Yep. Pretty much. I heard somewhere that the C:S devs themselves at some point said that SimCity's shortcomings was one of their main motivations for making Skylines. Can't say if that's actually true, but it would make sense. Spite can be a powerful force behind software development.
I'm actually playing C:S just these days again (it's in my rotation of favorite games). The newest update added quays and waterfront features, which make building along shorelines a lot of fun. Before, waterfront buildings would just tend to get flooded... Not very good for real estate values. Now, they look awesome.
Also, their mod support and workshop integration is awesome! Tons of very excellent mods to tinker with. That's crucial in a genre where the quantity of content is a large factor in replayability.
And finally, building intersections! You can nerd out for hours doing tunnels and overpasses (much to the detriment of the rest of your city, a lot like real life roadworks, actually.)
Cheers
EDIT:
Protip, launch the game with the --enable-dev-ui parameter and hit Tab once in-game. You can pop a dev console up with several useful tools, including analog gamepad support. That works REALLY well to move the camera smoothly, especially if you have a Steam Controller.