Melbourne vs Sydney

Melbourne. You know I love you. Some would say it's unhealthy how much I rave about you, like I've joined some kind of cult. And don't get me started about Sydney, because although it's undeniably a beautiful, spectacular city, it's just not 'me'. Melbourne is, and others have come up with much better analogies as to why. I don't need to say any more than that.

But I'm come to realise that whilst Melburnians operate with one eye on Sydney, constantly trying to assert themselves via various differential points (sport, culture, food, coffee etc), I really don't think Sydneysiders give a toss the other way. It's the classic Little Brother Syndrome, even though in pure population terms, there isn't much difference. Melbourne likes to look at Sydney as being a shallow, flashy, attention seeker, and yet can't resist the urge to try and score points in a similar vein. In a way, it derides Sydney for being how it is, and then sometimes acts like an attention-seeking brat, throwing a tantrum that visitors get seduced by the Harbour City.

Case in point, an article in todays Age, reporting a study commissioned by the Victorian Government (therefore hardly likely to be the most objective), of which the summary is "look at all these things people think Melbourne is better than Sydney for". To me, this just seems like petty points scoring on the part of politicians, and The Age has come along for the ride. Flicking through today's paper, I saw at least two or three other occasions where the writer could not pass up on the opportunity to have another sly dig at their 'competitor' over the border in New South Wales.

I like to paint Sydney as the pantomime villain, as do most others down here. Hell, when in Sydney, I even have a habit of keeping score out loud as to why I prefer Melbourne. It's fun. But maybe Melbourne needs to be more comfortable in its own skin and stop looking over the border at Sydney.

A re-introduction of sorts ....

I first came to Australia in September 2002, having finished University back in the UK a few months prior. If you’d have told me before Uni that I’d be flying to the other side of the world on my own and spending nearly 10 months away from home I’d have probably laughed (albeit quietly) in your face. Most people who had known me for any length of time would probably have told you it wasn’t the sort of thing I do. But, to me, it seemed like the right thing to do, and something I needed to do. Sure, it was another Western country, and as things turned out, I wouldn’t exactly end up roughing it, but in the nearly seven years since, I haven’t regretted a single minute of it. Now I’m back living in Melbourne, have been here nearly two years this time, and can honestly say I feel more at home here than anywhere else in the world.

They say you’re either a Sydney or a Melbourne person. I agree, and have already (in my head) put most people I know back in the UK into one category for the other. On trips to Sydney, I still have a habit of keeping a running, out-loud score between the two cities. Perhaps it was the relationship with a local girl that started not long after I arrived, but I fell instantly into the latter. To me, Melbourne was a beguiling mixture of familiarity (its European-style buildings, its seasons, the language) that put me at ease, combined with the isolation that came from being so far away from home. It was a big place, bigger than Norwich, the regional city where I’d spent the first 21 years of my life, and not as big and overwhelming as London, which I had regularly visited, and would subsequently spend nearly four years living in between 2003 and 2007. I liked the fact that it wasn’t as flashy and ‘obvious’ as Sydney, that it had inner suburbs, each with their own distinct character and appeal, and I loved the fact that it ticked my three personal ‘big boxes’; the things that make up a very important part of my life; namely music, food, and sport.

A fair bit has happened since I first started writing in this blog, during the considerable downtime between the last post and this one. Some of these may end up being discussed here, most won’t be. My idea now is to structure future posts around the three things that make me love Melbourne as much as I do. It really is a fantastic city for all three....