There is just so much more. Every little alleyway seems to have something interesting going on. The most interesting parts of Perth are echoes of various parts of Melbourne. What comes off as a gimmick or novelty in Perth is a normal and common occurrence here. I've accidentally wandered into more art galleries here than Perth even has, to my knowledge.
I miss having more friends than I can handle. In Perth I would often whine about how I longed for time on my own, but I rarely experience that here. I have far more time on my own now so I guess that desire is satiated. Here I have my WA-expat friends and the people they have introduced me to. A few of those have graduated into actual friends, it's a work in progress.
I'm very grateful that the expats have looked after me, I'd have been lost without them. They've been carrying me so hard. Despite that, when they are busy or I fear I'm smothering them, I have nobody to see. That's something I haven't felt in many years, if ever.
When I have an idea for a project that excites me I often think of nothing else. I'll stay up till dawn working on the project, not letting myself rest until the feature is done or the bug is fixed. This is complemented by by a desire to always be progressing in one way or another. This manifests as a constant tug of wanting to learn something, progress a skill. It was the feeling that drove me to start learning piano (though everything I learnt must be atrophied now).
When in the grips of this, anything unimportant feels like a waste of time. For example, video games lose their appeal immediately.
This is all preamble to the point: the normal drive I have to build something or create something is still there but my brain has made "making new friends" the primary goal. Any time free time I'm not spending on this makes me feel wasteful. This is often.
When I can't be progressing socially I'm trying to fill my time with other ancillary goals, improving at sketching, cooking, exploring Melbourne. This helps, but it doesn't quite scratch the itch.