US woman's review of Sydney divides internet: 'Ain't like this'

An intrepid young American woman has divided the internet with her review of Sydney, where she lived as a student for three months.

Rating places she has lived in around the world, TikToker Maddie Cleary ranked the New South Wales capital at the top above California and Bali, calling the Aussie city a "utopia". "I've lived in three different places around the world in the past three years, so I wanted to go through and rate them all, dating scene and everything, and no gatekeeping," Ms Cleary explained.

"Starting off strong, we have Sydney, Australia. Guys this place was a utopia," she began. "They just had everything: beaches, mountains, city life. You could not be bored here unless you really tried."

Ms Cleary also briefly touched on food, which she described as "similar to America", before she moved on to her next controversial point: "But the dating scene, girl."

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"When I tell you my dating life was insane," she enthused. "Everyone there is attractive, beautiful. They surf in the mornings before their 9-to-5s. I was going on surfing dates, coffee dates. It was just the best time."

The TikToker also raved about the city's cleanliness, transport system and infrastructure. "And there were, like, no crackheads or middle schoolers fighting on the metro. I was like, 'We are not in America. No'," Ms Cleary added before giving the city a score of 10 out of 10.

'Didn't leave Bondi Beach'

The video, which has been viewed over 1.1 million times in a week, wasn't entirely well-received by Aussies, with many claiming the young woman hadn't experienced the "real" Sydney that lies beyond the well-to-do Eastern Suburbs.

"She didn't leave Bondi Beach," someone quipped, while a second viewer added, "Girl, you obviously didn't go further west than Central Station."

"No eshays on the train? Say you've never been more west than Pyrmont without saying so," joked someone else, while another viewer responded: "Are we in the same Sydney? Cause I've lived here my whole life but it ain't like this."

"Dunno what Sydney you're in, but my dating life is a 0/10 and I've seen a crackhead literally just spew on the train seat an hour ago," another baffled viewer commented.

In defence of Sydney

Some viewers, however, claimed the TikToker's review of the harbour city was spot-on, with one responding, "Literal same experience. Land of dreams."

Meanwhile, some Sydneysiders blamed jealousy for the negative reactions to the clip. "People from other states hating on Sydney in the comments. Maybe a little bitter," wrote one local. Ms Cleary also attracted the attention of fellow travellers. "This place sounds like a dream. Add to my bucket list," a thrilled viewer commented. "Girl, you made me so excited to go to Australia," wrote another.

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