Sydneysiders are satisfied but in ‘uncharted waters’ on cost-of-living pain

Sydneysiders’ satisfaction with life has bounced back after the pandemic,but the high cost of living continues to sully the experience for many and contributes to loneliness,pessimism and a desire to leave the city.

With inflation at a 30-year high,interest rates rising and rents soaring,85 per cent of Sydneysiders polled in December said they were concerned about the cost of living – and 40 per cent were “very concerned”.

The polling found overall satisfaction with Sydney bounced back after the upheaval of COVID-19.

The polling found overall satisfaction with Sydney bounced back after the upheaval of COVID-19.Flavio Brancaleone

The Ipsos poll,conducted for the Committee for Sydney think tank,also found a link between cost-of-living pressure and loneliness. The survey found Sydneysiders tend to feel alone or left out at a rate on par with comparison cities London,New York and Toronto.

Among those who said they felt lonely at least some of the time,56 per cent were very concerned about the cost of living. But among those who never felt lonely,that figure fell to 32 per cent. Logically,stretched finances constrain someone’s ability to go out and socialise.

There was also a strong correlation between people who were unhappy and concerned about the cost of living. Among those who were satisfied with life in Sydney,a third were still “very concerned” about the cost of living,but for those who were dissatisfied,it was 83 per cent.

The Committee for Sydney’s acting chief executive,Ehssan Veiszadeh,a former strategy director to Gladys Berejiklian who has seen lots of polling over the years,said the numbers were off the scale.

“We’re almost in uncharted waters with the concerns around cost of living,” he said. “The fact that issue has bumped all other issues very strongly coming out of the pandemic is incredible. It’s basically cost of living and then daylight.”

The polling,published ahead of Monday’s Sydney Summit that is supported by theHerald,found overall satisfaction with Sydney bounced back after the upheaval of COVID-19. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents said life was better than 12 months ago,while 24 per cent said it was worse.

This was a superior outcome to the comparison cities,especially Toronto,where only 15 per cent said life was better and 44 per cent said it was worse,and satisfaction was markedly lower.

“We’re ahead of the pack and that’s wonderful,” Veiszadeh said. “The big outlier continues to be affordable decent housing. This is really chipping away at that key[lifestyle] quality that we have[and] starting to make people think about moving away from Sydney.”

This year’s survey found consistent support for building more homes and apartments to try to combat the high cost of housing. When asked if they supported higher density housing near and above railway stations “if it means government can preserve green and open spaces in the suburb”,nearly 60 per cent of respondents said yes,and only 14 per cent were outright opposed.

That will be a key consideration for governments,planners and developers as more metro lines open around Sydney in coming years,providing regular high-capacity services and therefore the opportunity for higher density. On Friday,formal planning approvals were issued for the nine Metro West stations,including Pyrmont,Five Dock and North Strathfield.

Our commute to work has returned,but not to pre-pandemic levels. The proportion of people who don’t commute at all fell from 30 per cent to 12 per cent,while those commuting four or more days a week rose from 42 per cent to 53 per cent. A third of Sydneysiders commuted five days a week.

The poll of 1000 Sydney adults was conducted in December and reflected the city’s demographics. Forty per cent of respondents said they intended to buy a vehicle within the next five years,and of that,70 per cent said they were somewhat likely or very likely to buy an electric vehicle.

On the vexed question of Sydney’s nightlife – which was impaired by lockout laws and then COVID – the biggest gripe revealed in the survey was affordability. Only 35 per cent of respondents agreed that the offering was affordable,while 36 per cent disagreed.

Perceptions of safety at night differed significantly with age and location. Nearly 70 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 said Sydney’s nightlife was safe,but among those over 50,it was 45 per cent. While in the north shore and the eastern suburbs more than 60 per cent of people said the city’s nightlife was safe,in western Sydney that fell to 42 per cent.

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Michael Koziol is Sydney Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald,based in our Sydney newsroom. He was previously deputy editor of The Sun-Herald and a federal political reporter in Canberra.

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