I lived in both cites. Melbourne for 2 years & Sydney for 12 years. Have been in & around London now for about 13/14 years. I can say that I much prefer Sydney by far. Melbourne's pleasant, but has so little going on in comparison to Sydney. I suppose it depends on what you want to do. I like the life & busy nature of the city. Plus the fact there's so many decent beaches in close proximity is a major bonus for me. So I gotta go for Sydney. -