Australia is a country known for its big cities, rich culture, great job opportunities, social life, and welcoming foreigners. However, choosing from the list of the best cities to live in Australia can be hard since each city has its outstanding qualities. If you enjoy the quiet lifestyle, the rural areas offer serene vibes with nature and smaller towns.
Furthermore, immigrating to Australia either to study or work is an amazing decision, so get started with it. There are lots of best cities to live in Australia including Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Hobart, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney. These great cities offer fascinating packages like cheaper airfare, job opportunities in various industries, affordable housing, and many more.
However, if you want to immigrate to study, Australia is home to some of the world’s most highly-rated cities with top-notch universities. A rewarding academic and professional journey can be expected for students studying in Australia. Several of the best cities in Australia for students have facilities that are well-suited to the needs of a thriving and passionate student community.
In this article, we’ve put together a list of the ten best cities to live in Australia based on factors like the cost of living, access to education, and employment opportunities, among others. Read on!
The Ten Best Cities to Live in Australia
We’ve compiled these ten best cities in Australia for you, ranging from culture and climate to job opportunities and cheaper accommodation.
1. Adelaide
Adelaide in South Australia is known as the Garden City and it’s the state’s largest and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. This city is blessed with a warm climate, lovely beaches, all urban amenities, and lush urban spaces. In addition, the cost of living in Adelaide is quite cheap. As an immigrant in Australia looking for a peaceful city to enjoy family life, Adelaide is your home.
Furthermore, job opportunities are open here with the city recruiting at least 4,500 skilled immigrants annually. Especially in the education, healthcare, and manufacturing sectors. This city is filled with various cultural scenes, arts festivals, live music, and great restaurants. Chill out at the beautiful Adelaide beaches or vacation to the nearby Barossa Valley vineyards to enjoy the delicious regional foods and wines.
2. Brisbane
As Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane offers all the excitement of living in a booming city. It is one of the best cities to live in Australia because of its affordability compared to Sydney and Melbourne. While the urban center of Brisbane is all shiny skyscrapers, the city is also ideally placed for getting into nature.
Brisbane residents are an active bunch and love to enjoy their beautiful river, whether they’re jogging alongside it or sailing on it. However, some of the highlight of this city is the Gold Coast and the Great Barrier Reef. Furthermore, Brisbane has a thriving economy, with highly in-demand workers in hospitality, health, manufacturing, and tourism.
3. Canberra
Canberra is a controversial choice because it appears like a stodgy and boring city, but the people who live there love it. Meanwhile, some people see it as Australia’s best-kept urban secret. One of the best things about Canberra is the high rate of employment which gives you the financial stability to enjoy the city.
If you’re an immigrant with a university degree, Canberra may offer you opportunities in government and related businesses. However, the city’s low crime rate ranked it higher in all of Australia’s cities, with an extremely low risk of being robbed or suffering any physical attack. In summer, residents move to the coasts of Lake Burley Griffin to enjoy picnics, bike rides, fishing, and sailing.
Also, Canberra is a city with great restaurants, bar scenes, and some interesting cultural attractions. This includes the National Gallery of Australia and no end of adventure activities in the hills and bushland that surround the city.
4. Hobart
The city of Hobart is the second oldest in Australia, situated in the south of the country on the banks of the Derwent River. Hobart is famous with those who prefer cooler temperatures, with summer temperatures a manageable 68°F, and has a lovely relaxed pace of life. However, this city may not have a rapidly developing employment market, but the limited job prospects are stable and steady.
On weekends, you’ll get to enjoy the lively arts scene in town or relax at the beach in Sandy Bay. Furthermore, the fashionable city of Hobart comes in as the third safest place to live in Australia. With a low crime rate and less risk of being attacked, robbed, or assaulted.
5. Melbourne
Melbourne is a multicultural city with a strong arty vibe, fantastic museums, and an unending selection of bars and eateries. Its neighborhoods have unique boutiques, quirky cafes, and farmer’s markets, and its laneways are known for their café culture. Many fashion and beauty brands are based here.
Interestingly, Melbourne is well-known for its changeable weather with the experience of “four seasons in one day”. Although, living in this city is relatively high but slightly cheaper than in Sydney. As a foreigner in Melbourne, you can get employment opportunities in the construction, automotive engineering, financial services, and technology sectors.
6. Perth
Perth is a cosmopolitan city on Australia’s west coast. This is also one of the best cities to live in Australia because of its beautiful city parks, a growing economy, and warm weather all year round. However, there are numerous job opportunities, especially in the mining industries, tourism, healthcare, and technology.
Education standard in Perth is superb, lots of families love the good schools in neighborhoods like Victoria Park and Applecross. Also, the cultural attractions and restaurants of bohemian Fremantle along Perth’s south coast are inviting. Its closeness to Asia supports both a strong tech sector and expats with ties to Asia.
7. Sydney
Sydney is Australia’s biggest city and home to some of its most iconic sights. Some highlights of this city are the famous opera house, surfers at the beautiful Bondi Beach, and many more. However, the bright lights of Sydney’s central district, beautiful bars, restaurants, and clubs are all appealing.
Sydney’s good public transport system makes the city easy to get around. The city has every type of job, from working for a year or two on a working holiday visa to a specialized career. People hiring for those jobs are very friendly to foreigners. Furthermore, this city is always busy and lively, from the sports to music and its food.
Sydney is a major player on the world stage and real estate prices are close to those of New York City. The high cost of living makes Sydney difficult for retirees. However, a lot of Aussies prefer to live on Sydney’s North Shore instead. Sydney’s successful economy does mean that employment prospects are good, with the financial services, communications technology, and creative industries all thriving.
8. Gold Coast
Gold Coast City offers a vibrant lifestyle, complemented by numerous sunny days each year. The picturesque coastline is surrounded by a subtropical rainforest with three national parks, waterfalls, mountains, and rock formations. Interestingly, this city is home to four leading Australian universities, including Bond University. Therefore, Gold Coast is one of the best cities to live and study in Australia because of its top-notch educational standard.
9. Darwin
Located in a regional area, Darwin is one of the best cities with youthful energy and high employment rates in Australia. It’s an excellent place for students to pursue employment. In addition, the cost of living in this city is quite low unlike in Sydney and Melbourne.
If you are a student who enjoys a relaxed and calm atmosphere, this is the city for you. It does not have skyscrapers surrounding it, but there are plenty of fun activities to do during weekends and semester breaks.
10. Wollongong
The city of Wollongong provides an excellent environment to study, work, and live in Australia. It is a vibrant and multicultural city to live with its natural surroundings, temperate climate, and small population. In addition, Wollongong is close to a major city and has a high standard of education.