Are you sure about Sydney ? AUD has gone down a lot against USD linked currencies, and the city doesn't feel particulary expensive, accomodation included
https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/in/Sydney It sure doesn't support the idea of one of the most expensive cities in the world. Great city btw. But than I checked Singapore and Hong Kong on the same website and both cities appear considerably cheaper than New york, which seems strange, except if they include the government subsidized apartments, which form the majority of apartments on the market, but afaik are closed to expats
The cost of earning the money is Sydney is the issue. Global base. Uniquely punitive income tax. Takehome is horrible.