This just in from the files of the glaring obvious: Sydney is big.

Wikipedia informs me that “Sydney, Australia is located in a coastal basin bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the east, the Blue Mountains to the west, the Hawkesbury River to the north and the Woronora Plateau to the south.”

That means that Sydney extends for 1580 square kilometres, which makes it roughly the same size as London – though the London urban area’s population of almost eight million is close to double that of Sydney.

What this boils down to is life here is very different from life in Wellington, where I spent much of my adult life. in contrast to Sydney, Wellington is a minnow  – the city takes up a mere 290 sq km and boasts a population of fewer than 200,000.

Moving to Sydney required many adjustments. I imagine my culture shock would be common to anyone moving from a small city to a larger one, whether that larger city is the size of Sydney or just bigger than what you were accustomed to.

In my early days in Sydney, I was constantly underestimating how long it would take me to get places. It took a while to get to grips with the the notion that going anywhere outside the CBD would require at least two forms of public transport – a choose your own adventure of buses, trains and ferries.

But I’m grateful for the public transport. I look at the volume of traffic and feel overwhelmed at the idea of driving. Cycling to work seems out of the question. Braver people than me seem happy to fight for space in the bus lane but I am not.

To get to work, I spend the better part of 25 minutes strap-hanging on one of the many express buses. well, pole-hanging is probably a more accurate description. Sydney does share its bus driving style with Wellington: if you’re standing in the aisle, a firm grip on something solid is advisable.

However, it can be a fight to get that spot in the aisle. There’s little room for politeness when getting on the express bus in rush hour, unless you want to risk having to wait for the next bus, which may be already full and sail serenely past your stop.

The time it takes to commute makes the working day seem much longer and more tiring, but salaries here are much higher and make it worthwhile.

And of course, because of that population of four million, there are people everywhere. And hence queues – at the supermarket, bank or post office, to get your lunch at Subway. Pavement rage is an exercise in futility in Pitt St mall or any of the CBD streets at rush hour. It’s much better to relax and go with it, even if you’re stuck behind an ambling tourist.

If I thought Lambton Quay coming up to Christmas was a nightmare, I’m told I should prepare for a horror movie in Pitt St, where I work.

But with size comes the gift of choice. Want to go to the beach? in Wellington, I tended to frequent Oriental Bay and Scorching Bay. here, there are more stunning beaches than you can shake a stick at – I live a 20-minute walk from one and it’s a mere hop, skip and a jump to three more. you can choose your shopping area depending on your mood, be it malls, markets or high-end designer.

I’d be interested to hear if other people have experiences to share after moving from small to large – or perhaps in reverse, from large to small. Does the idea of living in a larger city appeal to you? Or perhaps a small town, if you live in the city?

» Join Are We there Yet on Facebook.

If you’re going to look at the population of Wellington City as opposed to the Wellington Urban Area (pop. 389,700) then surely you should be comparing with the City of Sydney, pop. 182,226 at last census and area of 25sq.km, ergo Wellington is both more populous and larger than Sydney but with a much lower population density. Shocking, I know, cheers.

I visited my brother-in-law in Sydney about 5 years ago and I too was astouned how long it to to go…well, anywhere. He thought nothing of a 45 minute drive (on a Sunday) into the CBD. Fortunately there was no real reason to go in there other than for site-seeing (and the new Years Eve fireworks, natch) with Castle Hill only a few km away.

The killer for me though was the flying cockroaches. at least here in Hawkes Bay you only have to anticipate in two dimensions when trying to squash them. My wife also finally found somewhere that was "too hot" – 45 degrees with zero wind really hurts.

Life in a big city