When hearing the news of our move, many people ask "why?" Which, I suppose, is a fair enough question. By way of an answer (because how can you answer that quickly?) I tend, at this time, to talk about the different types of cities Sydney and Melbourne are.
Can I really speak to the differences between two cities having only ever lived in one of them? Not really, which is why this post is tagged 'myths.' I intend to explore the myths of Sydney and Melbourne along our journey.
Sydney is often accused of being overly concerned with appearances. With a harbour like we have, can this come as a surprise? Sydney is all go, go, go. Chaotic, unplanned. If you will - in Sydney it is all about the Bling Bling. Do I believe this about my home (and birth) city? Perhaps, there's plenty of evidence around if you care to look for it - however we don't really run in those circles.
Or do we?
On to Melbourne. The pace is said to be slower than Sydney. Everyone, yes everyone has to follow an AFL team, at least nominally. Often international musical acts seem to perform more dates in Melbourne than anywhere else in the country. From what we've seen in our visits the city seems a little more Bohemian, which would suit us. The city is somewhat planned, public transport is, well perhaps not better but different!
Melbourne is a city that could put on a regular 24 hour Science Fiction movie marathon for some years - in Sydney the best we could get was a single 12 hour event. Even then the residents complained so much about the cinema that eventually it was shut down and turned into apartments. Long live the Valhalla.
In summary, I usually say something along these lines "Melbourne seems to be more like our kind of people." This gets nods of agreement, by and large, whether from politeness, understanding or wisdom. Doesn't really matter. We'll find out, soon enough.
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3 comments:
We will be extremely sad to see you go - Saying farewell to good friends is never easy. For purely selfish reasons we wish it wasn't so.
But we do wish you well and very much hope you find what you are looking for. Personally I would almost sell my own soul to get out of Sydney, but as you are aware that goal is out of reach for now.
J.
There's a widely acknowledged parallel with the LA/SF wars - LA, obviously, being Sydney - which makes me think that if I do ever move back to Australia, it might be fun to live in Melbourne.
@agronaught Of course saying goodbye to friends will be hard to do - I'm pretty sure the kids don't really understand that part of the move yet.
@yatima The LA/SF wars are news to me, although not very surprising news .. this must go on all over the world.
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