Last updated on October 2nd, 2017 at 07:06 am

Sydney or Melbourne? Rather Sydney vs Melbourne. Any newcomer has that thought. Which one is the one for me? No matter how many people you ask the answer will never satisfy you. Every opinion is what it is, an opinion, and until you go, it will remain a mystery.

I guess what I am trying to say is that both cities are definitely worth the time and effort to visit them. Both are unique in their experience, culture, architecture, prices, and attitude.

Melbourne CollageSafary Melbourne Collage


Disclaimer:

Mr. K and I lived in Melbourne for three months and saw Melbourne a lot closer than any other city we visited in Australia.


Here are my couple of words about each city:

Melbourne: population 4.077 million

Melbourne is a great and smaller city comparing to Sydney. It is a lot more business oriented though I have not visited the business center in Sydney. That is not to say that there is no great nightlife, activities, or things to see. Melbourne has everything anyone might want.

That also include summer festivals, huge parks, salsa clubs (I am a big fan) and posh neighborhoods with whatever accompanies the posh lifestyle. The architecture is amazing and anyone who visits Australia needs to pass by this efficient and well-maintained city of many cultures. One thing I noticed was the proximity to everything and ability to reach even further destinations without a car. The architecture was a big and good surprise for me.Melbourne Architecture CollageEverything Melbourne CollageMelbourne ArchitectureCollage

Sydney: population 4.576 million

Though we only stayed there for four days and our hostel was miserable from start to finish, we enjoyed the city greatly. Sydney is definitely bigger than Melbourne is. The city has lots of different spread around neighborhoods and interesting areas.

I was very glad we had a car. It made our trip faster and more efficient. I also noticed how much more expensive everything was in Sydney compared to Melbourne. The fact is that the prices at the hostels were the same but what you got for it was a completely different experience. Parking for a day was a pickle: 60$ for a day apparently is a steal. We did look around for one hour only to understand that 100$/day is not an absolute top.

Sydney 1 CollageSydney 2 Collage

While both have nightlife and things to do and see, I found that Sydney is bigger than Melbourne in size and tourist population. If you are visiting Australia for the first time, both are necessary to visit. If you are on a budget then I would start by landing in Melbourne. Give yourself time to adjust to prices; they might be shocking at first.

Sydney 3 Collage


Tip:

In order to be able to find a summer job in Australia or just get some extra cash, you can apply for a special visa outside the country and before you come there. Here is the link.


 Yes, Canadians need a visa to go to Australia. I found out the hard way while checking in on our flight to Australia.:)

For the best stay experience and good prices, I would suggest going here and here. Both sites helped me immensely to book accommodations. I also used booking.com a lot. I suggest opening multiple sites and finding the one that fits your criteria best and then compare the reviews. You will be surprised how differently some places are represented on every site.
Did you enjoy the post? SHARE it, like it, or rave about it in the comments down below! Love to hear your tips regarding Sydney and Melbourne.

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Always improving one's surroundings.

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