Brisbane or Sydney - Which is the better city to live in?

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Someone commented saying that I make it look like Brisbane has ZERO beaches. THIS video should clear that up: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iZSTY2mapNqdq7s What I was trying to say is that we don't really have surfing beaches, and that while we do have SOME nice beaches, it's nowhere near as many as Sydney, to the point that we don't have much of a beach culture, unlike Sydney. Go an hour north or south to the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, and it's a different story.

[@FlyingBeardMan]

You always blow my mind with the amount of research that you do Adam. I wouldn't be able to sit still long enough! 😂

[@AussieInJapan]

Can’t believe how high rents are. When I left Gold Coast in 2008 to move to Japan my rent was $225/wk. my rent in Tokyo was $220/wk, then reduced to $205/wk (with exchange rates of then) for about 15yrs. Went down not up. Can’t even imagine paying $600/wk.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I know. Just after Covid broke out things went crazy. I feel lucky we bought our home a couple of years before that, as we escaped the madness of the current rental market. We were paying $280 a week when we left our last rental, which was in 2017. We'd probably be paying around $400 a week now for that one bedroom unit.

[@keshavsingh2827]

May I ask why you moved from the Gold Coast to Japan

[@Dobuan75]

I encourage all my fellow Aussies as a Sydneysider to come join us here in Sydney with our attitude. You don’t need to compare yourselves to us. You are unique in your own way and we love you for it. Melbourne has a better skyline and fosters culture better. Brisbane has a fresh vibrancy that we haven’t seen since the 1980s. Adelaide is the mostly calm, chilled, but wacky cousin we all appreciate. Perth, the best of all worlds bar the absolute isolation that stands alone on the planet. Hobart, the ye olde English town we love for nostalgia’s sake. Darwin, where we go when we finally go troppo. …And of course Canberra. My hometown for 5 years. A place where one questions every aspect of why humans even bother with anything, especially street design and roundabouts. Where nihilism is your best friend.

[@HyperHorse]

Brisbane has a fresh vibrancy?! What exactly are you referring to?

[@t-rocks1960]

Great Idea Adam, It will be an awesome series, maybe Brisbane VS Longyearbyen might be interesting. T-rocks

[@BrisbaneChannel]

And here I was expecting you to suggest somewhere obscure!

[@kenockenden]

Really interesting Adam. I live in Auckland but regularly spend time in Brisbane, a city i really like. So my suggestion is a comparison with Auckland, no surprise i guess!

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Thanks. You're the second person to request Auckland. Stay tuned...

[@Ollie_95]

Nice video! Does Brisbane have many/ any walkable areas or would you say car ownership is mandatory? Would love to see a video on this topic

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Yes, if I'd had more time to dedicate to this video, I would have looked at active transport more. I think that's one area that I glossed over. I feel Brisbane is working on making the city easier to get around for pedestrians and cyclists. But if you live further out from the city and are not close to public transport, a car is pretty important. That said, my first two years here were carless, and I got by OK.

[@darbeeroyal8503]

G'day Adam, I'm currently on vacation in Japan, but found the time to take a look at this piece. Excellent work, and a great idea for an ongoing series. Great use of stats and a good mix of various "factors of life". Love your work mate, keep it up. 👍🏼 😎 🌿 (I'd love to see a comparison with Singapore, a city I spend a lot of time in at the moment).

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I'm quite jealous - Japan is among the top places on my bucket list. Enjoy! Singapore is now on the list of candidates, and the best part is you'll be able to vote for it when the time comes.

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

Singapore is a city?!?

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

Nobody mentioned it, so I simply will put in Hobart just for laughs. 😅😂🤣

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Sure. I'll still add it to the list of candidates.

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

😜😆🤣@@BrisbaneChannel thanks mate

[@sushilgirikumar]

Brisbane vs Melbourne comparison please.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I think you're about number 5 to request Melbourne. I'm not sure how the members will vote for the next one, but I have no doubt there will be a comparison with Melbourne some time this year.

[@AussieInJapan]

Given the focus on how many Aussies are coming to Tokyo (& Japan generally) would be interesting to compare both cities. Figures here though on many international reports are greatly skewed when they report on executive expats living in pricier parts of town, living in western sized homes while paying for private school and shopping at expat supermarkets. Japan generally due to low wages, stagnant growth and real estate that depreciates make the bubble prices on the 90’s a distant memory.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I'd actually be interested in a comparison with Tokyo, but I'd try to find info on what locals pay. Good point though about the difference in prices for expats who choose to live in similar conditions to what they're used to back home. Would be something to point out if/when I compare with Tokyo. Same situation when I lived in China. I lived more or less as a local, but I was virtually alone among the expats in my lifestyle choices.

[@lizziehodgetts6520]

I’d be interested to see vs Melbourne next

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Melbourne seems to be one of the most popular candidates for the next one so far, but we'll see how the channel members vote...

[@masterchief5437]

Ah the pay rate comparison is really similar, I would of thought Sydney would of offered more since it's a higher cost of living. Thanks again!

[@alcheng10]

Thanks

[@BrisbaneChannel]

You're welcome, and thanks!

[@tompetery8779]

Please compare Brisbane with Adelaide Adam

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I've added it to the list of candidates. We'll see how the members vote...

[@ronkumar1093]

Great video. Im born in Brisbane, just came back from Sydney recently... each city has pros and cons. A few other key anecdotal social dynamic observations - in Sydney - people are working extremely hard to only be pressured into blowing that money on the weekends, even quite well off people etc, where as in Brisbane I noticed this is not anywhere near that extent. Sydney is also a very value orientated society - the only one in Australia, think LA, Miami, London. That may not be everyones vibe. And the traffic while driving and price of tolls in Sydney is WAY MORE than Brisbane. $12 return on Brisbane in Sydney you could be $20-30+ and the toll ways don't really go any faster - where in Brisbane they are faster.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I did consider looking at road tolls in this video, as I know that's quite an issue in Sydney, especially for those commuting from out west, but it came down to the amount of time I had to get the video out. Ended up missing that aspect.

[@ronkumar1093]

@@BrisbaneChannel Yeah fair! Great vid tho hit all the main points.

[@MitchellBPYao]

​@@BrisbaneChannelsydney does have a lot if not that tired

[@rameshtronics]

Melbourne comparation will be good to know.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

So far, 3 or 4 people have requested Melbourne. I'm curious how things will play out when the channel members vote.

[@Mazigaro]

Brisbane vs Auckland Nz pls

[@michaelphillips2079]

Rents in Sydney and Brisbane seem dirt cheap by American standards, but I don't know how the Australian Dollar compares with the American. But Americans would give their left arm for rents in the 650-850 dollar a month range.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

That's WEEKLY! We haven't had monthly rents that low probably in my lifetime, and I'm older than I look.

[@toni4729]

I don't know where you get your shopping in Queensland and Brisbane but I would like to got there. I pay a hell of a lot more than the prices you're quoting.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

These prices are mostly at Coles supermarkets, and some from Woolworths. Where are you based?

[@toni4729]

@@BrisbaneChannel I'm based North Brisbane and shop at Coles.

[@amitmou2009]

Hi mate great video. Is the train system inefficient ?

[@BrisbaneChannel]

If we're talking trains specifically, I wouldn't say they're inefficient, but the rail network is not amazing for a few reasons. Firstly, as with the buses, it's built outward from the city in such a way that you often have to travel into the city and then back out again, even if you're only going a few suburbs across from your starting point. It makes a journey twice as long as it would need to be if there were more routes/lines that linked the existing ones by traveling perpendicular to the existing ones. The main issue, though, is that with Brisbane's large geographical area, the train lines don't service much of the city. They are an important part of the public transport network, but it's rare to be able to rely on them without also using buses or ferries to get where you're going. I think a lot more of Sydney is serviced by trains, but all Australian cities have difficulty servicing all areas well due to their relatively low population density (at least as far as I've seen - I haven't looked into this deeply with other cities). I used to live in the northern beaches of Sydney, and there's no train line up that way, either (the locals loved it, as they generally had cars and saw it as a way to keep the "riff raff" out). I think public transport is not a strength of any Aussie city. I now rely on buses when not driving in Brisbane, but I remember a frustration I had with the trains back in the day (2014-2017) was also their frequency and operating hours. On weekends, the line I used has one train every 30 minutes, which wasn't great in the occasional event of the train arriving and departing my station five minutes early. Also, when I had an early flight at the airport, it was literally impossible to take a train there, as the trains don't start running until around 4am. I also almost got stuck near the city (in Fortitude Valley) one night when I just managed to take the last train home just after midnight. There's currently a lot of trackwork being done, and upgrades to train stations, so buses often replace trains for parts of a rail journey, which can throw schedules out a little. When the public transport is so expensive, it would be great if it serviced the city better. We do have some good infrastructure, especially the busways, but there's just not enough people in this massive city (geographically massive) to have a brilliant public transport system without the govenment (local, state, national) being willing to invest more into funding it.

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

hey​@@BrisbaneChannelshould be glad to not live in Gympie, they only get two trains a day in both directions

[@jackren8471]

@@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE Lets be fair, Gympie is also 150km from Brisbane CBD

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

@@jackren8471 true

[@abdullahnouman7418]

Do a similar comparison Brisbane vs Melbourne

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Melbourne is the most popular candidate for the next video, but it will depend on what members of the channel vote for.

[@toastyman111]

great video

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Thanks!

[@AlbionTarkhan]

Northern beaches Sydney is the best. Unfortunately I couldn’t afford to buy there so I moved to the Gold Coast. For that I’m blessed with this opportunity but I would move back to Sydney’s northern beaches if I could afford it.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

@@AlbionTarkhan I lived on the northern beaches for my first couple of years in Sydney. I agree - great spot!

[@ChristopherJewels]

Both are good. Sydney has the downside of gridlock traffic and higher prices. And a few more aggro people. Woorim Beach on Bribie is less than an hours drive from Brisbane's northern suburbs. It would take over 2 hours to drive from Parramatta to Bondi.

[@minniesaab7255]

❤ your videos ❤

[@BrisbaneChannel]

that you my videos!

[@haha-eg8fj]

Thinking of moving to Brisbane from Melbourne, but worry about not able to find a place to rent. Even sharehouse is not cheap in Brissy.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Accommodation is a real concern at this time. I remember my shock when Brisbane first overtook Melbourne rental prices, and since then, it's just continued to rise. But you're doing well by considering sharing to start with. It can be very difficult to secure a rental, and that's before even considering the prices!

[@HyperHorse]

Don't move to Brisbane. You will regret it.

[@yoonsiklee6151]

what i used to like about Australia was nice people. back 2002, i arrived in Sydney. i remember that i used to know so many kind people around. I don't know where they are now. after 2008 GFC, they seemed to move to other state. I know i am generalizing, but i think I have encountered more nice people in the past compared to the present days in Sydney. btw i am a health care professional. therefore.. brisbane should be my home city? haha just a joke..

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Brisbane and it's friendly people would welcome you! Well, some would. Others who are not happy with the increased number of people moving from Sydney and Melbourne would tell you not to come.

[@theokleoudis4967]

Brisbane beaches are further away and way better but both take similar time to get to due to Sydney traffic (depends wjete you live I. Sydney I guess)

[@TheAbeKane]

I'd love to see Brisbane Vs Nagoya, Japan

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I've added it to the list for members to vote on. Is that where you're from?

[@TheAbeKane]

@@BrisbaneChannel Brisbanite by birth. I've lived in many places though

[@mollyjayhedgehog6276]

At least we got a made beach and pool in milled to city close y transport and. City ether by bus train bus or even walking across the bridge

[@BigBlueMan118]

Sydney is working on making Most of the whole Harbour swimmable...

[@MitchellBPYao]

That's because I used to it so I recognize almost everywhere

[@maciejgronowski]

Public transport in both Brisbane and Sydney is waaaaay cheaper than UK - especially trains. Although tube is fairly affordable in London. Petrol and diesel is literally twice as expensive here in the UK! Last week I paid £1.60 a litre!!! Cinema is more expensive in the UK as well. Houses are also more expensive in the UK. The main difference is wages are better in Australia! You keep assuring me to want to move to Australia!!!

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Haha. Wow! Sounds like I really should consider one of these comparing Brisbane with London!

[@maciejgronowski]

@@BrisbaneChannel for many years australia used to be more expensive than the UK, but recently our prices shot up like crazy! House prices went 30% up last year!!!! 30%!!! Food, petrol, and everything else as a result as the above went up as well. Everything except for average wages.

[@ronkumar1093]

@@maciejgronowski I know plenty of brits here, they're all loving life and happy and very fulfilled. Make that move ASAP you will not regret it. Trust me. I been to England and can no understand why people live there, your country isnt even your country anymore, people get thrown in jail for nothing and kids carrying around large knives and robbing peoples watches. But you do have that access to Europe within a 1-2 hour flight which I am very jealous off. Tickets over here $3000+ aud for economy return and 20 hour flight...

[@maciejgronowski]

@@ronkumar1093 true. I work as secondary school teacher - we do have a looot of problems with drugs and knife crime... We can go for fairly cheap holidays - last year we paid less than £300 per person (family of 4) to Spain. That's all inclusive (flight, hotel, food, unlimited ice cream etc)! But that's because we don't have any sunshine in the UK and we have to go to Spain or Turkey for holidays. Am I right in thinking that most australians go for holiday in Australia itself? The country is basically the size of Europe with hardly any people in most areas really.

[@ronkumar1093]

@@maciejgronowski Yeah fair makes sense, the good thing about your holidays is it would most the time be a completely different culture experience/scene. Australia looks mostly all 90% the same all over, some beaches and desserts are a bit different thats about it. Lot of Australians stick to holidays here in the school holiday periods - lot of good islands all over the country (hamilton/whitsundays etc), wineries (south australia/tasmania), beaches (qld/WA best, nsw for a different coastline vibe, country bush, rainforests, so yeah with kids for families thats a go to. But keep in mind, local holidays here are also not very cheap haha. Tasmania or hamilton island, out country-side at Uluru that gets very STEEP. way cheaper to go to thailand etc. Then you have your bali/thailand crew/pacfic islands, then Canada and Japan seem to be some of the most popular international spots for Australians, as well as your europe crew. Australians are usually everywhere overseas haha - especially since we were locked down and not allowed to leave our own country for so long. I personally just did 3 months in europe this time last year, and I heard many australians on the plane were there for 6-8 weeks.

[@RodrigoBocanegraCruz]

Brisbane vs Singapore! 😊

[@BrisbaneChannel]

It's added to the list of candidates. Let's see how channel members vote...

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

Are you saying Singapore is actually a city???

[@BrisbaneChannel]

@@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE Yep. One of those places that's both a city and a country. Like Vatican city, Monaco and Liechtenstein (if I recall correctly).

[@Enthusiastic-Trainspotter-BNE]

uhhh😬@@BrisbaneChannel okey dokey, nobody has ever told me before

[@jon1758]

brisbane is much more humid than sydney during summer so feels hotter, those temperature stats don't tell the whole story. you need a "feels like" graph

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Fair call.

[@huwgrossmith9555]

Perth. Brisbane

[@maxplease9323]

Brisbane and Darwin Comparison if possible

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I've added Darwin to the list of candidates.

[@KM-vc7iy]

And Brisbane has the worst traffic in Australia, not very relaxing at all. And you also have the Brisbane City Council just waiting to fine you $306 if you stop in the wrong spot even for 1 second as they wont take any excuse for an answer. And finally rent prices are going up and will match Sydney in the coming years, not very relaxing either.

[@tarrenwilliams9529]

Brisbane v Perth?

[@BrisbaneChannel]

A couple of people have suggested a comparison with Perth, and I'm keen to do one. We'll see how the members vote on which city to do next, but I'm sure there'll be one comparing Perth sooner or later.

[@httle2012]

Sydney has much more Asian food and restaurant, so more attractive

[@BigBlueMan118]

Agreed this is a definite plus, the food and bar scene in Sydney and Melbourne really does leave the other cities in the dust.

[@Team_McQueen]

@@BigBlueMan118I’m from Brisbane and I’ve been to Sydney, but i feel like Sydney’s more of a place to visit than to live in

[@MitchellBPYao]

But boring also fun

[@kjack19991]

And now we face each other in the AFL Grand Final 2024, GO LIONS!!!!

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Bet you're feeling pretty good now!

[@vitalynz]

Totally unfair on Brisbane beaches. There are a lot of nice beaches, and if you need high class - Gold Coast is one hour drive away. And the Sunshine Coast on the other side too.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I did a video dedicated to the beaches. Yes, there's some, but apart from on the islands, they can't compete with Sydney's offering. We have a few nice enough beaches, but not to the point that it influences the city's culture as it does down in Sydney.

[@vitalynz]

@@BrisbaneChannel from this video it looks like Brisbane has zero beaches, which is not true

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I was really thinking more about the beach culture, but I can see how it may give that impression. I'll go in and link to the beach video at the part I mention it, which should clarify things.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

@vitalynz Thanks for the feedback, I've inserted a link to the beaches video in the place where I mention Brisbane's coastal situation, and there's now a pinned comment clarifying as well.

[@cai0]

Well, depending on where you live in Sydney, it's like another city, with zero beach vibes. To get any beach vibes you have to either be a multi-millionaire, or split the 2-bed rent with another 5 students.

[@HeathWP]

I hate how Sydney uses observatory hill at the main weather station. It's not a great indicator for greater Sydney. I.e. the record low for western Sydney is -8c. Observatory Hill hasn't even recorded a temperature below zero.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Yes. I guess that's the challenge with our geographically very large cities. There's so much variation, especially with our cities on the coast. Brisbane is the same. Temps in the coastal suburbs can be wildly different from those out west in Ipswich.

[@chriswaldron2617]

Brisbane, easily.

[@ex_orpheus1166]

Brisbane vs Auckland

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Yep. Already on the list of candidates...

[@sushilgirikumar]

Brisbane is less multi cultural and has higher crime rate than Sydney. Not a good indicator.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

It's all relative. Sure, not as multicultural as Sydney, but far more multicultural than many cities around the world. And the crime rates are also low when compared with many other cities internationally. If you use the crime map (I link to it in the video on choosing a suburb mentioned at the end of this video), you'll also be able to see where the crime is higher or lower within Brisbane as well.

[@localsocietymember]

Brisbane vs bangkok

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Thanks. Channel members have already chosen Melbourne for the next one. But I'll add Bangkok to the list of candidates for future comparison videos.

[@ACDZ123]

Brisbane or Sydney? Thats easy .....PERTH 😅

[@BrisbaneChannel]

I look forward to when the wheel comes around to Perth for a comparison video. I am quite curious about how Brissie and Perth compare.

[@ACDZ123]

@@BrisbaneChannel do you use the Australian beuaro of statistics in your research?

[@BrisbaneChannel]

@@ACDZ123 Yes, along with other sources, but they are usually referring to ABS data also.

[@electro_sykes]

Brisbane can suck but I hate Sydney a lot too.

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Anywhere you always like?

[@MitchellBPYao]

​@@BrisbaneChannelMelbourne

[@electro_sykes]

@@BrisbaneChannel melbourne, and the sunshine coast.

[@truthfacts5438]

Lol, Sydney all day long, Brisbane doesn't compare!

[@BrisbaneChannel]

Personally, I prefer Sydney (at least the Sydney of the time I used to live there, could be radically different now), but it's a personal thing. There's no shortage of people who left Sydney for Brisbane and are loving it here. It all depends on what you look for in a city.

[@mollyjayhedgehog6276]

Brisbane our people are one more nicer

[@MitchellBPYao]

You are

[@rickyboy5274]

They're both Crap...crap...more crap