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1:46AM Sunday 05 July, 2009

This is paradise

11:00a.m. 21st August 2008

| Amy Remeikis & AAP

This is paradise

Bill and Danielle Malousis love living on the Sunshine Coast. Photo: Chris McCormack/177811

The big city ’burbs are best?

Try telling that to the hordes of people making the Sunshine Coast their home.

The inaugural BankWest Quality of Life index found 21 of the nation’s 25 most liveable communities are in the suburbs of Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra.

BankWest based the results on data from the census, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the tax office and health authorities.

Poll: Where's the best quality of life?

This poll has closed. See the results.

The local government areas were ranked according to their score in 10 criteria, including income, employment levels, home ownership, house size, crime rates and internet access.

Those behind the index said it challenged the idea that sea or tree changes bring better lives.

However, newlyweds Bill and Danielle Malousis said it was impossible to put a price on lifestyle.

Bill made the seachange from Brisbane so his sweetheart could remain close to her family and he hasn’t looked back since.

“I love it,” he said.

“We found a home with really cheap rent in Marcoola and the company I work for, Opus, have an office up here so I just transferred.

“It’s just such a beautiful place. We want to have kids eventually and it is a really nice, beautiful place to raise children.”

While some concessions have been made – “living in Marcoola, if we want to go shopping we have to drive to either Mudjimba or Maroochydore” – the couple said what they got in return was definitely worth it.

“We’re very happy,” Bill said.

“That is what counts.”

And it shows.

Whether it was their newlywed glow or just the beautiful surroundings, the couple couldn’t help but laugh out loud as they walked along Cotton Tree park, drawing the attention of some tourists.

“Who wouldn’t be happy living here?” Melbourne’s Jack Hoare said.

“You have a beautiful piece of the world here.”

And that’s something we don’t need a survey to tell us.

QUALITY TIME

- Local Government Areas with the best quality of life in Australia:

1. Ku-ring-gai (Sydney)

2. Hunter’s Hill (Sydney)

3. Nillumbik (Melbourne)

4. Peppermint Grove (Perth)

5. Mosman (Sydney)

6. Nedlands (Perth)

7. Manningham (Melbourne)

8. Bayside (Melbourne)

9. Boroondara (Melbourne)

10. Adelaide Hills (Adelaide)

Local Government Areas with the worst quality of life in Australia:

20. Cue (Western Australia)

21. Coober Pedy (South Australia)

22. Jabiru (Northern Territory)

23. Leonora (Western Australia)

24. Derby-West Kimberley (Western Australia)

25. Moree Plains (NSW)

*Source: BankWest Quality of Life Index 2008

Recent Comments

Add a comment
Posted by john_fogarty from Caloundra
on 21 August, 2008 at 12:05 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Only two things needed to make the Sunshine Coast very liveable . One , Daylight Saving . Working hard all day and having no useful daylight after work all year sucks .Two , Public Transport . 300 thousand people live on the Sunshine Coast and there is no railway service . That sucks too . The State Government is against Daylight Saving and does not build new railway lines. just realigns old ones . The Opposition is also negative on Daylight Saving and railway infrastructure and the Federal Goverment doesn't want to know . So we're stuck , in the dark and in our cars .
Posted by Just_thinking_2 from Mountain Creek
on 21 August, 2008 at 2:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
More jobs and higher salaries would make this a perfect place - most people I know here hate their jobs, earn very little but still believe this is the price we pay for living in "Paradise" - or is it paradise living like this????
Posted by Jewel from Maroochydore
on 21 August, 2008 at 2:20 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
No John I for one dont want Daylight Savings, I get up early and look forward to summer mornings that are light, try getting up early its the best part of the day.
As for public transport I agree, our public transport system here on the coast is non exsistant, our roads chocked with cars, no decent bike ways.....although that is being worked on, we are in desperate need of an adequate transport system.
I love the coast, its the best place on earth to live but as the population continues to grow infrastructure just does not keep up!!
Posted by GiveUsABreak from MindlessRants
on 21 August, 2008 at 6:24 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
Be careful what you wish for. Talking up the virtues of the Coast as a place to live plays into the hands of the Daily's favourite villains, the State Government and its wicked plans for forced migration.
Posted by GiveUsABreak from MindlessRants
on 21 August, 2008 at 9:15 p.m. ( Suggest removal )
It's great to have some hard research conveying that this is a nice place to visit but you wouldn't want to live here. However, people who are fortunate enough to live in the most opulent and best-serviced dress circle suburbs of the capitals already know that they're on a good thing.

The annual turnover of people who move here from less salubrious big city suburbs only to move on again disappointed is phenomenal and is the only thing that keeps overcrowding tolerable while infrastructure struggles to catch up.
Posted by live_in_London from London
on 22 August, 2008 at 12:09 a.m. ( Suggest removal )
All I have to say is I live in London and I can't wait to come home to the Sunshine Coast!! Living in a big, crowed city only makes your day longer, harder to stay happy and positive and you have less time to spend doing things for yourself. There a loads of things to do and the transport is great but I would give it all up for a walk on the beach before work instead of the tube and not long now and I will be!! Sunny Coast has some work to do but really don't sweat it, we'll get there and all too fast, before long we will be saying remember when .....

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