Two Australian cities have just been named among the world’s friendliest – but if recent commentary is anything to go by, there are plenty who’d disagree.
Conde Nast Traveller magazine announced its 2025 Readers’ Choice Awards – including the top 10 ‘friendliest cities in the world’.
This year, Australia was the only country to have two cities on the list. Melbourne and Sydney were featured at 6th and 7th place respectively.
The reason? The winners report mentioned Melbourne’s ‘nostalgic Victorian architecture, atmospheric bars in graffiti-covered alleyways and a booming coffee culture’ as big wins for tourists.
They also noted its ‘splendid standards of public transport, public institutions, and work-life balance’.
Meanwhile, sunny sister city Sydney (which dropped from second place in 2024), was praised for the ‘allure’ of its ‘outdoorsy lifestyle’ and ‘stunning beaches’.
However, there is an underlying problem in Australian cities these rave reviews shroud.
The list is picked by travel-loving readers who are enjoying a short-term visit.
This year, Australia was the only country to have two cities on the list. Melbourne and Sydney were featured at 6th and 7th place respectively
Meanwhile, sunny sister city Sydney (which dropped from second place in 2024), was praised for the ‘allure’ of its ‘outdoorsy lifestyle’ and ‘stunning beaches’
While visitors may enjoy a warm and welcoming reception Down Under, there are increasing reports suggesting it can quite the opposite for those who relocate to Australia on a long-term basis.
Scrolling through TikTok and online forums reveals a myriad of confessions from travellers revealing they’ve struggled to make friends since moving to Australia – and particularly the Harbour City.
These anecdotal reports discuss how it’s a struggle to break into social cliques, and that expats often find themselves spending their weekends alone in a city full of strangers.
Questions like ‘Is Sydney usually this lonely?’ and ‘Struggling to make friends Down Under’ dominate online forums, where many agree it’s difficult to meet people. And over on TikTok, expats have vlogged in droves about the isolation they feel.
Despite being breathtakingly beautiful in appearance, many described how the sprawling and fast-paced city of Sydney has loads of liveability concerns.
With one of the highest costs of living in the world, expats noted that rent is through the roof, commutes can be long, and friendship groups are notoriously hard to penetrate.
In August, a Reddit post written by an international student struck a chord with thousands after describing Sydney as ‘beautiful but lonely’.
The young man, who moved to Australia from India for university, sparked a wave of responses from locals and expats who agreed the city’s social scene can be notoriously hard to crack.
A post from an international student has struck a chord online, after they described Sydney as ‘beautiful but lonely’
Scrolling through Reddit or TikTok reveals a myriad of confessions from expats who’ve struggled with loneliness since relocating to Australia
Sharing his experience, the man said that while the harbour city is ‘absolutely stunning’, he’s found it ‘antisocial’ and difficult to connect with people, both on campus and in day-to-day life.
‘Everybody’s on their phones all the time, everybody seems very busy all the time,’ he wrote.
‘Making friends seems like a hard task for now.’
Many agreed, with some saying it’s not just Sydney, but a wider Australian cultural pattern where friendliness doesn’t necessarily translate into friendship.
‘People will be friendly and it’s easy to chat, but that’s not the same as getting someone [to slow down enough to] befriend them,’ one replied.
They advised joining regular groups or hobbies and spending more time outside the CBD, where social circles can be more open.
But some also pointed to what they saw as a deeper social problem.
‘There’s an unspoken Australian culture of being friendly to many, but only friends with people [who] can get them somewhere,’ one wrote.
Traveller Amy (pictured) posted a TikTok about how alone she felt in Sydney: ‘This is the reality of moving across the world by yourself’
‘If you’re out solo, it looks like you’re [not worth talking to].’
Others described Sydney as a place where established social networks go back decades, making it tough for outsiders to break in.
‘Unless you were raised here and made school friends in affluent suburbs, they aren’t interested in making friends with you. You’re irrelevant and invisible,’ one commenter claimed.
Several shared similar experiences in other Australian cities, saying smaller capitals like Adelaide could also feel closed off.
‘Everyone knows everyone from childhood. It’s almost impossible to make friends with the locals here and they look at you weird if you even walk alone,’ a woman shared.
However, a few argued that the drinking culture in Australian cities was one of the few remaining avenues for spontaneous socialising.
While a few commenters insisted it’s possible to build a thriving social life in Sydney, they admitted it takes extra effort – and often the most welcoming circles are made up of other ‘out-of-towners’ in the same boat.
As one long-term resident summed it up after seven years.
‘Even with friends it’s a lonely city. It’s superficial, not very friendly. Melbourne and Perth are significantly more welcoming,’ they wrote.
A recent and shocking report from the University of Sydney detailed the scale of the loneliness epidemic among younger Australians.
The findings paint a troubling picture.
The study led by Associate Professor Michelle Lim found that more than 40 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 25 suffer from loneliness.
According to the report, one in four young Australians experience waves of it and one in seven has felt isolated for at least two years.
Because of these worrying results, Professor Lim and other national experts are now calling for urgent government action.
In a shocking new report from the University of Sydney and led by Associate Professor Michelle Lim (pictured), found that more than 40 per cent of Australians aged 15 to 25 are suffering from loneliness
Loneliness also ‘leads to poor health’
Many see the loneliness epidemic as a social issue, but it is rapidly becoming a health concern as well.
Chronic loneliness is linked to poor sleep, anxiety, depression, and weight gain, among other things.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently declared loneliness a global public health concern.
The recent research findings highlighted for Professor Lim that loneliness among young Australians is closely linked to physical health.
‘If you look at physical health, you see early signs of vascular ageing in lonely young people, even before the onset of chronic disease,’ she told Daily Mail.