Melbourne vs. Sydney – Here’s Why Sydney Should Win

Moments before the sun rises over Sydney Harbour.

In most arguments where Melbourne vs. Sydney, Melbourne usually comes out on top.

I disagree. Here’s why.

And full disclaimer – I freaking love Melbourne. Like obsession level, cutting-letters-out-of-newspapers-and-sending-it-fan-notes type love. I’ve wanted to live in this city for years and now that I do, it’s like a dream come true. Melbourne deserves all the hype it receives… and more.

Yet, the other day once again I found myself having to defend Sydney to a group of other Australians, who all lived in Melbourne (but weren’t from there) and had spent minimal time in the NSW capital. This happens a lot. Melbourne’s got plenty of fans, both across the country and worldwide. On the other hand, everyone loves to dump on Sydney.

When people ask where I’m from, after having an existential crisis (I’ve moved around a lot in my life), I usually settle on Sydney. It’s where I was born and I’ve lived there for half my years on earth, as a kid and an adult. No matter where I am, I’ll always be a Sydneysider at heart and so will be quick to both defend it and point out its superior qualities over every other city in Australia. Particularly Melbourne.

As always… this is all in good fun. Both cities are fantastic for different reasons. I just want to point out that Sydney is a cool place to visit in its own right and can certainly stand on its own feet against Melbourne’s street cred. (Heading to the city on a layover? Here’s what you can see in Sydney in 4 hours. It’s a lot!).

So, here’s why Sydney is better than Melbourne. There are a few reasons, some of which are pretty hard to argue with!

So delightfully straight forward.

1. Sydney has a railway link to its airport

There’s this great myth in NSW that Melbourne has really great public transport. I guess it does… for Australia. Unless you don’t live near a train station or tram stop, then it’s not so fun. Yet, Melbourne is missing one I think quite fundamental thing that Sydney does happen to have – a bloody train line out to Tullamarine airport.

“Oh, but you can catch the Skybus!” Yes, you can and I’ll admit, it’s a solution of sorts for travellers or people living south of the city. Yet, for someone like me, who lives a twenty minute drive to Tullamarine, I have four options:

1. Catch the train twenty minutes south to Southern Cross Station. Pay the $19 for the Skybus to head back north to the airport. Note – this is what Google Maps tells me to do and it is insanity.
2. Walk ten minutes with my luggage. Catch a tram for half an hour and try to make it to the bus that drives straight to the airport, which takes another forty minutes, with only one running every hour.
3. Catch an Uber for twenty-six-ish bucks. Be there in twenty minutes.
4. Make friends with someone who lives nearby who has a car (working on it).

Obviously I’m going to swallow my pride and call an Uber. Time is money as they say and the expense is the same as catching the Skybus from my place anyway. Did I mention I live twenty minutes away from the airport? (Here are some tips for successfully navigating Sydney’s Airport line.)

On the flip side, in Sydney you catch a train to Central Station and then another, which gets you to the airport in two stops. People complain regularly about the price of the ticket, because you only go a short distance. They are missing the point. You go two stops and you are at the airport.

And for the record, the train is still cheaper than the Skybus, at $13.80 a pop.

So when people try to dispute the obvious fact that Sydney is better than Melbourne, I say: “well, Sydney has a train line to its airport.”

This usually shuts them up. Or at least leads them to mutter insults directed at the Victorian government under their breath.

2. The weather is generally better

I type this with some trepidation, as Melbourne’s weather has actually been quite nice since I moved here, but then everyone keeps telling me this is not the norm.

Although it rains a lot in Sydney, the weather is generally pretty okay all year round. Especially in the winter, which is mild and lovely.

Melbourne on the other hand, is rather notorious for being windy and grey. The city reminds me so much of London sometimes, it’s not funny.

Coogee Beach in Sydney.

3. Sydney has beaches

Sydney’s coastline trumps Melbourne’s, big time. The city is home to some of the finest beaches in the world and there are stacks of places where you can have a little paddle or laze around in the sunshine, over a 100 in fact. Only a few are really popular with tourists as well (Bondi, Coogee and Manly notably), so you won’t necessarily find yourself battling the crowds. There are also some fantastic coastal walks to be found in Sydney.

Melburnians aren’t quite so lucky. There are some nice enough beaches along the Mornington Peninsula and holy crap, is the Great Ocean Road’s coastline gorgeous, or what? But if you’re coming from the city, you have to travel a whole lot further to get to a decent beach. Not to mention that the water is a heckload colder down south.

I’m sorry but St Kilda Beach doesn’t quite cut it.

4. There are pockets of cool, rather than having it shoved into your face

When people make the argument of Melbourne just being “cooler” than Sydney, I will reply by yelling something along the lines of “SYDNEY IS COOL TOO, IT JUST DOESN’T FEEL THE NEED TO REMIND YOU OF THAT FACT EVERY FIVE SECONDS.”

I stand by this slightly aggressive statement. What I’ve always liked about Sydney, is that it is a city for the locals. You really do have to be in the know to in turn, know where to go. When one suburb (Newtown, I’m looking at you) starts to get super trendy among visitors, there’s always another waiting in line to slide into its spot.

Two Australian icons, for the price of one.

5. Sydney has the icons

I’ve never, ever heard anyone say: “I’ve always wanted to travel to Australia to see Flinders Street Station or Federation Square!” Nope. If it’s not Uluru, it’s Bondi Beach, the Harbour Bridge or the Sydney Opera House.

It seems that every part of Sydney is Instagrammable. It’s a photographers dream.

Sydney has the sights, there’s no argument there.

6. Harbours win over rivers, any time

And the harbour. Oh, the harbour. Whenever I was in a stink with the city or life in general, I would simply have to train it to Circular Quay and take one look at Sydney Harbour. Then I’d realise Oh yeah, I live here. This is my home, and all my worries would fade away.

I consider myself sort of well-travelled and I’m yet to step foot in a city as beautiful as Sydney. There’s been some strong contenders. But building a city around one of the loveliest natural harbours in the world? That’s a hard one to beat.

It is these sights of course, which help make the city such a great spot for end of the year celebrations. (Here are some tips for finding the perfect spots for New Year’s Eve in Sydney.)

A cormorant dries its wings in the morning sunshine.

7. Nature is more accessible from Sydney

Going on from that point, it’s quite easy to access nature from Sydney’s CBD. The east coastline is a short drive or bus trip away and there are many lovely walks to be done, such as the famous Bondi to Coogee Coastal Walk. You journey for half an hour and you’re in the beautiful Central Coast and the views just get prettier the further south you go.

A train from Central Station will also take you to the Blue Mountains, in under two hours. That’s easily a day trip, in Oz.

8. Which lends itself to a pretty healthy lifestyle

I was in the best shape of my life in Sydney. No joke.

Combine the weather, the scenic walks and running routes and the constant need to be beach body ready and you’ve got a whole city full of fitness freaks.

Sydneysiders chug down green smoothies the way Melburnians attack their daily coffees. I don’t have to remind you which one is better for your overall health.

The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) in Australia’s “sports capital”.

9. There’s less of a fuss about AFL and sports in general

I’m not a fan of sports, barring the diving at the Olympics. Maybe it’s for that reason, or purely because I come from New South Wales that I’ve never been a fan of Aussie Rules. This game is treated like a religion across Australia, bar NSW and Queensland who centre more on Rugby League. I only like this sport slightly more because I’ve been forced to understand what’s actually going on during the 80 minutes of play.

Melbourne is the “sports capital” of Australia, which is great for some, but upsetting for others like me. You just can’t escape it – especially the AFL. I got around in Sydney being mostly unbothered by football fans, but there are swarms of them in Melbourne. It’s inescapable.

You can eat brunch then go for a dip at the Bondi Baths.

10. Sydney has the best brunch

Yeah, okay another controversial point, but I really do prefer Sydney’s cafe scene to Melbourne’s BUT ONLY BY SLIGHTLY MORE. Melbourne’s tends to focus more on the coffee and… well, I don’t drink the stuff, so I feel a little left out. And there’s nothing like having brunch by the beach. Please see my aforementioned point about Sydney’s beach scene and you’ll understand.

11. Sydney drivers have better manners

I admittedly have driven around Sydney a lot more than I have in Melbourne, but Melbourne’s roads have left me somewhat terrified.

In Sydney, most drivers are resigned to having to treat the main motorways like a parking lot and will generally do nice things like not cut other people off and let them merge into their lane. Melbourne drivers on the other hand seem to take a lot of unnecessary risks and are quite aggressive. Maybe they just get really tired of getting stuck behind trams all the time? I don’t know exactly why.

Plus, you get to drive over the Harbour Bridge.

12. And the city is easier to drive around in

I’ve heard people talk negatively about Sydney’s “spaghetti street mess”, but I find the city quite easy to get around. Everything is clearly labelled and you don’t have to deal with trams, hook turns or anything else of the sort.

Sydney is a city where everyone is resigned to driving around. Melbourne has sort of half-heartedly tried to do the public transport thing and is now seemingly stuck between the two.

13. Everyone talks down on the city and Sydneysiders couldn’t care less

This is what I love the most about Sydneysiders. They know how the rest of the country feels about them and they could not give a toss.

And why would they? For all its problems (infrastructure, housing prices, population explosion, etc), Sydney is still one of the most beautiful and exciting cities in the world. You can have a truly excellent life there.

So, I think it is evident that Sydney is better than Melbourne. Yet, there’s one overriding reason why I at least, settled on Melbourne over Sydney…

Melbourne is currently slightly cheaper to live in.

And that is a fact that can’t be ignored.

Do you have a favourite between Australia’s two biggest cities?

The picture at the top of this post was taken at the YHA at the Rocks, which provides travellers with million dollar views, within an affordable budget. Click here for current availability and prices. Or, you can check out other hotel prices in Sydney here.

Read this post for some general travel tips for Australia.

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