Lots of differing factors determine what makes a city a great place to call home. Things like culture, affordability and also warmth (both in temperature and overall vibes) matter.
Now, in the first ever Time Out Global City Index survey, over 20,000 people were polled from 18 different cities around the globe, and Melbourne has beaten Sydney pretty damn easily.
18 cities were surveyed, and sexy/sunny Sydney scraped in at measly number 16 on the list. Who did we manage to actually beat? Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. That’s a pretty harsh realisation when you consider Sydney’s beautiful beaches, iconic natural wonders and renowned cafe and restaurant culture.
On the other hand, Melbourne came in at number two, beaten only by Chicago.
According to Time Out, peeps were asked 81 questions in total, touching on things like: How often do you go out and see a live band? Do you feel safe in your city? And are you getting by okay financially? All of the answers were then assessed based on these following six factors:
• Dynamism – how vibrant and exciting life feels.
• Inspiration – whether the city feels pleasant or difficult.
• Food & Drink – is the city somewhere you eat well (without spending too much).
• Community – is the local neighbourhood nice.
• Sociability – does the city feel welcoming or isolating.
• Affordability – do people generally get by comfortably.
So, here are some of the reasons why Sydneysiders aren’t so satisfied with their lives:
10 per cent of people strongly agreed ‘There’s always something fun to do in Sydney’, which in Melbourne hit 46 per cent. Melbourne folk are apparently five percent more likely to have checked out an exhibition at an art gallery than Sydneysiders in the past month, too.
62 per cent of Melburnians believed that ‘There’s always something new to do’, while in Sydney it was just 22 per cent. You might want to turn away now, because out of all the cities in the survey, Sydney was rated the least dynamic and least sociable.
Ouch.
However, ‘community’ wise, Sydney did a little better. 96 per cent of Inner East, 95 per cent of Eastern Beaches and 94 per cent of Inner West residents strongly agreed or somewhat agreed that they “love” living in their neighbourhoods.
Those who just loved the absolute sh*t out of their neighbourhoods were, wait for it, the folks living around Darling Point, Point Piper and Double Bay. 97 per cent of them absolutely freakin’ love their hood.
On the upside, Sydney smashed it outta the ball park when it came to getting extremely drunk and having group sex, cumming coming in as one of the top cities on the globe for hangovers (that city curfew seems to really be working), almost number one for one night stands, as well as having affairs with co-workers.
Also, nine percent of Sydneysiders have had sex with more than one person at one time (way more than Melbourne apparently, where only one percent of them are into group stuff).
So at least Sydney’s bringing in the numbers where it really, really matters.
