Sydney vs. Brisbane?

[MsGreenEyes]

Hi all...this is my first post on here. I'm going to make the move to Australia come January (coming from Toronto) and I'm trying to decide on where I would like to reside. I'm looking at either Sydney or Brisbane but I would like to get some info on the differences, similarities, pros & cons of both. I'm in my late 20's and will be coming on my own so the more help I can get the better! Thanks!

[MissBirdie]

Hi Ms.Greeneyes,

...(my first post here too)

I too am in my late 20's and dying to get make my escape from Canada. I will be going to Oz on my own too! So awesome to know there are other fun fearless femmes out there like myself!

I'm thinking Brisbane myself, but Syndey is a possibility.

Have you filed all your forms, etc? What visa are you going there on? If you'd like to e-mail me, i'm sure we'll have tons to discuss! I was thinking about heading over around Feb-March 2010.


Cheers!! Lisa

-- Sat Jul 25, 2009 1:25 pm --

p.s. I'm from Toronto too!!!

[ShawnMcCrea]

Honestly for starters you guys should really try Britishexpats.com. I know it says its for British people but there are Canadians on there as well and there are a ton more users and you get a lot quicker responses.

There is also a ton of threads answering this question FYI. But just in terms of general info about both cities (both of which I have visited).

Population wise Syndey is a lot larger and therefor a lot more traffic, jobs, etc. I guess you could say Sydney is similar to Toronto in that its the financial center of the country.

Brisbane is on a river and not the ocean so there are no real beaches right there (artifical one though). Brisbanes temperature is a lot warmer year round and a lot more humid as opposed to Sydney.

I didnt notice to much but they say Brisbane is a lot more laid back than Sydney. Which makes sense since its less than a third of the population. Personally loved both, but didnt spend enough time in either to get a real feel of everyday life. Brisbane is close to the Gold Coast, which has realy touristy areas that can be fun to some people and not to others. Gorgeous beaches an hour away on the gold coast though. Brisbane is also sort of the gateway to the great barrier reef.

Sydney has a million suburbs, good surfing, great year round climate, beautiful scenery. Im blabbing randomely I know

Anyways if you have any pros/cons etc that you specifically want to know about ask away.

[MsGreenEyes]

Thanks for your reply. I did check out Britishexpats and there was a lot of info on that site thanks! Right now I'm leaning towards Sydney since there are so many beaches right there. I would love to be able to have the ability to get home from work and take a quick dip in the ocean...that would be ideal!
Bondi beach and Manly are two places I'm thinking of hanging my hat (at this moment in time). Any thoughts? I'm in my late 20's so ideally I would like to live in a place with people in and around my age bracket. Would you be able to recommend neighbourhoods in Sydney & Brisbane?
I do have to ask about the creepy crawlies...what should I expect (I know, I know such a girlie question but I need to at least prepare myself haha)?

[ShawnMcCrea]

Bondi Beach and manly are two amazing and expensive places to live. Im in my mid 20's and would love to live in either of those places. I didnt spend to much time in either as I only had 3 months in AUS total, but friends from back home I met up with did and they couldnt get enough of either place. I know they can tend to have a lot of tourists but the surfing is incredible at both and they are both lively, party places to be for people around our age.

Unfortunately I am not very familar enough with neighbourhoods in either city and wouldnt want to pretend to give you advice. The little I know is Southbank in Brisbane is active and busy and basically downtown. There are a ton of suburbs and such in Sydney though its ridiculous and a lot to take in. You will again get a lot of that type of info on British Expats as ive read through similar questions.

Brissy is about an hour/45 minutes away from the Gold Coast. Not sure if you have heard of this region or any of the towns/cities there but this is a whole different ball game. Most of the places here are on the beach or close by and the combined population is approx 1 million people between them all. Surfers Paradise is an insane party spot but apparently not good to live at.

As for creapy crawlies there are a lot more in Brisbane as it is more tropical and a lot more warmer and humid year round. I didnt find this to be a big issue or have any run ins with anything crazy. There are big spiders and such but not walking around everywhere. AUS is known in general though for having a lot of critters. Are you referring to just bugs or reptiles too? But again generally this wasnt a big issue for me. Geckos sometimes would be inside where your staying, the odd big cockroach, different kinds of ants can be everywhere. The big harmless orb spiders I think there called tend to scare people, but i only really saw them at night lit up with the street lights.

[birssyangie]

Hi There,

I'm Canadian and I have been living in Brisbane for about 10 months now. I've been to Sydney as well, only briefly, but will give you the best (and least bias) opinion I can.

First, I think everyone’s given you the drift that these cities are not on the same level -- Sydney's the capital (and not in an Ottawa kind of way, no offence to anyone). It's big, it's beachy and... It’s expensive. It's architectural. It's touristy and it's fast-paced.

Brisbane? It's not the capital. It's the city that’s up until recently really felt like a town. It's the fastest growing city in Australia now, and it shows with major infrastructure and a strong economy. The arts & Culture scene is playing catch up with Melbourne and Sydney, but it's making good pace. It's on the river, so you can’t hop out the front door for a dip.

I've lived in Melbourne, Perth and now Brisbane and have travelled everywhere except Taz and I can say that I too once imagined life in Aus with the beach at my doorstep... but unless you've got a lot of money to spend, don't mind sharing a small place with a lot of people (which I did in Perth for 5 months) or you don't mind living outside built up areas, you'll find it hard to have that available to you all the time. I think it's definitely a great way to live, but remember to keep perspective (I mean, if you can get to the beach on a bus/train it's still pretty awesome eh?).

But if it’s the beach you are after, may I say that you can get an awesome beach, with fewer crowds, for less money, in hundreds of places in Aus other than Bondi and Manly. Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful and have a great social scene and the rest -- but if you're spending the majority of your income on rent & bills to live there you'll never get out of the city to see all the wonderful places Australia has to offer.

I think most things Syd vs. Bris are comparable by the difference in size -- everything is a smaller scale in Brisbane. Housing here is a struggle (can’t comment on Sydney) BUT I will tell you I rent a nice and clean 2 bedroom apartment less than 10 kms from the city centre for $300/week. I can drive from home to the club district in less than 15 minutes (traffic permitting) and in 'winter' its around 20 in the daytime (can you tell I don’t miss snow?). Summers are hot hot hot. But they can be in Sydney too, so don’t be fooled. Depending on where you live (bay side or inland) humidity varies. Aircon is essential here, but it’s also virtually everywhere so unless you work a job outside you avoid the heat of the day at work. And the weekends you can trip it to Sunshine coast or Gold coast (both available by train) and escape the city to bask in it all and splash around the surf.

The things I liked about Sydney when I was there were the beaches (obviously) the architecture and the arts. Sydney is definitely trendier and a bit more dolled up than Brisbane, but being a flip-slops girl myself I prefer the laid-back Brisbane a bit more. You have a lot of choice when you want to hit the clubs, pubs or live shows. And nothing, NOTHING beats flying into Sydney harbour – it’s an amazing thing to see and I was so excited when it was my first view of Aus.

Lastly, are you skilled? Sydney was worst hit by the job crunch of the economy while Brisbane faired very well. Keep that in mind.

Well, I’ve blabbed enough! If I was you (but I don’t know how much time you have) I would spend summer in Sydney (Jan - Mar) and then come on up here and get the best of both!

Good luck.

-- Thu Oct 01, 2009 11:59 pm --

And one more thing -- you're travelling solo (as did I) but remember that you can meet people everywhere! and, no one hate more for this, but sifting through the young, foolish and bratty of the touristy beaches can get a bit old. hostels (the social ses pool) are all over, so why not move around. You wont always find your mix right off the bat but travelling until a place feels right is a great way to find a little home away from home (its how i have found all of mine). I met the most wonderful people in Fremantle (town on southern fringe of Perth) where these was one strip of bars & cafes and the beach just down the road - so I stayed for 5 months and had a blast.

You never know what you will find! A small group of friends in a tiny town called 1700 (pop:3000) almost convinced me to stay with the lure of free surfing lessons, beachside fires and guitars and hikes along the beach. I sometimes wish I had stayed but needed the cash so I kept going on down to the city to save up.

So maybe thats an option.

Good luck!

[ShawnMcCrea]

GREAT reply BrissieAngie,

You get me reexcited about the prospect of moving from the Toronto area to Brisbane. Been maybe 3 years since I was in AUS but a lot of what you said is exactly how I remember it.

I was alone at the end of my trip and was only in Brissy for a week so I didnt go to the bars/clubs and was wondering what the nightlife is like in Brisbane?

Also out of curiosity what kind of social things do you do during the week there?

Lastly do you know or have you ever snorkelled in and around Brissy, I know there is Moreton Island where you can apparently but I didnt do so when I was there. Lastly do you see much wildlife living in Brisbane. I love all the diff types of Wildlife including rainbow lorikeets, lizards etc and I saw a lot in Cairns but didnt see a ton on Brisbane.

[adam_schaffer]

hey folks whats up my name is Adam and heading to Sydney on Monday the 22nd of February for a year in a working holiday visa. I just graduated culinary arts school and got my journeymen and red seal certificate's I have a few job opportunities . Looking to rent an appartment or something I am from Calgary Alberta and just lookign for other ppl heading there them selves and who have any advice