I understand its partly a individual preference. I currently live in NY and prefer vibrant Asian cities to European ones.
But im not sure covid was the only factor factor. I arrived a couple of weeks before Omicron was a factor, when Australia was opening up and there was a lot of optimism after hitting the vaccine target. I left just as Omicron was hitting.
Definitely agreed that Syds does not hold a candle to NYC.
I remember when I came back from there - this place felt like a stale townā¦
I love Sydney, still think its genuinely best city in the world to live in. The beaches, climate, natural beauty, the people and the food in Sydney is significantly better than NY . But it just felt like something had been lost. George St felt like a mall and not the main artery of a city that kept its heart pumping.
But Iād argue it hasnāt been that for a while. Pitt St has always felt like that to me (precisely because it is more highly pedestrianised) with George St being its dirty cousin.
I walk along George Street a few times a week when Iām in the office and the light rail had done a huge amount of harm to the Chinatown end of the street. I suspect that will recover with time and the return of international students. However, it has massively improved the area around the QVB in particular and there were times early last year where it was busier than Iāve ever seen it, but where the pedestianisation also still made it a genuinely pleasant place to be.
The Lansdowne Hotel has today announced it will be shutting its doors to live music later this year.
Well thatās shit
I guess this is the right thread. Does anyone know what is happening to the Metropolitan hotel on Bridge Street in the City. It used to be 1 of my favourite dankish pubs in the city. It closed down though maybe 3 or 4 years ago for renovations, well before Covid hit.
It looks like they have done some work on it but there hasnāt been any progress for ages.
First the Hoey, then the Annandale, now this. 
Pokies rule, ok.
I used to love listening to live music in the pubs in my 20s and 30s. Limerick Castle, White Horse Inn etc.
And then in my later years acting as a drummer roadie for my son when he played pubs, including the Landsdowne, The Gaelic Club, and one of my favourites, The Hopetoun.
Those bags of pedals and stands weighed a ton.
Great memories.
Downstairs at the lansdowne was great, upstairs sucked.
I still havenāt fully recovered from The Sandringham closing
That closure hurt a lot more because they converted it into a farken mini golf centre.
Mini golf?
Awesome!
Is that the pub the Whitlams wrote the song about
More than one
Better a mini golf bar than a pokie den.
The Sando - now thatās a venue to really get upset about 
Positive I saw Reel Big Fish play there in the early 2000ās but Google is telling me I am mistakenā¦ definitely went there for something. I remember it being ridiculously humid. Raining from the ceiling humid.
Is the space where The Hopetoun used to live still lying dormant? Havenāt walked past for a few years now.
This but the $5 pub dinners upstairs as a student across the road were a godsend for a cheap night out.