Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeAustraliaSurprising Facts About Sydney Life Will Change Your Life

Surprising Facts About Sydney Life Will Change Your Life

After living in Australia for over five years, I decided to list everything that surprised me about Sydney life. While I’d been to Australia’s largest city as a backpacker before, I’d never stayed longer than two weeks and had only seen the main tourist attractions.

Sydney is so much more than Bondi and the city! This list includes the advantages and disadvantages of living in Sydney and some unexpected items. None of this would deter me from wanting to live in Sydney. It is still my favorite city on the planet.

There are numerous beaches – Life in Sydney

beaches-in-Sydney-autumn
beaches-in-Sydney

One of the most surprising aspects of living in Sydney is the abundance of beaches. While everyone has heard of Bondi and Manly, Sydney has over 100 beaches!

Sydney has beaches from top to bottom, thanks to its long, craggy, meandering coastline, harbour, and numerous bays and rivers. In addition to the Northern Beaches peninsula and Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park, there are over 20 beaches in the Eastern suburbs (where Bondi is). Harbor beaches, Botany Bay, Cronulla, and the lovely Bundeena.

Don’t believe anyone who tells you that Sydney’s beaches are always crowded. They have not explored!

12 Things Tourists Shouldn’t Do In Sydney To Stay Out Of Trouble

Nature’s Abundance

Parks-sydney
Parks-sydney

When I first moved to Sydney, I joined a walking group to make friends. When we hiked through natural bushland on the north shore, right across the water from the city, I couldn’t believe it!

After years of exploring Sydney, I’ve discovered multiple national parks, miles of coastal walks, stunning bushland, rainforest, and a plethora of wetlands – all within the city limits!

You could easily spend every weekend hiking in Sydney without leaving the city. It is truly a nature lover’s paradise.

10 Foods You Must Try in Sydney So You Don’t Waste Your Trip

There are ocean pools in Sydney.

ocean-pools-in-Sydney
ocean-pools-in-Sydney

The number of ocean pools in Sydney and New South Wales is fantastic. Many beaches have a walled-off water section where you can swim without being surrounded by big waves (or sharks)!

It’s ideal if you don’t like rough water or swimming laps. They’re also completely free!

10 Crazy Reasons Why We Love Sydney So Much

There is a lot of rain, Life in Sydney

rain-Sydney
rain-Sydney

Another surprising aspect of Sydney is how much rain it receives! This is something that many ex-pats find surprising.

Regarding annual rainfall, Sydney is the rainiest city after Darwin, with roughly twice as much rain as Melbourne! Sydney also has more rainy days per year than the other capitals combined.

However, Sydney has roughly twice as many sunny days as Melbourne and far fewer cloudy days. It tends to be very clear for a long time before pouring, which I prefer to endless grey and drizzle.

The Coolest Neighborhoods In Sydney

So much of Sydney is built on water.

sydney
sydney

The second surprise in Sydney was how much of the city is on the water. There is a lot of ocean with over 100 beaches, but Sydney also has rivers, bays, creeks, coves, and inlets to break up the land.

Much of Sydney’s housing is built into hills that overlook the water or are within walking distance of a river or creek. When a friend from the UK visited me, she was taken aback.

Winters in Sydney are bitterly cold.

winter-Sydney
winter-Sydney

Many expats are also surprised by Sydney’s cold winters. While the temperature is usually around 16 to 18 degrees during the day, it feels much colder than a similar temperature in the UK. In the winter, Sydney residents prefer to wear coats and scarves, especially early in the morning.

The temperature drops to single digits at night, and most Australian homes lack heating and insulation. It can get very cold inside! Snow falls in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney!

8 Things To Do When Sydney Is At Its Most Magical In Winter

How Hilly Sydney Is

I didn’t realize how flat my hometown in the UK was until I moved to Sydney! Sydney is highly hilly!

Massive, elevated sandstone headlands separate the ocean beaches, and much of the terrain inland is also steep and hilly. The Northern Beaches region, where I live, has many steep, narrow, winding roads that require you to pop your ears due to the altitude.

Some larger houses have such long, steep driveways that they require inclinators, similar to little cable cars on tracks, to get up to the house. Because the houses are built into the hillsides, they frequently have tiered gardens.

7 Reasons Why Everyone Should Go to Sydney at Least Once

The Limited Train Service, Life in Sydney

Train-Sydney
Train-Sydney

The fact that Sydney, Australia’s largest city, has such a small train network is quite surprising. It’s a very different place from London and lacks a tube system.

Because the Northern Beaches peninsula and the beaches of the Eastern Suburbs lack a train line, you must rely on buses for public transportation.

I must admit that now that I live on the beaches, I believe a train line would detract from the landscape and overcrowd the area because it would be so easily accessible.

Beautiful Old Structures

Structures-Sydney
Structures-Sydney

Regarding European settlement, you might think of Australia as a very modern country, but much of Sydney was settled well over a century ago. This means many lovely old Victorian and Federation-era buildings and homes.

Where I come from in the UK, the majority of the area was built in the 1950s and 1960s, so seeing so many old buildings is actually a novelty!

I rarely visit the city.

sydney-opera-house
sydney-opera-house

Something that has surprised me about living in Sydney is how infrequently I need to visit the city center/CBD. In the UK, I would always visit the town center to see friends or go shopping. In Sydney, I would only visit the city for a special occasions.

Sydney is known as the “Village City,” and the local shopping areas in the suburbs are generally very friendly. There are almost always lovely independent cafes, restaurants, and occasionally boutique shops close to where you live.

You don’t need to travel far to get everything you need because Sydney has numerous shopping malls scattered throughout the city, with free parking for three hours.

How Safe Is Sydney?

I’ve house sat in about 70 Sydney suburbs and have never ended up somewhere that felt rough or unsafe. Sydney’s low crime rate is surprising for such a large city.

People frequently leave their doors unlocked or have spare keys hidden in the front yard, which I would never do in the UK!

What Time Do People Get Up? Life in Sydney

life-Sydney
life-Sydney

This may be an Australia-wide phenomenon, but people in Sydney get up much earlier than people in the UK. It’s a health-conscious city, and if you go to the beach at 6 a.m., you’ll find it packed with people running, swimming, surfing, or taking boot camp classes.

In the UK, I used to struggle to get out of bed at 7 a.m. with an alarm. In Australia, I naturally wake up around 6 a.m. and can’t wait to enjoy the bright sunshine and lifestyle.

Sydney bushfires

I had no idea how common bushfires are in Australia until I moved here, or how close to cities they can get. Because Sydney is densely forested, fires can quickly spread to residential areas. Because smoke can travel a long distance, even a distant bushfire can make the sky hazy in the city.

When Australia experienced devastating bushfires in 2019-2020, ash fell from the sky like snow in Sydney.

Sydney has snakes.

I was astounded to learn that Sydney has snakes. I assumed they’d only be in the most remote areas!

You’re unlikely to see one, but snakes can be found in Sydney’s more rural areas. When I house-sat in West Pymble for some people, they showed me a picture of a huge python in their garden. When I lived in Avalon Beach, a snake was also in my front garden.

House Prices are Exorbitant, Life in Sydney

One of the most difficult aspects of living in Sydney is the exorbitant cost of real estate. When median salaries are compared to median property prices, Sydney is one of the most expensive cities in the world.

I could almost afford a studio in Sydney for the price of my old three-bedroom house in the UK. The average house price in Sydney is now well over a million dollars, and since Covid, much higher in beach areas as people have relocated.

Maris Lopez
Maris Lopezhttp:////my-lifestyle.co
Hey there! I'm Maris, an American girl who is passionate about adventure, the outdoors and all things travel!
RELATED ARTICLES

1 COMMENT

  1. You’ve made some really good points there. I checked on the internet to find out more about the issue and found most individuals will go along with your views on this website.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisment -

Most Popular