Perth or sydney???

johanvdw7 wrote:

Which city do you recommend and why??

Perth or Sydney?

:-)

No recommendations either way but just to let you know that Perth is the most expensive city to live in and Sydney is second. A Google search will give you this information.

I know I am biased (a very proud Sydney-sider) but I have to say that comparing Sydney to Perth is like comparing New York to Montgomery (in Alabama)!  Sydney is a large world class, cosmopolitan city in Australia (with a population of nearly 6 million people) whereas Perth is really like a little parochial country town (population 1.6 million)!  Sydney is a vibrant, multicultural city overflowing with world class restaurants, theatres, night life and has all the excitement that, alas, Perth does not!  Sydney is also one of the most recognisable, beautiful cities in the world and is surrounded by world heritage listed areas like the Blue Mountains (which are breathtaking), The Hunter Valley, the absolutely glorious southern coast (with the white sanded paradise called Jervis Bay only 2 hours south of Sydney).   

I have been to Perth and whilst it is a pretty place with nice beaches, it is boringly bland and extremely isolated from the rest of Australia ... in fact, Perth is closer to Indonesia than it is to the eastern States of Australia which renders it as a bit of a backwater, I'm afraid.  It is also very expensive to travel from WA to ANYWHERE else!  You can see the whole city in a day ... there isn't much in the way of culture, theatre, arts or night life.  There are some really beautiful and spectacular places that surround Perth, eg Margaret River (glorious scenery).  Perth has great weather ... very sunny and is surrounded by gorgeous beaches .. but so does Sydney and Sydney has so much more to offer! 

I disagree with Stumpy above in regards to Perth being more expensive.  Currently, Sydney is the only city in Australia where property prices are absolutely booming ... Melbourne is OK but Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide property prices have slumped.  Whilst Sydney is more expensive than Perth, you get what you pay for  ... the reason why Sydney and Melbourne are so much more expensive than Perth, is because the overwhelming majority of people coming into Australia prefer to live in the lively, robust cities of Sydney or Melbourne ... demand exceeds supply! 

The job opportunities in Sydney and Melbourne are the best in Australia and NSW is a go-ahead State offering a diverse lifestyle that Western Australia cannot hope to compete with!  Perth is the capital of the vast State of Western Australia which is one of those places you can describe as being "a great place to visit, but I wouldn't want to live there!"  If you are looking for an alternative to Sydney, I would recommend the highly cultured city of Melbourne which is an absolutely fabulous city with great festivals, cultural events, beautiful homes and lovely leafy suburbs.  Whilst everyone always loves to chide Melbourne about its changeable weather .... "four seasons in one day", having visited every city in Australia, I would much rather live in Melbourne in the rain than Perth or Brisbane in the sunshine!  Sydney and Melbourne consistently appear in the international list of the world's most liveable cities ... surprisingly, last year, our capital city of Canberra was also included.

The people from Perth will, of course, vigorously disagree with my opinion ... they have a bit of a chip on their shoulder about us "big city folk" from Sydney and Melbourne, lol!   My suggestion is that you look between the cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane ... Brisbane is quite a nice city too but on a smaller scale to Sydney and Melbourne.  Outlined below is a link that may assist you in selecting a good place to live.  If you click on the name of the State and/or City, more information will be provided on that destination.

http://www.australia.com/about/key-fact … ories.aspx

In general for cost of living Perth is the most expensive city in Australia.

Sorry, Stumpy, you are incorrect in that assumption.  Sydney (unfortunately) remains the most expensive city in Australia and one of the most expensive cities in the world.  Sydney is the fifth-most expensive city in the world, with Melbourne one spot behind in equal sixth. Singapore took the dubious honour of top spot, followed by Paris, Oslo and Zurich.  Perth and Brisbane shared 21st spot while Adelaide came in at 37th.
See links:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-05/s … es/5298818http://www.allianz.com.au/home-insuranc … -australia

Depends  on which surveys you look at. 
I have noticed rental prices have dropped slightly in Perth and the con census is that house prices will fall next year as the mining boom comes to an end and mines put off staff due to low iron ore prices.
Either way Australia in general is an expensive country to live in.

I saw all the posts of stumpy, to be very honest, she is describing negative sites of Australia's in every post. I don't know why she hss this kind of attitude, a person can see many things positive if he intend to see, but anyways as I understood stumpy doesn't like Australia& she vigorously trys to bring the negativity in exposure to get believe of others by force and don't know for what.
on end just like to ssy,
LOOK POSITIVE.....FIND POSITIVE.

Hi there, I have lived in both cities, Sydney only for a short time and Perth for eight years. It comes down to what you want. Perth seems to suit young families and backpackers who are here for the sun and work. I find it pretty isolated and after eight years I feel i have explored most of it and would now have to look at redoing the trips I did or moving, which I am doing to Melbourne.
There is plenty to do in Perth, nice bars and cafes. Nightlife is limited to sme bars in the city and clubs in one area called Northbridge. If the beach and surf is your thing, Perth has lots but Sydney also has nice beaches, just more crowded. Perth has retained a small town feel and Sdyney has more of a city buzz. I find Perth has a small town mindset, there was a big resistance to daylight savings here, even at 8 pm in the hot summer it is dark. Generally Perth people are more into getting up at 6 for a mini Tour de France than heading out at night. The suburbs shut down at night and only recently has coles and Woolies opened late. Plenty of people will disagree with me but I'm not saying it is wrong just wrong for me.
I am an artist here and sadly all but one commercial gallery is open here in Perth, I think there was twelve a few years ago. Despite a good Arts festival the only arts and culture scene is generated by artists themselves, the government is too busy building stadiums!
Perth has a much smaller population so less crowds but it is quiet, too quiet for me.
Hope that helps