Life in Queensland

Brisbane, rated as one of the most livable cities in Australia, boasts an average of 7.9 hours of sunshine every day. This compliments the more than one hundred days a year of clear skies that encourage the outdoor lifestyle the state is so famous for.

The appeal of Queensland goes beyond our world class attractions such as the Great Barrier Reef and northern rainforests. We have the country's cheapest petrol, are among the top areas for employment growth, and it is possible to live in the bush (countryside) and be only 30 minutes drive from the Brisbane central business district.

Outside Brisbane, there is a diverse mix of lifestyle options in what are the most decentralised settlements on the continent. There are the northern tropics, which have become the hub for a thriving international tourist trade, the famed Whitsunday coast and islands, the sugar belts and the golden west.

Queensland occupies 1.27 million square kilometres or 22.5 percent of Australia's total land mass. It is home to about 3.2 million people, or 18 percent of the national population.

Queensland offers an ever increasing range of housing options, modern brick and tile homes, traditional timber cottages, gracious Queenslanders with central hallways (breezeway) and wrapped in shady verandahs, to luxury apartments or beach houses. The choice of housing styles is wider than might typically be found in many other states, due largely to the architectural solutions which have been designed to cater for our climate. With long summers and short winters, the Queensland climate has generally dictated housing design and materials.

Queensland is steadily growing in economic status within Australia and is particularly strong in mining, agriculture and tourism. Of course such strength in these primary industries offers great opportunities for business support services such as information technology, equipment supply and maintenance, etc.

It is thought that Queensland will become Australia's second most populous state early in the next century. Clearly, as we approach the new millennium, Queensland is where the action is.