Expert: Ian Smith - 6/22/2007

Question
Hello!

I am considering moving to Australia and have actually begun reading up on visa applications. I was wondering if you can recommend any cities to settle at given the following conditions:

1. I am only qualified to apply to low-population/regional areas, which pretty much means these two cities, Sydney and Melbourne, are off my list.
2. My line of work is along advertising, hence I'd like to be in a city that has generally has an active advertising, media, publishing, and/or art-related industries.
3. (Optional)It would be great if the place I'd be living/working in is bustling, nothing overly suburban. The more bustling, the better.

Any suggestions? I'd appreciate any help.
Thanks! Looking forward to getting to know Australia more.  

Answer
Not my line of expertise but I'll give it a go.  Since Melbourne and Sydney are out and you want to work in the advertising area it could be a bit tough.
However, my home town (Newcastle), based on an international survey, is the best place to live in Australia so you might consider here.  Other than that, Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast) would be one I'd recommend and, if you can handle heat, somewhere like Townsville might be an option.  Certainly the former qualifies when it comes to "bustling"!
I don't know whether your application conditions preclude Perth but that would certainly be a place I'd recommend.
I also like Hobart but suspect that your opportunites might be limited there.
If you want any more detailed info please feel free to contact me again.
I have a site on the internet at "virtualtourist.com" and my title there is "iandsmith" though I cover mainly things of touristic interest.
Cheers.