It might be expensive and rather far away, but Australia compensates for all that with the quality of life. It sits at ninth place on the

[ Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Better Life IndexOpens in new window ]

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We asked some Australians what exactly makes the “The Lucky Country” so great. Cameron Murray is from rural Queensland and works as an educational designer at the University of Sydney. “The culture here is a blend of laconic irreverence mixed with a dash of fun and a heavy dose of mateship,” he says.

“The lifestyle acknowledges the ball of flame above, which governs much of what we do, from getting outdoors to pursue sporting, eating or drinking endeavours. When the sun gets a bit close for comfort, we’re just as happy to spend the time indoors watching sports, eating and drinking.”

Susie Leydon, who lives in Canberra and works as a healthcare manager, agrees that Aussie life is mostly an outdoor life. “There’s also our amazing home-grown produce from sea and land, and our gorgeous blue skies, year round, regardless of where you live.”

Above all, Australia is a chilled out place, says Oanh Trinh, a web co-ordinator born and bred in Sydney. “The beach culture fosters a generally relaxed dress sense where flip flops are not unusual away from the beach. There is a general ‘no worries’ attitude where we like to think of ourselves as easygoing.”