What does the title mean, Bling to Swing?

This is no Seachange. No Treechange. What is it? I tried to encapsulate the change by reference to the fundamental character of the cities ... this is hugely subjective of course, but it is all about my point of view after all.

Over the past decade or so the popular culture here has begun to name these big moves in people's lives. Starting with the Sea-change, then to the Tree-change and more besides. Of course the term isn't new, we can trace it at least back to Shakespeare, taken from the song in The Tempest, when Ariel sings :

Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change,
into something rich and strange,

Enough of me being pretentious, preachy and just showing off my Googling skills.

In the post "Moomba vs Mardi Gras" I did delve into the differing characteristics (at least the widely held ones) of Sydney and Melbourne that lead me to the title "From Bling to Swing." We're hoping to be more in touch with the, dare I call it bohemian, lifestyle that Melbourne appears to offer.

So, about the byline then?

When I asked, on Twitter, what this blog should be called I received some really great responses. Some really smart-arsed ones as well! However the one that stood out immediately was from @lelak : "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Yarra"

What a terrific encapsulation of our move away from the frantic, property obessed Sydney lifestyle to embrace the city with the upside down river.

Now all we need is a plan and some action.

Moomba vs Mardi Gras

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.