Where to live in Australia?

I've thought long and hard about the best place to head to first. We have family in Sydney, but the cost of housing etc... puts me off. I would also like to live in a less dense area of Australia.



In six months of July to December 2007 New South Wales remained the most popular State for settler arrivals with 29.4 per cent intending to settle there, next was Victoria (24.7 per cent) followed by Queensland (21.2 per cent) and Western Australia (15.7 per cent).
The largest source countries by birthplace for each State or Territory were:
- New South Wales — China (excl. SARs & Taiwan) (13.2 per cent), New Zealand (11.1 per cent) and India (11.1 per cent)
- Victoria — India (13.5 per cent), China (excl. SARs & Taiwan) (12.3 per cent) and New Zealand (12.2 per cent)
- Queensland — New Zealand (38.0 per cent), the United Kingdom (21.1 per cent) and South Africa (4.3 per cent)
- South Australia — the United Kingdom (29.0 per cent), India (12.6 per cent) and China (excl. SARs & Taiwan) (10.1 per cent)
- Western Australia — the United Kingdom (36.4 per cent), New Zealand (13.2 per cent), and India (5.5 per cent)
- Tasmania — the United Kingdom (15.5 per cent), New Zealand (9.4 per cent) and India (6.0 per cent)
- Northern Territory — the United Kingdom (11.6 per cent), New Zealand (10.4 per cent) and the Philippines (10.2 per cent)
- Australian Capital Territory — the United Kingdom (15.3 per cent), India (10.9 per cent) and China (excl. SARs & Taiwan) (10.0 per cent).

I next looked at Western Australia, specifically Perth. This had lots of appeal, such a being closer to home! But the fact that it is so far away from the majority of other major cities was a big downer.

My current preferred destination is South Australia, namely Adelaide. It seems to tick all the boxes. The climate is very appealing, the population is low, houses are cheaper than many other parts of Australia, and there appears to be plenty of work.