The weekend hasn't improved my view on Sydney

[Mudnut]

I went to Sydney for work on the weekend. Traffic was lighter than I expected, but I would have been lost without a GPS. The accommodation was average at best (blame the company who was paying), no parking provided. Spent too much time trying to locate a place to legally park. Then my sunnies were stolen from my hotel room. I'll stick to the bush and FNQ!! Too stressful in the big smoke. ;)

p.s. Have to admit some good meals were consumed at the company expense!
Ken

[sheerluck]

I know what you mean. I've been offered jobs down there a couple of times, but refused each time. I think of Sydney as like my Mother-in-law's house - it's fine to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. :D

[robbotd5]

The best thing about Sydney is watching it disappear in your rearvision mirror.
Regards
Robbo

[Disco Muppet]

Well I had a wonderful time in Sydney.
I got to visit my girlfriend after a month apart (no retching sounds please :p )
Myself and Mattg got to disrupt traffic flow in a fancy hotel car park transferring a fire place from my car to his trailer, always a good laugh.
Got to have a chinwag with my fellow LRE blokes (and ladies).
Then I got to, as Robbo says, put it in my rear vision mirror :p

[ramblingboy42]

I'm with you Mudnut.....we should leave Sydney where it is and remove that fabulousely beautiful harbour to a place where people deserve to have it....

[Slunnie]

I like Sydney although it can be complex if you don't know or understand it. Spent last Sunday running through Hyde park, circular quay, the rocks, Star city, mrs mac quarries chair, went and viewed the Archibald prize etc display at the art galley, QVB coffee shop and so on. Sydney is easy and has some great stuff going on.

[bob10]

Ahh, the memories of Sydney. Going to work , a short walk from the Manly flat, Hydrofoil across, walk from the quay ,thru the Gardens, down Cowper Wharf road, thru the gate. Going home, the reverse, except Friday was drop into the Rockers, then the Bells, then the First & Last, Ferry home, sit on the balcony listen to the surf. Bit different from the four years spent at Quakers Hill, but that is another story, Bob

[FeatherWeightDriver]

So you lot should take pity on the folks like me who live here... :angel:


The best thing about Sydney is watching it disappear in your rearvision mirror.
Regards
Robbo

That's the truth and then some, especially when my car is full of gear for touring... ;)

[disco gazza]

The only thing I hate about Sydney is the traffic.
Especially on weekends...all the people that use public transport during the week are out and they just dont know how to drive. :censored:


cheers

[d3syd]

I love Sydney. Like anywhere there are crap parts and really beautiful parts. Few places in the world have waterways that can compare, the food is world class, shopping's great, culture and entertainment by the bucket loads. The traffic however is really getting bad.

As I live both in rural Tasmania (for the past 7.5 years) as well as Sydney, I would say country living definetely has it advantages - fresh air, no traffic jams (or traffic lights even), lots of personal space and peace and quiet.

However there are also plenty of disadvantages such as the lack of privacy (as everyone knows what everyone is up to in a small town), poor medical facilities, lack of good restaurants, lousy shopping (lucky there's ebay), an always active rumour mill, and a tedious parochial mentality in the local folk.

At the end of the day, personally I prefer to put up with the traffic jams, pollution and cramped lifestyle of the city in return for much more expansive mental stimulation. After all one can always head to the bush to go camping or a road trip for a "country fix" :)

[TwoUp]

AAHHHH Sydney,
South to North on "The Bridge" follow the signs and, "What's this" road works, stay in this lane, (I am going North), then separated from the other lanes, W/The, and Bingo heading for Parramatta? Ended well though.

What about 4 lanes, bunched, travelling at 110Km-Hr, my darling saying we should really be over there, and a solid mass of fast moving cars, only thing to do is go for it!!

Have to fess up now it was a rental car that quite clearly goes faster than any other car known to man! Save for a Faze three Shaker, or XU1 or how about a Goss Special that would be good on these roads. Actually the XU1 would out handle the rest but who am I.

Tunnels, from the Airport and being in the wrong lane?? Everyone knows how to keep peek hour momentum and be in the correct lane don't they?

Taxi's are a game enhancer whom have the presence to move freely and unexpectedly weaving from lanes to lanes.

Imagine then finishing in Woy Woy, how back to earth, apart from so many Ducks wandering the streets, they seem to be taking over the Patch! Could be a Hitchcock folly

PeterW

[Disco Muppet]

I don't mind the odd visit to Sydney, and I could live there if I had to.
But despite being born in one, I would never chose to live in a major city if I had any suitable options, it just doesn't suit my personality.

[Xtreme]

;)
Well I had a wonderful time in Sydney.
I got to visit my girlfriend after a month apart (no retching sounds please :p )
Myself and Mattg got to disrupt traffic flow in a fancy hotel car park transferring a fire place from my car to his trailer, always a good laugh.
Got to have a chinwag with my fellow LRE blokes (and ladies).
Then I got to, as Robbo says, put it in my rear vision mirror :p

You forgot to mention the 5 free tyres you were given at the LRE meeting. :D ;);););)

[The Cone of Silence]

Ok I'll bite.

I LOVE Sydney.

It's a love affair that started 11 years ago having moved here from London and like all love affairs, there have been some hard times and there's things about her that drive me crazy. I'd prefer to live in the countryside as I grew up in the sticks but sadly in my industry that's just not feasible.

Bad traffic, complicated one-way streets and bad road signs, a lack of parking and higher crime rates are to be expected of ANY big city in the world....I've been to plenty and they're all the same. You need to be there for a while to get used to it, that's all.

If those things are the price I pay for being able to sail on Sydney Harbour within 30 minutes of leaving work; for being able to access wonderful National Parks, State Forests and take part in just about any sport or recreation I can dream of all within an hour or so of work or home, then I'll take it every day of the week and twice on Sunday.

The climate is fabulous....seriously good. The topography and geology of the local surroundings are fantastic, there's no shortage of places to go out and have fun either with loads of people partying or in your own company, the arts culture is wonderful and let's not overlook the stunning architecture of the signature creations - the SOH and the Big Coat Hanger that take your breath away.

Horses for courses, I know. I too prefer the quietness of the countryside but I live here in a perfectly quiet place by the water that isn't insanely expensive and I'm incredibly close to the CBD. You can't do that in many big cities unless you're royalty or stupidly rich.

I think when you are unfamiliar with a big city and you visit it, you're always going to feel like an outsider and things won't be easy. You'll compare things to the familiar, smaller place you know....but if you did live here, you'd get used to it all pretty quickly and the good stuff would shine through.

I certainly found it a lot easier to settle in here than I did when I moved to London.

Bobby.

(Proud Sydneysider).

[TheTree]

Sydney is a great city for all the reasons people have mentioned, but it is also traffic mayhem these days.

Sydney drivers seem to treat the road as a racetrack, courtesy is extended very rarely. Gives me the total :censored: driving around there these days

Having lived on the Northern Beaches (great natural beauty, but a cultural wasteland) my move to the Central Coast seemed a natural progression.

I live in an area without bad traffic and relatively little pollution, but I am only an hour or so from all that Sydney has to offer.

And if i head north for an hour I am in the Watagans, Wyong State Forest etc :D

Steve
Who is old enough to have driven across the old Pyrmont bridge in an FB Holden :eek:

[bob10]

I love to visit Sydney, but I would never live there again. When we visit, we stay close to the Harbour,[ Rocks area, CBD, Manly] leave the car at the hotel, use public transport. Sydney has one of the best public transport systems in Australia, IMO. I can buy a ticket and use it all day, on trains ,buses & ferries, to travel as far as Newcastle, I think it is, & out to the Blue MTs. Or we walk, It's not that far from the CBD to Bondi, if you are fit. Potts point to Rushcutters Bay, on the edge of the Harbour, is a good walk. Ferry to Doyles restaurant, or to Balmain,Taronga zoo, plenty to do. Walk to the fish markets, a great lunch spot, Chinatown, good food.

Having said that, Sydney is a dirty old town, nowhere near as clean & fresh as Brisbane, the area around Chinatown a disgrace. Last time we were there, every street corner had its resident begger, not a good look. Still, it holds a lot of good memories, and we do like to visit. Bob

[Disco Muppet]

;)

You forgot to mention the 5 free tyres you were given at the LRE meeting. :D ;);););)

This is true, that was pretty awesome :D

[solmanic]

The most telling thing about Sydney for me is the fact that everyone I know who has moved there has eventually moved back to Brisbane.

[TheTree]

A
Imagine then finishing in Woy Woy, how back to earth, apart from so many Ducks wandering the streets, they seem to be taking over the Patch! Could be a Hitchcock folly

PeterW

The Central Coast has quite a few "duck crossing" roadsigns.. the ducks would not have a chance in Sydney :(

[Davo]

I haven't been in a city at all for over three years . . . I think I'll need therapy before my next trip.

[DiscoMick]

I used to think Sydney was too big and crowded until I moved to Bangkok for three years:eek: After that, Sydney seemed small and quiet. However, I now prefer Brisbane, which is large enough to be interesting, but small enough not to be annoying. Besides, I couldn't afford to buy in Sydney now. Its real estate prices are ridiculous!