I expect Sydney to add Picton and a chunk of the lower Blue Mountains to snatch back the crown 
They can have it. The Newcastle/Sydney/Wollongong megalopolis still beats Melbourne/Geelong by a fair bit though. Add just under a million from the combined populations of Newcastle/Central Coast/Wollongong. You can also pretty much throw in the Blue Mountains up to Mount Victoria and also the Southern Highlands down to Moss Vale in a characterisation of âgreater Sydneyâ these days.
I think that might be pushing it⌠you may as well take Brisbane. lol
Iâm a neutral these days, living near Canberra. But the old joke is that NSW= Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong.
The satellite cities around Melbourne donât form a near continuous urban area like on the NSW east coast, though (which is a good thing). The âSubtropical Empireâ from the Sunshine Coast to the Gold Coast/Tweed Heads is similar, though.
Important to note though, Melbourne only out populates Sydney in the 'Significant Urban Area Classification", Sydney is still larger based on the âGreater Urban Area Classificationâ which included the Blue Mountains and Central Coast.
Melbourne is projected to overtake Sydney in the 'Greater Urban Area Classificationâ towards the end of this decade.
I am actually on the side that our growth in Sydney has been excessive, regardless of what Melbourne have been doing. I did not realise Melbourne were even worse in that regard, yikes.
Melbournes growth has definitely been fast, I donât think itâs too fast. Our roads and public transport are holding up much better than Sydney. Housing is the big issue though.
This clip is doing the rounds on social media, I think both sides are happy with it:
Itâs kinda odd how Melbourne is now the largest.
I remember in the late 1980s, everyone thought Brisbane would overtake Melbourne to be the 2nd largest in the next 30 years or so. That was at a time when the population in SE QLD was booming.
I do wonder how much influence climate change is having in population movements⌠as I would now be more likely to move south than north as the QLD summers are too constantly humid for my liking.
Youâre right there was serious talk in the late 80s/early 90s backed up by ABS projections that Brisbane would overtake Melbourne. At the time Brisbane was growing at a phenomenal rate and Melbourne was in the complete doldrums. Of course things turned around dramatically. Itâs funny how things can change. A few years ago ABS was projecting Perth to overtake Brisbane but I donât think anyone is saying that anymore either. Not sure climate change is much of a factor as Brisbane is growing super fast again.
No. Housing affordability, job opportunities, road infrastructure, transportation, and the room to expand its borders is pushing Melbourneâs growth. Sydney has underperformed in these areas for the past 20 years (Since the 2000 Olympics).
Brisbane probably rates better than Melbourne in a lot of those categories you mentioned, yet people are still moving to Melbourne.
I would say job opportunities would be far greater for migration than Brisbane. I forgot to also mention education which has been another big driving force.
Anecdotally at least, climate change is a factor behind Tassieâs population growth and house price boom, not to mention the attractiveness of being on an island in a pandemic.
I agree that for most people, climate concerns lag well behind job security and cost of living. A place like Daylesford has a Tasmanian style climate with much better access to the jobs and amenities that the Culture Capital provides, ditto the Blue Mountains for providing a Tasmanian style alternative close to Sydney. Post COVID these rural âtree changeâ meccas suddenly donât feel like the country anymoreâŚ
It will be interesting to see how these tree changers cope with the next bad bushfire season. I chose Bungendore mainly because of its lower than average bushfire risk (when compared to the Blue Mountains) and also for its proximity to Canberra. The rain shadow protects us from a lot of storms and torrential rain events as well. Boring is good in an unstable climate.
MediaBites had some fun with the story.
Yet you still live there! 
Not by choice. You go where the work is.
Such a credible sample size in a world with close to or more than 8 billion people 
Again, those people need to be tested for medical reasons.
Sydney is a shithole.
I think youâre in teaching, right? That gives you more flexibility than most. No need to be stuck in a place you hate.
Even specialist teaching roles can be found in the larger regional centres. If youâre keen on private schools then places like Orange, Bathurst or Armidale would be still suitable. Cost of living- whilst high everywhere- is still more manageable than in Sydney or Melbourne.
Iâm fortunate enough to make Bungendore work for me. But I prioritise quality of life over convenience and I am single; ymmv.
