Thread: The weekend hasn't improved my view on Sydney

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.

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Well I had a wonderful time in Sydney.
I got to visit my girlfriend after a month apart (no retching sounds please )
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

You forgot to mention the 5 free tyres you were given at the LRE meeting.

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).

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 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

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

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

Originally Posted by Xtreme

You forgot to mention the 5 free tyres you were given at the LRE meeting.

This is true, that was pretty awesome

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.

Originally Posted by TwoUp

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