Australia’s top two cities would be nowhere near this list if it weren’t for the 177 straight years of utter hatred they’ve reserved for each other.
Since the founding of Melbourne in 1835 (by exactly the kind of pennywise, do-gooder farmboys that Sydney’s felon founders had no patience for), Sydneysiders and Melburnians have been loathingly distinguishing themselves from each other in ways that would make Toronto and Montreal blush.
Still, they may have overlooked the greatest source of antipathy of all, notes Anthony Sharwood in The Punch.
“Sydney and Melbourne have much, much more in common than either of them ever care to admit.” In fact, “Melbourne is the city in the world most similar to Sydney.”
About 4 million multicultural residents spread across a trendy downtown area with sprawling suburbs, high home prices, a vibrant food and arts scene, Australian TV and radio stations, the occasional bushfire and an intense repugnance for a certain unspeakable place 720 kilometers away.
Which city are we talking about here? Either Melbourne or Sydney, perhaps?
But wait. There is a startling difference. Last year, The Economist ranked Melbourne the “World’s Most Livable City” with 97.5 points. Sydney came in sixth in this same survey with 96.1 points.
Do the math. These places are like fire and ice.