Beautiful, clean, diverse and safe – we reckon Sydney is a desirable place to live as a whole. Yes, we know our shiny Harbour City has its flaws (we’re looking at you, ridiculously expensive house prices), but we know we’ve got it pretty good here. And so do tourists – with more than 14 million people flocking to our city each year to experience the best Sydney has to offer (beaches! restaurants! shows at the Opera House! etc.).
Within the country, however, Aussies are always eyeing up where they’d like to move. If you’re considering a change of scenery or locking down for the long run, a new lifestyle study has revealed the ten best places to live across the country. And if you’re one of the lucky ones to call one idyllic Sydney region home – don’t go anywhere.
The ranking comes from quantity survey group MCG’s Four-Pillar Lifestyle Index, which analysed every suburb in Australia using SuburbTrends data. The researchers focused on four key lifestyle factors that are considered most popular for Australian homebuyers: beach access, green spaces, urban amenities and community spirit – and measured all against home value growth to determine the best places to live long term. (Note: While this study considered median house prices and home value growth, broader cost-of-living factors – such as utilities, groceries, transport and other everyday expenses – were not included in the ranking.)
New South Wales dominated the rankings, home to six of the top ten best places to live for 2025. Located in Sydney’s dreamy Northern Beaches, the Warringah region – including Manly, Freshwater, Dee Why, Mona Vale, Narrabeen and more – came out on top as the best place to buy a house right now. It’s definitely on the pricier side, with median house prices sitting at $2.56 million – but it offers an unbeatable combo of beaches, nature, accessibility, community spirit and strong home value growth.
Several more affordable places just outside Sydney also ranked in the top ten lifestyle locations, including the coastal city of Wollongong in fourth with a median house price of $1.28 million, the gorgeous Shoalhaven region in seventh at $840,000, and NSW's second-most-populous area, Newcastle, in tenth at $960,000.
Western Australia’s laid-back lifestyle proved highly sought after – and more affordable too, with two Perth suburbs ranking in the top five. Just ten kilometres north of Perth’s CBD, Stirling was the second-best lifestyle suburb in Australia, with a median house price of $1.07 million. Meanwhile, the further northern suburb of Wanneroo ranked third, boasting an affordable median price of just $760,000.
That’s the second-lowest median house price of the top ten, just behind Townsville, which beat out all other Queensland regions for lifestyle appeal and price growth potential. In this quiet coastal city, the median price sits at $570,000 – exactly half the median price of Queensland’s only other top ten suburb, Southport, which placed ninth. You can check out the full rankings below.
The 10 best places to live in Australia:
- Warringah, NSW
- Stirling, WA
- Wanneroo, WA
- Wollongong, NSW
- Eastern Suburbs – South, NSW
- Townsville, QLD
- Shoalhaven, NSW
- Eastern Suburbs – North, NSW
- Southport, QLD
- Newcastle, NSW
You can check out the full study here.