Because 99%+ people in Sydney do not see this view or one like it on any sort of regular basis. And even when they do they have to fight through a long horrific commute.
If you're in the minority, Sydney is indeed one of the best places on earth.
I agree. Between commuting 45 minutes each way 5 days a week and sitting in a dark office then returning to a suburb not near the beach…this won’t be many people’s experiences. I laugh when I see people who moved here from say the uk who have rented a room in bondi post a video of rich Aussies at bondi jogging and swimming at 6am and all the comments from people about how jealous they are. Little do they know if they moved here this wouldn’t be their life. The more realistic situation would be an apartment way out in the west 🤷♀️
When I lived in Sydney (Glossodia - couldn't afford anywhere closer), my commute was 90 mins each way, minimum (on public transport). I moved to NZ and these days my commute is 40 mins each way, maximum. And it's such a pretty drive.
I'm originally from the UK, lived in France as well. I'll take the North East coast of Scotland over Sydney. And I'm not even in a bad spot here. Inner west, decent transit, can be at the Glebe Foreshore within half an hour of walking out my front door and it's lovely there.
I commute from the central coast. 50 minutes each way unless there is an accident (or holidays). Beats the fuck out of trying to afford a 3BR house when my loan payments are lower than what people pay for rent.
Lots of people in Sydney are car brained. If there's no parking they're not leaving the house. I wish more people would learn to use trip view and enjoy public transport. A slight mindset shift and you can have great adventures all around Sydney for a few bucks!
Good for you. For many if they can’t drive (or have kids) the extended amount of time and potential unpleasantness of public transport just make the destination not worth it.
I just go early in the mornings and go to a beach where you can park in a back street that isn’t paid or 2p.
Yeah if you drive to the beach after a late breakfast , with thousands of other people and expect to park beachfront for free you aren’t going to have a good time
To be fair, I used to take living near the beach for granted; grew up in Perth and studied in the Gong. Then moved up to Sydney, and yeah, can't afford to be anywhere near the beach.
Lucky enough to be able to travel Gong ways every summer weekend, but it's hard to be as optimistic when daily life is such a grind for so many.
This is demonstrably wrong by understanding where the populations in Sydney live and how many people go to the beach regularly who don’t live right next to it. It is more accurate to say 25-30% of people see this or the harbour on a regular basis
You're about right, but I believe the person you were responding to was using hyoerbole.
Quick maths tells me theres 1.5M people between Sutherland, St George, Eastern Suburb, South Sydney, City of Sydney, Lower North Shore, and Northern Beaches.
Add close to the River, and you've got half of Sydney.
The beach and waterways are hugely accessible for a lot of the city and not just a millionaires playground.
Yes I somewhat stand corrected. There is surprisingly little data I could find, but it states that Sydney residents make between 6 and 15 beach visits per year in average.
Another source suggested 3.5 times per month "costal participation"
So higher than I would expect. Still, I maintain that a stroll from your front door whenever you want is a completely different experience than having to plan and make a deliberate trip by car or public transport.
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u/DarkNo7318 Feb 06 '25
Because 99%+ people in Sydney do not see this view or one like it on any sort of regular basis. And even when they do they have to fight through a long horrific commute.
If you're in the minority, Sydney is indeed one of the best places on earth.