I visited Sydney recently, for the first time in nine years, and was stunned at how different it is from Melbourne. The weather was a lot better – that goes without saying – and the locals weren’t dressed head-to-toe in black. The streets are a bit cleaner, too, and the spotless coffee shops all look like they opened a week ago. Another thing is that the trees in Sydney are native to Australia, which is a nice change from the English imports across Melbourne that mess up the ecosystem and make me sneeze constantly.

But perhaps the biggest difference between the two cities was also the least obvious: the way they sound. For one, the shriek of $400k Italian supercars was a dominant fixture of the Sydney soundscape. The crosswalk klaxons are also a near-constant sound in Sydney, thanks to the seemingly directionless streets squished into the city centre that mean you’re crossing the road every two minutes. The sound itself is also insistent and aggressive, it feels like you’re being pushed into the road. It’s easy to see why Billie Eilish used those klaxons on her hit track Bad Guy, as you’ll always be on your feet when you hear them.

The pedestrian crossing button design sampled by Billie Eilish. The buttons are used in both Melbourne and Sydney but have different sounds.Credit: Lucy Stone

Though Melbourne has the same crossing buttons, ours have a more mechanical, retro sound of clacks and clicks that is more soothing and less hurried.

Another thing is how the word on the street – literally – varies wildly between the two rival........

© The Sydney Morning Herald