Melbourne vs. Sydney
Jan 10th, 2008 by Nick
While I knew that there would be differences between Melbourne and Sydney, I did not think they’d be so pronounced and yet so difficult to explain. The best way I can put it is that Sydney feels like a city where people work, and Melbourne feels like a city where people live. It sounds stupid, I know. But I never quite felt comfortable in Sydney, and I immediately felt comfortable on my own in Melbourne. I got out of the hotel on Thursday morning and knocked out three hours of wandering around and looking at architecture, gardens, sporting venues, the river, and only broke a sweat because the temperature got to 102 and I needed to cool off.
The confounding factor, of course, is that I have extended family here, specifically my father’s cousins and their children and grandchildren. A couple of my second cousins had visited Chicago at one point, but that was about it. I had planned on giving them a month’s notice that I was going to be visiting. With all that happened in December, it ended up being “I’ll call when I get to Sydney, that’ll be five days.” Then I got sick, and it ended up being 24 hours notice.
Needless to say, they’ve been wonderful, and have taken upon themselves the desire to maximize my stay. Most of what residents think are great Melbourne sights are actually day trips: Phillip Island penguins, Great Ocean Road, gold mines, vineyards. So to them, what was originally six days (four now, two on the way back) and is now five (four plus one) with me in still dodgy health, it feels criminally short to them. 3 days in Sydney, 2 in Ayers Rock, and 15 in Victoria overall sounds better.
Hey Nick,
I like your statement “…Sydney feels like a city where people work, and Melbourne feels like a city where people live.” If it’s stupid, so am I (let’s not go there). It reminded me why I like to go to Washington, DC. Sure, the places around the Capitol, Pennsylvania Avenue, and the Mall clearly feel like a city where people work (not to mention the hordes of tourists). But go to neighborhoods in DC and the feeling is very different. We like to stay within a few blocks of Dupont Circle (last time it was the Washington Marriott), and this neighborhood seems to boast that locals hang out in the restaurants, stores, parks, and Saturday markets. We feel immediately comfortable there.