Ah, the lucky land down under, where shrimps are slipped on barbies and dingos eat babies, where many of us Brits dream of moving. Instead, most remain in the dreary old UK. Luckily for me, I have an Australian passport – thanks to my mother – so I went to begin university in Sydney when coming to the end of Covid.
Situated on the East Coast, Sydney was the first settlement founded in Australia, the destination of the ‘First Fleet’ in 1788, holding thousands of Her Majesty’s prisoners. Today, Sydney is one of the world's most prosperous, with over 5 million inhabitants in Sydney alone.
Naturally sublime with lots of sunshine, the harbour runs through the middle of the city, the Blue Mountains to the West, and, of course, the Pacific Ocean along the whole eastern side, with some of the world's most beautiful and famous beaches.
However, it is not just the geographical greatness that makes this city remarkable; it’s the people. Sydney is a multicultural melting pot that offers the best coffee, music, sushi, bars and pubs, Italian food, BBQs, etc., and of course, incredibly friendly people who will always be the first to ask, ‘How ya going?’ and are always up for a ‘yarn.’
While Sydney has grown organically (unlike the highly sanitised planned capital Canberra – yawn), excellent urban planning and city regeneration can be seen throughout. For example, large green open spaces – Centennial and Botanical Gardens are most splendid.
Zoning changes have also been prevalent, such as the Darling Harbour Development and the recent $750m Glebe Fish Market transformation in Sydney’s inner west, to the extensive modern paths throughout the entire harbour and along the coast – see images.
Sydney can give this feeling of being in a very natural environment despite being in the heart of an urban center, thus encouraging healthy outdoors, and with the advantage of cycling, walking, e-scooting, and other sustainable practices becoming viable modes of transportation.
Sydney has a very active population. Whether you get up at sunrise, you will find a collection of people in their ‘active wear’ running to get their morning ‘flat white.’ Yes, Australia has the best coffee in the world, and you cannot dispute that.
It’s no wonder that the city is always one of the highest in the Economist’s ‘Liveability Index’; however, it is hindered by having the highest real estate prices – but it’s because everyone wants to live there, particularly in precise locations near the CBD or coast. Capacity is fixed in these areas due to strict building approval and demand continues to rise, such as in the ‘North and Eastern suburbs,' where prices have doubled in 5 years.
The difference from a British perspective was that homes and buildings in Australia had lots of aesthetic variance compared to the homogenous, cookie-cutter housing evident in the UK. Further observed, council homes (those on government welfare) would be placed in multiple varying areas to aid social integration in the UK.
In Sydney, however, it is apparent that this is not the case, and many are established in Western Sydney, far removed from the CBD and North East. Western Sydney now has more than 44% of Sydney’s population and 9% of Australia’s total. It’s worth noting that these 'least advantaged' still have higher living standards than the vast majority of the globe.
Sydney, Australia, is a beautiful, sun-soaked surf heaven in a financial hub. I plan to spend my life there one day.
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