How much does it cost to live in Victoria’s happiest leafy town

“It’s about how living in rental stress over the long term affects your budget for access to health services, access to education or further education. So you can start to see how your housing situation affects other aspects of objective well-being over time,” she said.

Despite the strong results achieved by these regions, urban areas tend to have higher overall happiness scores than areas outside of metropolitan areas.

“The city-region disparities are really driven by differences in economic performance, but they are also driven by differences in health outcomes,” Tjondro said.

“We know that in the capital region, health care coverage is better and they have more choice, so people can learn where better quality care is available. In regional areas, you often don’t have that choice,” she said.

“Regional Australia does have some areas that perform quite well. For example, the Surf Coast is ranked 52nd in Australia overall.”

Karen Stribling, a Great Ocean Road real estate agent based in Lorne, wasn’t surprised by the result. “There’s more space, more of a community feel – there’s such a unique beauty here,” she said.

Since the pandemic lockdown drew an influx of city dwellers to the seaside resort, more people are spending time there year-round than before 2020, Stribling said.

“Young families are on holiday 12 months a year. They even come here in the winter instead of going to Europe.”

In the Alps, by contrast, Cristina Smit, head of Zirky Real Estate, said holiday home owners who bought during the snow season are still buying after the mountains thaw.

“They bought them for the winter, but fell in love with them for the summer,” Smit said.

While both spots attract large numbers of holiday home owners, the story is different in the Shire of Golden Plains – located inland from Geelong and the Surf Coast.

Owen Sharkey from First National Golden Plains said there had been a steady flow of people moving permanently out of the area from Melbourne’s outer western suburbs in the years since lockdown ended.

“The pace of life here is slower and more laid back. The schools are smaller and you can walk everywhere in town,” Sharkey said.

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Despite complaints— Even direct authorization – As they hear employers ask employees to return to the office, all three agents said they continue to see buyers from the city base themselves in regional locations, commuting to the office just one or two days a week.

However, Mr Tjondro said the research showed not all areas were so attractive, highlighting the need for better infrastructure outside Melbourne and other capital cities.

“People won’t necessarily move to those areas if there’s not the right housing to meet their needs. So the housing has to be affordable, available and it has to be the right type of housing for their needs,” she said. “It’s also about social infrastructure, like schools, childcare and so on.”