SYDNEY v MELBOURNE AS A JUNIOR LAWYER - Which city should you choose?

As a junior lawyer, it is likely you will end up working in one of Australia’s two largest cities, as this is where the bulk of Australia’s legal jobs can be found. Having worked in both Sydney and Melbourne, this blog post shares some of the major along with the more trivial differences between the two cities.

Getting to work

Melbourne wins this category by a long way. Most people in Melbourne get to work via train or tram. The train and tram networks are comprehensive. I don’t know anyone who catches the bus to work, though there are buses around if you somehow needed to catch one. Some people in Melbourne even drive to work (unheard of in Sydney unless you are one of the leading Partners at your law firm), as although there is traffic, it is nothing on the scale of Sydney peak-hour. If you walk or take public transport to work in Melbourne you are much more likely to arrive at work alive. There are plenty of designated and separated bike lanes in Melbourne and car drivers are much more bike and pedestrian aware. The pollution and smog in Melbourne is much lower than Sydney. One thing that can be annoying in Melbourne is that people walk very slowly and often do not stick to their side (the left hand side) of the footpath. In Sydney most locals know to stay to the left and it is only tourists who are unaware (or choose to ignore) the system.

Contrast this to my experience getting to work in Sydney where trains are packed and often unairconditioned so that you need to bring a change of clothes for when you eventually arrive at work. That is if you are lucky enough to live on a train line. Most Sydney-siders have to slum it on a bus to get to work. Sydney bus drivers are notorious for their sudden stop/start driving. Cycle to work at your own risk, as many Sydney drivers have an “out to get cyclists” attitude and there are very few safe bike lanes available. Walking is not at all relaxing due to having to push through so many people and due to inhaling so much peak hour pollution/smog. Getting to work is only superior in Sydney if you catch a ferry. You can’t beat a relaxing ferry ride to start your day.

FYI while the cost of public transport in Sydney and Melbourne is similar, if you commute to work every day, it is much cheaper in Sydney, as under the Opal Card loyalty system, once you have travelled to and from work Monday to Thursday, the rest of the week is free. There is no such loyalty system on the Melbourne Myki.

At work

Hours of work do not vary between Melbourne and Sydney. The legal profession has a culture of long hours for law graduates and junior lawyers across Australia. You need to look at firm culture and industry you intend to work in when considering how many hours you are willing to work.

My experience has been that colleagues and lawyers I have met in Melbourne tend to be more relaxed and friendly than in Sydney. Being a relatively unrelaxed person, I have had to really focus on being less of a stress-head in Melbourne. Strangers even talk to each other in the lift, which can take a bit of getting used to, as in Sydney protocol is to politely avert eye contact and read the advertising on the little screen above the lift numbers until you exit. I would also say manners are highly valued in Melbourne. If someone accidentally touches your arm on a crowded train they tend to apologise profusely. Melbourne etiquette reminds me of London. 

Lawyers in Melbourne tend to dress much more conservatively than in Sydney. In Winter, dress code is literally all black for females. You rarely see men wearing crazy shirt/tie/sock combinations either. Black beanie and black gloves can be worn if necessary on the commute to work. Stockings are also worn with skirts and dresses. I hate stockings, so this took a bit of getting used to, as in Sydney, most law firms see stockings as optional. For Melbourne Winter go for the thermal variety. In Melbourne I have noticed a lot more female lawyers wear flat shoes rather than heels, including quite masculine styles such as brogues, loafers and oxfords. 

Getting to court

If you are a law graduate, chances are you will need to attend court urgently to file a court document or attend a return of subpoena matter at some point. In Sydney, if your client cannot be billed for a taxi, you would have to walk to court. In Melbourne, if that happens to you, you can take advantage of the “Free Tram Zone” (such a saviour). You can ride a tram for free within the CBD. There is no comparable system in Sydney, though if you have time up your sleeve you could slum it with the tourists on the free city loop bus, which is meant to come every 15 minutes, but rarely does.

The weekend

You cannot beat a picturesque Sydney weekend beach hopping along the inner harbour and northern beaches. Sydney is a beautiful city, but it is this same geography that makes getting around hell during the week. Traffic jams not only exist during the week but also on the weekend, especially during Saturday morning school sport. Driving up the coast on a Friday night for a relaxing weekend can start with hours stuck in traffic, especially for long weekends. Weekends in Melbourne are fantastic. Melbourne is close to several national parks, as well as the Great Ocean Road, Philip Island, French Island and Tasmania. Melbourne is much more centralised than Sydney, so on the weekends, the CBD is always pumping, even in cold weather.

Lunchtime

Most of my colleagues buy their lunch because although the cost of lunch in Melbourne and Sydney is similar, the quality of the food in Melbourne is astronomically better. You could pay $15 for a soggy sandwich with a tiny piece of dry chicken breast in Sydney. In Melbourne, people would refuse to buy that. There are so many good places at both the Paris End and Spencer St end of Melbourne. While there are a few nice parks on the outskirts of the Melbourne CBD, in Sydney I used to go for power walks in the Botanic Gardens and Hyde Park if I had time, which I really miss.

Status of the profession

In Sydney, although there are lawyers in Chatswood, Parramatta and elsewhere, there is a real concentration of lawyers in the Circular Quay and Martin Place precinct. Lawyers rule this area and have a visible presence. Law firms are more spread out in Melbourne, with the retail precinct separating the Spencer St lawyers from the Paris End lawyers. Being a lawyer is not seen as a big deal in Melbourne, where professionals mix with creatives and everyone else seems to have a more interesting career than a lawyer. Friday night drinks at the bar below your building involves an interesting mix of lawyers, architects, artists and window cleaners all winding down in the same bar. This is quite different from Sydney where being a lawyer is seen as prestigious and garners respect because of this.

Getting to the airport

Sydney wins here. Getting to the airport is a quick 15 minutes on the train. You can also catch the bus or get a taxi. The major advantage of the train is that it is not dependent on the traffic. In Melbourne, regardless of which mode of transport you use to get to the airport (Skybus, personal car, taxi) you can be stuck in traffic and miss your flight, especially as the airport is 24km from the city centre. The Taxi from Melbourne airport to the city is around $60 which is a real expense if you can’t claim it from work. The Skybus is $18, which is comparable to the Sydney train access fee

For newbies to Melbourne note there are two airports – Tullamarine and Avalon. If you want to go to Melbourne make sure you booked Tullamarine. Avalon is situated between Geelong and Melbourne but is much closer to Geelong. While the Melbourne airport is not “close” to the CBD, this has the advantage of making the CBD air noise free. You can’t beat the serenity of living in Melbourne. If you live in inner Sydney, particularly the inner west, air traffic is a part of your life and can affect everything from your sleep quality to your hearing.  

Cost of living

The cost of living in Melbourne is meant to be dramatically lower than in Sydney. This is not my experience. Although rent may be slightly cheaper, rent in inner city Melbourne is on par with Sydney. The cost of food is the same. The cost of transport is more expensive in Melbourne. Gym memberships are slightly cheaper in Melbourne. Buying a house in Melbourne is much more affordable than Sydney, but rental costs in the inner city are comparable.  Electricity bills are much higher in Melbourne where heating is a necessity rather than a nice thing to have. Discretionary spending such as fine dining is cheaper in Melbourne than Sydney, so if you are a big spender in Sydney and move to Melbourne, you might save money. However, if you are living on a shoestring in Sydney and not being frivolous, do not expect the cost of living to be significantly cheaper in Melbourne.

Love of food

While there are people in Sydney who love food, Melbourne is next-level. Talking about coffee is a normal past time, and where you ate brunch on the weekend is a favourite topic of conversation on Mondays.

Fitspo

Fitspo does not exist in Melbourne the way it does in Sydney. On the weekend people wear normal clothes when they are not playing sport. There is not a whole crew of Lorna Jane clad women putting on their sports gear to go to a cafe. You can eat a piece of chocolate at work without people raising eye brows. Sure, people own Lululemon and 2XU, but they wear this clothing to and at the gym.

When I go to gym before work, there is barely a soul in sight. There are two reasons for this. First, it is much too cold in winter to go to the gym before work unless you are super dedicated and second, people spend less time in the gym and more time exercising outdoors in Melbourne. Sports like rock climbing, cycling and long distance running are very popular in Melbourne, more so than in Sydney where people seem to be more gym oriented in their exercise choices.

The weather

When people say it is cold in Melbourne in winter, they are not joking. I brushed off the comments before I moved here, and did not really think about it. Big mistake. I found my first winter in Melbourne really, really hard. It is bone-shatteringly cold. Icy Antarctic winds blow through the city as though it is the apocalypse. Once you have invested in a down coat, thick beanie, gloves and thermal stockings, you will be fine. But do this asap after moving, preferably beforehand so you are ready at the airport. After living in Sydney for six years, it was a big shock. While winter is terrible, Melbourne summer is hot, dry and delightful.

Sydney weather is warm all year round. Although people say it is “cold” in winter, I always felt hot wearing a coat, which shows how “cold” it really is. If you are a beach-lover, the weather in Sydney is ideal for you. Despite Melbourne having a reputation for being a rainy place, Sydney actually has a higher rainfall than Melbourne. Melbourne tends to drizzle, while Sydney has huge dumps of rain interspersed with sunny days. 

Job availability

While NSW claims to have stronger economic growth and job creation rates than Victoria, this is not necessarily reflected in job availability for junior lawyers. In recent job hunting in March/April 2015, I found that there were a significantly higher amount of jobs advertised for graduates and junior lawyers in Melbourne than Sydney. This is just my experience. The bottom line is if you are mobile (don’t have kids, caring obligations or a long term partner), apply for jobs that interest you all over Australia.  

If I have missed some key difference between Sydney and Melbourne please comment below.