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You know what I think? That these lazy Americans need to get off their ass and start exploring the world beyond NYC, London, Paris etc. Sydney is one of the most vibrant, beautiful, exciting cities I have ever visited and I have been everywhere. The people are friendly, the nightlife is happening, clean ocean sunrises 366 days a year, I am so tired of the "big four", yes, they are wonderful, but they are also considerably overrated. The reason Sydney is receiving so much recognition is because it deserves it. The same goes for Hong Kong, Vienna, Beijing, Rome, Shanghai. Global "power" is fickle and a matter of personal opinion, it doesn't have anything to do with how great a place is. Sydney would easily be at the top of the financial ladder if it wasn't' so far away from North America and Europe. Having said that, Australia isn't even that far from major cities, Hong Kong is about 7 hours from Brisbane and 3 hours from Darwin to Singapore. Tokyo is 7-8 hours from Sydney from memory, which is the same distance from NYC to London.
Sydney is definitely a lovely city to visit. I think the concern here is that its ranking is inconsistent with the actual criteria by which the 50 cities assessed in the survey have been stratified.
Sydney is definitely a lovely city to visit. I think the concern here is that its ranking is inconsistent with the actual criteria by which the 50 cities assessed in the survey have been stratified.
But aren't all the criteria, in reality, subjective? Even "best place to do business" is a pretty empty concept. Is a large financial centre really a "better" place to do business - what real advantages does that really bring to most businesses operating in those cities?
Would someone mind explaining to me why Sydney keeps showing up on these kinds of lists. I'm baffled. I rarely hear it mentioned in the news except around New Years when they light off that bridge. Australia is a nation of 20M people, and despite being a beautiful and am sure great country to live in, it really isn't that important in the affairs of the world on a day to day basis. It really doesn't belong in the same league as London, NY, Tokyo, Paris, etc. They market themselves really well. The mainstay of the Australian economy is exporting raw materials to China. Their two largest car mfr's are subsidiaries of American companies. I really can't think of any large Australian corporations making a huge difference in the world. No, the premier Australian city does not belong in the top five. Sorry. Their largest corporation sells minerals to China. Yeah, Billiton is certainly on the lips of most people in the world. Meanwhile in the US we have Apple, Exxon, Ford, General Electric, General Motors, etc.
The number one corporation in Australia had revenues of $39B. You have to go to number 73 Humana to reach that same revenue value for the US. Australia's economy is tiny and their number one city doesn't belong anywhere near any of these lists.
The distant, isolated continent of Australia may not spring to mind as a financial hub on the scale of New York, London or Tokyo, but its rich home-grown resources are catching the eye of international markets. Nowhere is this more obvious than in this year’s Forbes 40 Australia, our annual ranking of the country’s 40 largest companies, which has seen the energy and mining sector lifted by strong demand from booming foreign markets such as China. Australia has abundant reserves of coal, base metals and petroleum, and in September, Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a series of energy agreements designed to bring the two economies even closer together. The commodity boom and consolidation in the mining sector have combined to make BHP Billiton Australia’s largest company this year. The world’s largest miner delivered record profits and doubled its total market capitalization year-on-year to $220.9 billion, incorporating both its London and Sydney listings.
I've also got no idea where you got a revenue of $39 billion from either, that amount would make bhp the 8th largest company in Australia by revenue.
Last edited by danielsa1775; 10-14-2013 at 07:19 AM..
Would someone mind explaining to me why Sydney keeps showing up on these kinds of lists. I'm baffled.
Some cities are like young pop stars. They become highly reputable in certain circles because they're considered "cool" or "hip" with the times. Case in point: Notice how Vancouver was all over the news and talked about everywhere like it was the greatest place on earth a few years ago during the Olympics there. lol.
You know what I think? That these lazy Americans need to get off their ass and start exploring the world beyond NYC, London, Paris etc. Sydney is one of the most vibrant, beautiful, exciting cities I have ever visited and I have been everywhere. The people are friendly, the nightlife is happening, clean ocean sunrises 366 days a year, I am so tired of the "big four", yes, they are wonderful, but they are also considerably overrated. The reason Sydney is receiving so much recognition is because it deserves it. The same goes for Hong Kong, Vienna, Beijing, Rome, Shanghai. Global "power" is fickle and a matter of personal opinion, it doesn't have anything to do with how great a place is. Sydney would easily be at the top of the financial ladder if it wasn't' so far away from North America and Europe. Having said that, Australia isn't even that far from major cities, Hong Kong is about 7 hours from Brisbane and 3 hours from Darwin to Singapore. Tokyo is 7-8 hours from Sydney from memory, which is the same distance from NYC to London.
haha, Sydney might be good no doubt Sydney is a great city, but NYC is much better...
NYC is better because...
Transportation
Restaurants
More tourists
Stronger
Wealthier
Better location
Bigger
More Attractions
More neighborhoods
More diversity
Cheaper
Shopping
More Companies and headquarters
More influential
Better universities
More diverse options of Jobs
Yes I do know about NYC cons!
More crime
Higher poverty rate
More homeless people
Oh and lazy yeah...part of the reason why we cant travel as much is because we have longer working hours, I know many including my family that work on the weekends.
I don't understand why Sydney and NYC are in a competition in this thread. Is it because Sydney ranked above NYC in this list? If so, does it really matter? Lists like these come around every year and they really are pointless. I love Sydney and New York City and I don't think this squabbling over which is more influential or better or more "financially important" is worth much at all. Plus, NYC is one of the most globally influential cities in the world, it's going to outweigh any city it competes against, including London and Paris and certainly Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong. I also think that the "NYC is better because..." List the poster above me has is pretty, well... juvenile to be honest and extremely biased. And I don't think the Sydney and Vancouver comparisons are worthwhile, Sydney isn't "in" right now, it's always been popular, and I think it has far more longevity than Vancouver in terms of global attention and importance.
Plus, opinions are like *******s, everyone's got one.
I don't understand why Sydney and NYC are in a competition in this thread. Is it because Sydney ranked above NYC in this list? If so, does it really matter? Lists like these come around every year and they really are pointless. I love Sydney and New York City and I don't think this squabbling over which is more influential or better or more "financially important" is worth much at all. Plus, NYC is one of the most globally influential cities in the world, it's going to outweigh any city it competes against, including London and Paris and certainly Tokyo, Sydney and Hong Kong. I also think that the "NYC is better because..." List the poster above me has is pretty, well... juvenile to be honest and extremely biased. And I don't think the Sydney and Vancouver comparisons are worthwhile, Sydney isn't "in" right now, it's always been popular, and I think it has far more longevity than Vancouver in terms of global attention and importance.
Plus, opinions are like *******s, everyone's got one.
Everything i said was not an opinion, its true NYC has more diversity, more tourists and such i will admit the restaurant part is kind of an opinion but than again, websites, chefs are always rated best in nyc.
Some cities are like young pop stars. They become highly reputable in certain circles because they're considered "cool" or "hip" with the times. Case in point: Notice how Vancouver was all over the news and talked about everywhere like it was the greatest place on earth a few years ago during the Olympics there. lol.
LOL. And some are like old movie stars. Morning shows on old format TV keep telling us they were fantastic, and old movie critics always rave about them. But when you watch one of their movies, you find it pretty underwhelming. Sure, your old aunt loves them, but you’re pretty sure you don’t really like your old aunt.
I am totally agree with this list as it includes London and Paris.
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