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Melbourne vs Sydney part 2

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posted on 15/3/24

Australia was never at the top of my places to visit but now I kind of want to live there.



Spiders the size of plates, poisonous everything, relentless heat, bush fires , gigsntic crocodiles, every deadly snake in the world, gigantic bats, clouds of mosquitos that block out the sun will change that. And that before we even get to the Aussies.

posted on 15/3/24

"Melbourne is very nice, and seems like a very liveable city. Great infrastructure, food, lots of scruffy mid-gentrification neighborhoods, very diverse and from my superficial impression feels very comfortable with this. Met quite a lot of relocated Brits and every single one of them had an air of 'best decision I ever made'."

You'd probably find this for all the major Australian cities to one degree or another! Worth checking them all out at some point and the rest of the country has tonnes of amazing places visit of course.

posted on 15/3/24

comment by Baz tard - Ineos your face, proud owner of the 100k comment, fack you Michael Edward’s and your 5m, th (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
Australia was never at the top of my places to visit but now I kind of want to live there.



Spiders the size of plates, poisonous everything, relentless heat, bush fires , gigsntic crocodiles, every deadly snake in the world, gigantic bats, clouds of mosquitos that block out the sun will change that. And that before we even get to the Aussies.
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Are there a lot of these deadly things in the actual cities though? I mean if you live in a swanky part of Sydney are you ever likely to be bothered by any of these things?

posted on 15/3/24

It sounds good RR. I'd like to visit, but too old. And when I was younger never fancied it.

posted on 15/3/24

comment by manusince52 (U9692)
posted 5 hours, 47 minutes ago
It sounds good RR. I'd like to visit, but too old. And when I was younger never fancied it.
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I used to think 'why go so far to visit a place that's culturally quite similar to where I come from?' and if honest maybe slightly looked down on the kind of person who wanted to go there because they regarded it as 'like Britain but with better weather'. But wherever you go, the closer you look at a place, the more culturally unique it is. And as for Australia, it's far less homogeneous and Anglo-influenced (at least in the big cities) than it was when I was a youngster.

posted on 15/3/24

comment by Striketeam7 - There used to be a football club over there (U18109)
posted 6 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by Baz tard - Ineos your face, proud owner of the 100k comment, fack you Michael Edward’s and your 5m, th (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
Australia was never at the top of my places to visit but now I kind of want to live there.



Spiders the size of plates, poisonous everything, relentless heat, bush fires , gigsntic crocodiles, every deadly snake in the world, gigantic bats, clouds of mosquitos that block out the sun will change that. And that before we even get to the Aussies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Are there a lot of these deadly things in the actual cities though? I mean if you live in a swanky part of Sydney are you ever likely to be bothered by any of these things?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't want to speak for Baz, but I got a sense that his comment may have been ever so slightly tongue in cheek.

posted on 15/3/24

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 second ago
comment by Striketeam7 - There used to be a football club over there (U18109)
posted 6 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by Baz tard - Ineos your face, proud owner of the 100k comment, fack you Michael Edward’s and your 5m, th (U19119)
posted 2 hours, 29 minutes ago
Australia was never at the top of my places to visit but now I kind of want to live there.



Spiders the size of plates, poisonous everything, relentless heat, bush fires , gigsntic crocodiles, every deadly snake in the world, gigantic bats, clouds of mosquitos that block out the sun will change that. And that before we even get to the Aussies.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Are there a lot of these deadly things in the actual cities though? I mean if you live in a swanky part of Sydney are you ever likely to be bothered by any of these things?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't want to speak for Baz, but I got a sense that his comment may have been ever so slightly tongue in cheek.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

...but so far my wildlife encounters have been mainly:

Seagulls
Pigeons
Minah birds (which seem to be equivalent to feral pigeons in Asia Pacific)
A duck

The sense of exotic comes more from the tree life, only I don't know the names of the species.

posted on 16/3/24

Just about to fly back to Melbourne. Those who told me I must see Sydney were right. The Harbour Bridge, despite being such a familiar thing, really takes your breath away. Took the ferry to Manly, where I spent much of my day. What a city!

posted on 17/3/24

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 17 hours, 51 minutes ago
Just about to fly back to Melbourne. Those who told me I must see Sydney were right. The Harbour Bridge, despite being such a familiar thing, really takes your breath away. Took the ferry to Manly, where I spent much of my day. What a city!
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Great stuff! Yes it really is a spectacular City and excellent choice taking the ferry ride, just a regular commute for many but also a stunning attraction for a couple of dollars. If you do decide to go back a couple of nice things to do are a day trip into the Blue Mountains, which is doable on public transport but easier if you rent a car. Explore the northern beaches area and also do the Bondi to Coogee walk.

You'll find plenty of good food players in various suburbs, again it's very multicultural so there's pockets of quality food types from around the world plus all sorts of fancy dining places around the affluent areas.

If you get longer in Aus the entire coast line from the Sunshine Coast (a couple hours north of Brisbane), all the way down and round to Adelaide is well worth exploring. From the Sunshine Coast down to Narooma approx 4 hours South of Sydney is my favourite stretch but it's something better done over at least a month.

posted on 5/4/24

Sydney is probably my favourite city. Just awesome and the ladies are phenomenal, by far the best collection of hotties i have seen anywhere.

Being able to gamble in the bars was a problem, playing Keno. Beer and plowing through money for a few hours.

Would defo move to Oz for a bit.

posted on 5/4/24

comment by Cinciwolf-----JA606 NFL fantasy champ 2023 (U11551)
posted 4 hours, 17 minutes ago
Sydney is probably my favourite city. Just awesome and the ladies are phenomenal, by far the best collection of hotties i have seen anywhere.

Being able to gamble in the bars was a problem, playing Keno. Beer and plowing through money for a few hours.

Would defo move to Oz for a bit.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Sydney is breathtaking. I came away with more affection for Melbourne, but that's probably because I got to hang out in various neighbourhoods, whereas in my <24 hours in Sydney I only got to see the sights. I guess it also has lots of cool areas, just didn't have time to sample them.

posted on 5/4/24

Glad you liked it RR. It’s (in my humble opinion) a great place to live and whilst not without its faults, is a far more positive and forward looking country than what the UK has become sadly. People here are generally very friendly and caring. The UK in people’s terms is like a grumpy grandparent whereas Australia is like a teenager if that analogy means anything 😂.

Also glad you got to Sydney, it’s just a great city in many ways and I feel privileged to live here (even though last night the rain was monsoon level and I thought I’d become a watery statistic).

And as for the AFL, how good was the MCG? Sorry your adopted team was whipped but did you get the AFL big enough to watch every week? The whole league is an egalitarian utopia compared to the behemoth the PL has become. And the game itself is thrilling.

posted on 5/4/24

*AFL bug

posted on 6/4/24

Robb, thanks for replying. (Had you seen this thread while I was there, I'd have suggested going for a beer.)

I admit I I've always been a bit sniffy about British people who had Australia at the top of their travel list, with that 'it's like England but with great weather' motivation. If I travel, it's because I want to see places that aren't like where I come from. But of course it was never going to be just a sunny version of England. I found it both fascinating - a socially dynamic country which is rapidly getting more diverse, and (from the superficial level I could judge) pretty comfortable with that and pretty good at integrating new Australians. And I felt that relaxed friendliness the instant I arrived. When I go to the States, I usually feel a huge wave of alienation on arrival, which passes after about 24 hours. In Australia I immediately felt comfortable. My recurring feeling about Melbourne was that it felt like a very liveable city. Maybe I'd qualify that view if I looked at the cost of housing. BTW I met lots of ex-Brits there, and none of them regretted leaving the motherland.

As for the footie and the MCG, it was a good rather than great experience. I think it would have been more compelling had it been packed (only 44k crowd so it was about half full) and had it been under the floodlights. I ended up moving to the top tier (general admission) from the one below to get in the shade because the sun was really fierce and I'd got a bit burnt walking about in Manly the previous day, where I forgot to apply sunscreen until the middle of the day.

posted on 6/4/24

It’s a shame I took my break at that time as I absolutely would have grabbed a beer with you. Maybe next time you swing by for longer we can catch up.

Shame about the footie, you’re right - night games at a full MCG are unrivalled but also next to impossible to get tickets for. Keep watching the games though - this weekend we had the ‘Gather Round’ where all the games were played in Adelaide in an attempt to get more fans involved in that part of the country and it’s been a roaring success.

And finally you’re very right about the comparisons between the US and Oz. The US is great in so many ways but in others there’s this strange sickness at the heart of it all. When I was younger, raised on films and TV from the US I wanted to live there, I even did the Green Card lottery for a few years but now you couldn’t pay me to live there. If the UK continues its own downward spiral which I sadly saw happening back when I left during Covid then you really should look into moving here. Unless you’re rich probably avoid Sydney. Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane are all great options. Let me know if one days that’s a serious option for you and I’ll do what I can to assist 🫸🏻

posted on 6/4/24

Almost worth moving to Oz just for the Tim Tams

posted on 6/4/24

RR: robb I’ll be in Sydney in 2 days, fancy a beer?
Robb: sure RR I’ll meet you in x bar at King’s Cross. (Runs out of house, gets taxi, boards plane at Heathrow, 36 hours later, lands in Sydney, taxi x to bar, hi RR. Na I just live around the corner….

posted on 6/4/24

comment by Cinciwolf-----JA606 NFL fantasy champ 2023 (U11551)
posted 7 hours, 49 minutes ago
Almost worth moving to Oz just for the Tim Tams
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I brought some back for my colleagues. They're basically Penguin bars, aren't they?

posted on 6/4/24

comment by Robb Garnacho (U22716)
posted 9 hours, 3 minutes ago
It’s a shame I took my break at that time as I absolutely would have grabbed a beer with you. Maybe next time you swing by for longer we can catch up.

Shame about the footie, you’re right - night games at a full MCG are unrivalled but also next to impossible to get tickets for. Keep watching the games though - this weekend we had the ‘Gather Round’ where all the games were played in Adelaide in an attempt to get more fans involved in that part of the country and it’s been a roaring success.

And finally you’re very right about the comparisons between the US and Oz. The US is great in so many ways but in others there’s this strange sickness at the heart of it all. When I was younger, raised on films and TV from the US I wanted to live there, I even did the Green Card lottery for a few years but now you couldn’t pay me to live there. If the UK continues its own downward spiral which I sadly saw happening back when I left during Covid then you really should look into moving here. Unless you’re rich probably avoid Sydney. Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane are all great options. Let me know if one days that’s a serious option for you and I’ll do what I can to assist 🫸🏻
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Robb. I certainly hope to be back someday. Will message you well in advance in case you're doing another sabbatical/digital detox.

posted on 7/4/24

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 7 hours ago
comment by Cinciwolf-----JA606 NFL fantasy champ 2023 (U11551)
posted 7 hours, 49 minutes ago
Almost worth moving to Oz just for the Tim Tams
----------------------------------------------------------------------

I brought some back for my colleagues. They're basically Penguin bars, aren't they?
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah quite similar, just lighter to the bite and honestly about as good as it gets. I pick them up from a world market out here sometimes when the urge hits.

posted on 7/4/24

At the risk of being filtered by Robb, I was underwhelmed by Tim Tams. Consensus in the office was that the biscuit is better than a Penguin but the chocolate worse. Then again, if you're in the States, you're probably accustomed to sнitе chocolate.

posted on 7/4/24

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
At the risk of being filtered by Robb, I was underwhelmed by Tim Tams. Consensus in the office was that the biscuit is better than a Penguin but the chocolate worse. Then again, if you're in the States, you're probably accustomed to sнitе chocolate.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Yeah chocolate here is shocking. Thankfully good international stuff is readily available these days.

posted on 7/4/24

comment by Red Russian (U4715)
posted 18 hours, 11 minutes ago
comment by Robb Garnacho (U22716)
posted 9 hours, 3 minutes ago
It’s a shame I took my break at that time as I absolutely would have grabbed a beer with you. Maybe next time you swing by for longer we can catch up.

Shame about the footie, you’re right - night games at a full MCG are unrivalled but also next to impossible to get tickets for. Keep watching the games though - this weekend we had the ‘Gather Round’ where all the games were played in Adelaide in an attempt to get more fans involved in that part of the country and it’s been a roaring success.

And finally you’re very right about the comparisons between the US and Oz. The US is great in so many ways but in others there’s this strange sickness at the heart of it all. When I was younger, raised on films and TV from the US I wanted to live there, I even did the Green Card lottery for a few years but now you couldn’t pay me to live there. If the UK continues its own downward spiral which I sadly saw happening back when I left during Covid then you really should look into moving here. Unless you’re rich probably avoid Sydney. Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane are all great options. Let me know if one days that’s a serious option for you and I’ll do what I can to assist 🫸🏻
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks Robb. I certainly hope to be back someday. Will message you well in advance in case you're doing another sabbatical/digital detox.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

👍

posted on 25/8/24

Robb, just wanted to check in as I watched the Dogs' first game of the season live and just watched their final one on TV. They've been on a bit of a journey since then. Were pretty awful against Melbourne back in the spring (autumn) but have now cruised into the post-season. Did you say you're a follower of Sydney Swans? We're coming for you!

posted on 25/8/24

Yeah they’re doing well. Was a bit of a crazy game for them yesterday as needed to win to confirm being in the finals but the game was played in Ballarat in insane winds as you saw. They very well could win the whole thing although Hawthorn with an exciting team of young fearless players (kinda like the blueprint you hope United under Ten Hag adopt ) are tearing up games. If you guys beat them you might just go all the way. Will be a sellout at the MCG so be sure to watch as AFL finals are hugely exciting one off games.

I guess that’s kind of why I like the finals system over the PL style league. Makes the end of the season more exciting and you can still win the whole thing even if you have a bad couple of months due to injuries or form - like it used to be in England before the advent of 100 point winning seasons.

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