Cities in Australia

[Cheery Thistle]

Just wondering what the vibe is in Aussie cities and larger towns right now. Are things vibrant, clean and lively? Do things feel positive? Is it busy during the day? 
I was through in Glasgow yesterday for work and by God it was GRIM. Lots of closed units, so many poor souls wandering around with substance abuse issues and/or mental health. In days gone by they would have been a small minority but I’m noticing the numbers are growing massively. Got on the train home and it was filthy, sitting in the same carriage as a family (of females) who were screaming and arguing with each other. In the past I would have found this all a bit scary, now I just feel sad about it. 
Wondering if it’s the same post-Covid in Aus, or different? Coming to find out for ourselves in (our) Autumn so I guess we will get a live comparison then. 

[BendigoBoy]

Bendigo's pretty lively at the moment.  We're just finishing up a monumental Ring Cycle at the theatre; the restaurants are as good as ever; Balgownie's still great for a bottle and a bite of lunch at the weekend.

The V-Line's now the same price to get from Bendigo to Melbourne as I used to pay for the tram from Caulfield into the CBD.  

Weather's a bit patchy, but I'm originally from Kilmarnock, mate - so trust me, it's still a massive improvement.

Sure, lots of people are struggling with the fact interest rates are slowly getting back to sensible levels.  But I hold my tongue on commenting on whether anyone overextended themselves or the intellect of anyone who trusts what a central banker says.

Compared to the Central Belt, hopefully you'll find things a dream out here come the Spring 

[BendigoBoy]

Oh! And just to add, whilst it's still bizarre not having a table in the carriage so I can pop my laptop up, the V-line trains have never been anything but clean and prompt for me between Bendigo and Melbourne. 

[Bulya]

Booming!  Just home from a pub crawl and everywhere is packed with smiles on their faces.  There’s a reason the ACT is the fastest growing state/territory…

[Blue Flu]

Lots of smiles  or could that be a 'smugness' around me in Perth Inner City. Cafes doing a great business. Yet few seem to work , at least in what was once thought of as main stream jobs. 'Home work' all the rage. 

Perth City has become more livelier, a lot to do with the sudden influx of Chinese (in the main) International students. Less crack heads visible, at least during the day helps as well. But I doubt if many would term Perth a specifically vibrant city. Especially at night.  

[Bulya]

2 hours ago, Blue Flu said:

Lots of smiles  or could that be a 'smugness' around me in Perth Inner City. Cafes doing a great business. Yet few seem to work , at least in what was once thought of as main stream jobs. 'Home work' all the rage. 

Perth City has become more livelier, a lot to do with the sudden influx of Chinese (in the main) International students. Less crack heads visible, at least during the day helps as well. But I doubt if many would term Perth a specifically vibrant city. Especially at night.  

Must have changed, as it was pretty damn good at night when there for race meetings.  

[Ausvisitor]

On 28/04/2023 at 18:42, Bulya said:

Booming!  Just home from a pub crawl and everywhere is packed with smiles on their faces.  There’s a reason the ACT is the fastest growing state/territory…

Yep - cos it's dirt cheap and populated with people with young families who just want to hang at home/park with the kids.

It's a cultural wasteland and a place to avoid if you have any ambition in life (unless you are a politician)

[Toots]

8 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Yep - cos it's dirt cheap and populated with people with young families who just want to hang at home/park with the kids.

It's a cultural wasteland and a place to avoid if you have any ambition in life (unless you are a politician)

I don't think Canberra/ACT is dirt cheap at all.  Maybe compared to some swanky areas of Sydney but certainly not what I'd call cheap.  Got a friend who recently moved from Sydney to Canberra and is enjoying life there.

[Skani]

40 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Yep - cos it's dirt cheap and populated with people with young families who just want to hang at home/park with the kids.

It's a cultural wasteland and a place to avoid if you have any ambition in life (unless you are a politician)

There's nothing dirt cheap about the ACT.  It has the highest median income of any state or territory.  And bestowed with more resources of the social kind, per capita, than anywhere else in Oz.  

[Bulya]

3 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Yep - cos it's dirt cheap and populated with people with young families who just want to hang at home/park with the kids.

It's a cultural wasteland and a place to avoid if you have any ambition in life (unless you are a politician)

It’s the most expensive city in the country.  More tech startups than any other city and politicians don’t live here.  

[Cheery Thistle]

Ok this is all good to know - sounds mainly positive. Not sure what a ‘mainstream’ job is nowadays - teacher, nurse, police officer? I work mainly from home just now and would be hoping for a hybrid role in Aus. 
Opened my newsfeed to this headline this morning Hotels and pubs closing. My brother in law owns a small hotel and is struggling to keep the doors open between energy prices and the COL crisis. 

[Marisawright]

3 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

Yep - cos it's dirt cheap and populated with people with young families who just want to hang at home/park with the kids.

It's a cultural wasteland...

I couldn't disagree more. It's not dirt cheap, either. I wonder where in Canberra you visited to miss all the good stuff?

[rammygirl]

Canberra is not cheap. Property is expensive there look at the average price of a family home, maybe not central Sydney but similar if not higher than central Melbourne. You don’t get much for less than a million bucks.

Plenty of culture and great countryside nearby. We visit a lot as son lives there and lots of options.

[Ausvisitor]

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Australia is (to the world)

Kangaroo

Koala

Hot

Opera House

Bridge

 

All easily got within 3 km of Sydney CBD, nowhere else can claim that

[Bulya]

32 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Australia is (to the world)

Kangaroo

Koala

Hot

Opera House

Bridge

 

All easily got within 3 km of Sydney CBD, nowhere else can claim that

Canberra is just behind Sydney house price wise and more expensive to rent.  Fastest growing state/territory but wish folk would just stay away.  Horse paddocks now have bloody real estate on ‘em!

[Cheery Thistle]

5 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Australia is (to the world)

Kangaroo

Koala

Hot

Opera House

Bridge

 

All easily got within 3 km of Sydney CBD, nowhere else can claim that

You missed out Uluru

[InnerVoice]

7 hours ago, Cheery Thistle said:

You missed out Uluru

And the Great Barrier Reef - only 1,500 miles long, so hard to miss! 

[Blue Flu]

19 hours ago, Bulya said:

Must have changed, as it was pretty damn good at night when there for race meetings.  

A 'damn good night' is not the same as being a vibrant city. Most activity, even now is confined to a couple of streets, it would be fair to say. Perth is simply not a 'night time' city. That doesn't infer one cannot have a decent time in a bar or find perhaps a good place to eat. 

There remains 'another' side to Perth later in the night as well. 

[InnerVoice]

1 hour ago, Blue Flu said:

A 'damn good night' is not the same as being a vibrant city. Most activity, even now is confined to a couple of streets, it would be fair to say. Perth is simply not a 'night time' city. That doesn't infer one cannot have a decent time in a bar or find perhaps a good place to eat. 

There remains 'another' side to Perth later in the night as well. 

Well that hasn't taken long! 

[Marisawright]

16 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Ask them what they think of it in three or four years' time, especially if they have kids.  

All Sydneysiders think Canberra is the pits.  In fact a lot of Sydneysiders run down the whole of the rest of Australia. I can only say that's their problem, and they're missing out.

Not everyone wants a huge, bustling city.  

[Bulya]

21 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Ask them what they think of it in three or four years' time, especially if they have kids.  

All Sydneysiders think Canberra is the pits.  In fact a lot of Sydneysiders run down the whole of the rest of Australia. I can only say that's their problem, and they're missing out.

Not everyone wants a huge, bustling city.  

Unusual to meet somebody in Canberra that doesn’t come from somewhere else…

[Blue Flu]

48 minutes ago, InnerVoice said:

Well that hasn't taken long! 

Not sure what you mean?. All I know is that not a lot of reflection is required to arrive at the conclusion that Perth has drifted into a less than satisfactory place.

 

[InnerVoice]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Ask them what they think of it in three or four years' time, especially if they have kids.  

All Sydneysiders think Canberra is the pits.  In fact a lot of Sydneysiders run down the whole of the rest of Australia. I can only say that's their problem, and they're missing out.

Not everyone wants a huge, bustling city.  

It's the same mentality that Londoners have in thinking that they are somehow better than everyone else because they live in 'the capital', whilst spending half their lives commuting, living in an overcrowded polluted environment, and leading an unaffordable lifestyle just to keep up with the Joneses.

No thanks.

Edited May 1, 2023 by InnerVoice

[Skani]

17 hours ago, Ausvisitor said:

I live in Sydney, the only people I know that are moving to Canberra are those that love Sydney but can no longer afford it.

They are all gutted to be leaving the main city - the one the entire globe considers to be Australia

Australia is (to the world)

Kangaroo

Koala

Hot

Opera House

Bridge

 

All easily got within 3 km of Sydney CBD, nowhere else can claim that

But most people don't select  their location in Australia based on the narrow,    often ignorant (and mistaken) view of the country by foreigners who have never visited.   Kangaroos, koalas, heat, an opera house and bridge don't contribute to daily quality of life for most people - they are holiday attractions.

There is nothing more insular in Australia than Sydneysiders who consider that Sydney is Australia and somehow superior to every other place in the country.  It isn't.  It suits some people  but it's anathema to others.  Internal migration stats show that it's consistently been losing 30,000+ residents annually to other parts of Australia  - and they're not all leaving for affordability.

[Bulya]

22 minutes ago, Skani said:

But most people don't select  their location in Australia based on the narrow,    often ignorant (and mistaken) view of the country by foreigners who have never visited.   Kangaroos, koalas, heat, an opera house and bridge don't contribute to daily quality of life for most people - they are holiday attractions.

There is nothing more insular in Australia than Sydneysiders who consider that Sydney is Australia and somehow superior to every other place in the country.  It isn't.  It suits some people  but it's anathema to others.  Internal migration stats show that it's consistently been losing 30,000+ residents annually to other parts of Australia  - and they're not all leaving for affordability.

It’s an OK place to visit as we will next weekend for a round of the Top Fuel series at Eastern Creek, but having spent so much time there over the last four decades, you couldn’t pay me to live there.