Moving from one Australian city to another might still feel like migrating to a foreign country, even though Australia’s states and territories are all incorporated into a single, sea-surrounded nation. It can take some time to become used to your new surroundings because there are so many eccentricities and subtle quirks to discover. But after spending some time in Harbour City, you’ll be nodding along with these observations you can only make during your first year living in Sydney from Sydneysiders.
Sydneysiders love complaining about Sydney
Unless, of course, they hear a local whining about Sydney from a non-local. Then, they will defend this fair city’s honor and dignity to the death as the fairest city in the entire country, blazing with white-hot local pride. Attack me, brah!
If you don’t have an innate hatred for Bondi Beach, you can’t call yourself a real Sydneysider.
Bondi, poor Bondi. There, I said it: It is without a doubt a symbol of the city and, in many respects, a very decent beach. The mark of a true Sydneysiders, though, is their familiarity with the most remote, challenging to access, and infrequently visited beaches. Therefore, expressing any affection for that most well-known stretch of sand is strictly forbidden.
Giant bats do exist.
It’s remarkable that, despite the fact that you hardly ever see them, poisonous spiders, jellyfish, and sharks dominate public perceptions of Sydney’s biodiversity, whereas bats the size of toddlers that swarm across the sky in large numbers every evening are seen as merely a footnote. Even while flying foxes are fortunately quite adorable up close, it can be difficult to remain unnerved when you hear something rustling and shrieking in the treetops at night.
The longer you live in Sydney, the less you can tolerate chilly temperatures.
You can legitimately believe that you can withstand a little bit of cold weather if you grew up in a region of the country when wintertime temperatures drop below freezing. Sadly, after living in Sydney, you will soon lose any aptitude you may have once had to handle the cold. It’s time to don your winter coat if the temperature falls below 20 degrees. You’re shivering at 15 degrees. less than 10 degrees? Say hello to severe hypothermia when living in Sydney.
Sydneysiders are quite possessive.
I suppose it speaks something about Sydney that each suburb is so well-served with fantastic restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that there is really no reason to ever leave your front door and travel more than a few kilometers, isn’t that right? That is very true for anyone who resides in the Inner West or Inner East; to propose leaving is almost insulting.
When you do cross the harbor on those few occasions, you’re amazed by how simple it is.
You see the Harbour as an impenetrable moat that would take a great deal of work and time to cross. In actuality, crossing the bridge just takes a few minutes on the train, or at least, a pleasant boat ride across one of the world’s most picturesque rivers Unfortunately, after you go back to your neighbourhood, any recollection of how easy it truly is to cross the Harbour will vanish. Sorry, those are the laws when living in Sydney.
Rental rates are shockingly expensive.
The most convincing proof for a conspiracy involving mind-control pharmaceuticals in the water supply may be the fact that Sydneysiders are willing to pay significantly higher inner-city rental rates than residents of any other Australian city. Take a look at comparable rental costs in other states to see how much more value you would be getting, if you need reminding. We challenge you not to experience a rage-episode as a result.
There are an absurd number of bugs.
When you switch on the lights when you get home, it’s not unusual to witness the bug equivalent of Corey Worthington-level wrath going off in your home for a few milliseconds before the bugs disperse and hide. The worst part is that you start to relax strangely around it. Moths in every room of your home are very typical, spiders the size of an average chihuahua aren’t that bad, and roaches are some of your closest friends. Just the Sydney way, really.
Nobody is adept at using an umbrella.
It’s not like Sydneysiders are simply unaccustomed to the complexities of umbrella usage because it rains so infrequently or softly there. But for reasons that aren’t fully clear, you’ll never find a bin in the CBD that isn’t jam-packed with mangled, inside-out, bent-in-half brollies after a significant downpour.
The Opera House, Sydney Harbour, and the Harbour Bridge aren’t exactly what you imagined.
In person, they are far superior. Psych! How goddamn gorgeous this city is is, to put it mildly, outrageous. The first time you approach Circular Quay and see those white sails appear, together with the Coathanger sweeping majestically over the vast ocean, is something really wonderful. It’s not even close to being breathtaking when living in Sydney.
Fascinating Sydney Harbor Bridge Facts You’ve Never Heard
