Thought I'd chime in here and stand up for Canberra. I moved here a year ago out of necessity and have been pleasantly surprised. You get some of the big city appeal with restaurants, museums etc but without the traffic headaches. There is a lot of growth going on down here and light rail is on the way. 3 hours drive to Sydney, 6.5 hours to Melbourne, the airport is easily accessible plus both the beach and snow can be done in a day trip.