with top spots Flinders Lane, South Melbourne Market, Chapel St  and Exhibition St. Just remember to weave in and out.

Winner: Melbourne

Japanese Cuisine in Melbourne
Tasting a selection of desserts in The Conservatory, Melbourne


Bars and Nightlife:

Sydney
Melbourne
From when I was legally capable of drinking I discovered Sydney nightlife, I soon got sick of it
(a trip to Europe helped with that). There is a lot to offer for those who want to go clubbing with some premium spots throughout the city, if you don’t mind paying a cover fee and waiting in lines. Sydney however has a vast amount of pubs, my favourite place to enjoy a drink with friends. Live bands followed by DJ’s are in most pubs across the city, and you can start your night earlier than 11 pm. Bars are not as prevalent, if so they’re in a large building with a restaurant feel. Sydney is your place for clubbing the early hours of the morning in Darling Harbour, George St and Kings Cross; or old-style pubs nearly every corner for a relaxed vibe mainly found in The Rocks, Paddington and Town Hall. Don’t forget The Star Casino also which offers a bar and a nightclub.
I was nervous when new friends asked me to go out for a few drinks over the weekend. I thought please no, don’t let it be clubbing. I was pleasantly surprised. Melbourne is a laid back small bar kind of place, and an array of rooftop watering holes. It is really the place to meet with friends and enjoy yourself and you can still hear one another. Just like the food, to find the drinks you have to weave in and out of the back alleys to find pretty awesome spots. Most bars offer a theme, and cocktails to match the uniqueness. Most of the time you will either have to climb stairs or wander to the basement to get to your destination, again adding to the experience. Most bars offer quality tapas style food so the atmosphere of mixology and gastronomy overlaps. Swanston St offers a 7 storey selection of great bars so you can you’re your pick, or try Russell St, and Little Lonsdale. As well as bars, Southbank boasts the iconic Crown Casino with the complex offering so much more to anyone who visits.

Winner: Melbourne

Outdoor bar on the Yarra River, Melbourne

The Establishment nightclub in Sydney

Getting Around:

Sydney
Melbourne
Most people local complain about their transport, but having lived in both cities I can see the best of both worlds. Sydney lacks a tram network, but I don’t know how well it would work anyway. Then on the other hand has a fantastic railway servicing majority of the city. You may have to catch a ferry across Sydney Harbour to the Manly (that sounds terrible doesn’t it…), or a bus out to the Eastern suburbs, but you can get everywhere else by train. The trains are great, built to take thousands of passengers. Just please as a traveller if you don’t have to be anywhere detrimental, do NOT travel in peak hour. It will be cheaper for you off-peak and I don’t want you thinking I gave you the wrong information when you are stuck under someone’s armpit for a 2 stop journey. Just avoid it, for the locals too. 
Sydney has just upped the anti and introduced the Opal Card which compares to Melbourne's MyKi system, it is now a dream using transport and you don't have to pay for the card like in Melbourne. The train system is great to avoid driving around Sydney, the roads are average, and traffic in peak is congested, but people like to move, fast. The drivers in Sydney are always on their way somewhere, so everyone is alert and not getting in your way.
First of all their train system kind of sucks. Always delayed, due to weather changes, and that is unavoidable where I think in a city that has constant weather changes, a contingency really needs to be discovered. It would be a revelation! To avoid getting caught in the weather, they have the best mode of transport in the whole country. The Yarra Trams. You can travel anywhere in the city quickly, efficiently and avoid the weather. Getting around is very easy and different trams come along every couple of minutes. I was first overwhelmed because I didn’t know where I was going. I would only use a tram if you are travelling within the city surrounds, St Kilda and Bay suburbs, Richmond and Prahran. Just follow your route and remember which stop number you need to get off. 
Melbourne introduced the MyKi card to tap on and tap off to pay for your journey but loading money on the card. No matter how long you are in Melbourne, you have to pay for this card. If you're driving, beware. The roads are great, drivers not so much - sorry! And be careful, there is no tolerance for speeding even if its a few kilometres over.

Winner: Sydney
 
Waiting for a ferry on the wharf in Sydney
On foot in Melbourne watching a train pass under the city


Sightseeing:

Sydney
Melbourne
When you think of Australia, I know you have in your head right now Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House, followed by a bunch of kangaroos and koalas. Am I right?
Sydney-siders are very proud of the harbour, there is not a local I know who doesn’t embrace that view no matter how often they see it. You then have Darling Harbour which is on the other side of the harbour and a beautiful boardwalk with plenty of places to stop, and enjoy the sunshine. The Royal Botanical Gardens also offers a wonderful view and peaceful walk amongst nature. There is no doubt the beauty of this city for me surpasses many other cities around the world even. There are other sights to offer outside the city, The Blue Mountains in the West, Taronga Zoo on the North Shore, and the South Coast. Overall, if you are coming to Australia for the beaches, and want to choose between these two cities, Sydney has a long stretch of coast to offer beautiful shores with surf, relaxation and fun in the sun. Just remember to slip, slop, slap - sunburn is a killer in Australia (literally).
I don’t know what I picture apart from food and culture when it comes to Melbourne sights. There is the Yarra river which separates the city, reality is it is dark and murky, but it is surrounded by great buildings and complexes that boast art and design that astounds great architects globally. Melbourne city offers so much more within than the look of it. See Federation Square, the bar at the top of Rialto Tower, and the Gardens that surround the city, but venture out. Decent sightseeing is generally an hour out of the city, Yarra Valley in the North for just above average wine, Mornington Peninsula in the South for more wine and the majority of the beaches found in Melbourne, West is the city of Geelong and further is Torquay where you can find Australia's number one beach for surfing - Bell's Beach. For a little longer on the road, there is the Great Ocean Road which really cannot be missed, but now you're well outside of Melbourne. 
 
Winner: Sydney

Embracing the view on my Hen's Night Out in Sydney

Brighton boat sheds in Melbourne

The 12 Apostles along the Great Ocean Road, outside Melbourne

Sport:

Sydney
Melbourne
Sport in Sydney is made up majorly of Rugby League fans, and up and coming soccer (football) teams. We have the best AFL Team in the country, and it slowly growing in the state of NSW as the red and white of Sydney Swans dominate the sport across the country - I am bias. Other than this nothing really compares to what Melbourne has to offer, so I might as well move on.Melbourne is undeniably the sport's capital of Australia. With some of the best venues in the country and worldwide, the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) makes the top 10 sporting stadium in the world in terms of visitors. Cricket isn't all that is played here, this is the home ground for many AFL Teams and is basically a sell out all year round. Out of the 18 AFL teams in Australia 8 are in Melbourne city, and the fans are fanatic. The atmosphere is a tourist destination, buy a ticket and go to a game. Melbourne is also home to the Australian Open every Summer, Formula 1 every March, and an ecstatic racing carnival with the very well known Melbourne Cup (this is a public holiday). There is more, and many more stadiums, arenas and parks that you can take in all the sport there is to offer. 

 Winner: Melbourne


I see the light on the way to the MCG
In our Sydney Swans gear at the MCG

Cricket at the MCG


Final Result: Sydney 3 - Melbourne 3






So overall, my 23 years living in Sydney and 18 months in Melbourne - I can't decide. Does this mean if I gave more time living in Melbourne, it could have won me over? Quite possibly. It means that I am a proud Australian to more than one city, but I still believe at least Sydney or Melbourne should be the capital. 


Which Australian city do you prefer?

I've also left a few resources to help you during you're visit to either city - and then let you decide: 

Sydney
Melbourne
Food: Urbanlist Top 50
Transport: Transport NSW
Sightseeing: Things to Do
Food: Urbanlist Top 50
Transport: Public Transport Victoria
Meeting People Bars/Nightlife: Newbies International
Sightseeing: Things to Do

 

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