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I'm from California and always wonder about Australia and have heard that they are similar in some ways, I'm curious if anyone here has been to both places and what the similarities and differences are.
Yes I have lived in SoCal for almost 10 years and visited Australia twice. They are similar in many ways, especially with the climate and vegetation. Also in the beach cities the style of clothes and surf culture are similar. As far as cities compare, San Diego is like Perth while Los Angeles is more comparable to Sydney. I have heard San Diego compared to Sydney appearance wise. That is because the cities in Australia have a laid back vibe and tend to appear smaller than they really are, but in actuality Perth is slightly more populated than San Diego, and Sydney is about the same population as L.A.
Hi I'm from San Diego now living in Perth for 5 months. Definitely agree that Perth and SD are very similar. Guess what I've been wondering is how do the waves compare between Perth and So Cal?? Anybody surf?
Mikala's spot on. I live in Perth but have been to San Diego at least a dozen times - good friends live there and we used to pop down there often, from Vancouver, to escape the greyness. Have been there 3 more times since living here. Hubby and I have often said Perth and SD are quite similar in many ways. I believe they're even Sister Cities, which makes sense.
SD's grown a lot since I first started going there (1981), with much more traffic and people, so I think Perth's more like SD was several years back. And Perth is generally quieter overall.
I only wish Perth could get some decent Mexican restaurants though, that's one thing we miss here. I end up making it myself most times. Thankfully there's a Californian here making real tortillas and chips. He supplies the restaurants and a few grocery stores stock his chips. He imports the masa harina from California, so they're authentic.
Cost of living though, we believe SD is cheaper. House prices are around the same, but SD offers more cheaper housing options, like townhouses, condos, etc. Perth's housing is predominantly single-family, with much of the multi-family ones being pricier as they're often built in locations where the land is costlier. Our real estate prices are a bit outrageous now, not matching the salaries.
Food-wise, SD cheaper, as well as other things like electronics, clothes, cars, etc.
SD's weather isn't as extreme as Perth's either. We can get some sizzling hot days in Perth, even in the beach suburbs - the types of temperatures found more in the inner parts of California. We were in SD Feb '07 and could run along Sail Bay in shorts and t-shirts, and spend the rest of the day in light clothes. Winters in Perth seem colder.
I grew up in Brisbane but went to Helix High School in San Diego for a year and have been back to SD several times. I actually found the 2 cities quite similar. Similar lifestyle. Similar laid back feel. Brisbane's more humid though. But the winters are mild like San Diego.
I have heard San Diego compared to Sydney appearance wise. That is because the cities in Australia have a laid back vibe and tend to appear smaller than they really are, but in actuality Perth is slightly more populated than San Diego, and Sydney is about the same population as L.A.
I won't dispute the central point that Perth and San Diego have much in common, but according to Wikipedia and Brittanica, population isn't one of them. The population of Perth's MSA is about 1.5 million which is slightly more than the City of San Diego, but the MSA of San Diego is 3 million. The same holds true when comparing Sydney with Los Angeles. The entire population of New South Wales is just a bit over 6 million. The population of LA county is 10 million. Add in OC and Ventura and the truncated MSA of LA is 14 million. Still, other than population, Australia and Southern California have much in common. You might even think of Australia as "California as it used to be."
But just to repeat the population issue is a minor point, the lifestyle, climatic, and attitudinal attributes of the two areas are very similar.
Last edited by kettlepot; 07-21-2008 at 08:57 PM..
What I will say, is I'd like to take LA out of the comparison. California is a fantastic state. San Fancisco, San Diego. Most of the coast line for that matter is fantastic. But LA is by far and away the worst city I've ever been to. It's like some social experiment that went horribly wrong.
Actually think Sydney is more like Frisco than LA.
Last edited by billsaintkilda; 07-22-2008 at 03:48 AM..
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