Call me AL

Well its been 5 years since we moved to Perth from the UK and although I still love Australia I seem to have gotten caught up in the "rat race" again... Nearly 2 hours of heavy traffic a day, long working hours and pretty much just working to cover the mortgage. Been looking at the Sunshine coast, it seems we could have the same sized house but with the lower prices be mortgage free, tempting! Has anyone lived in both areas? I could do with some advice on where to look, recently went to Bundaburg for a look round but it was far too quiet/rural. Although I don’t need to be in a city, restaurants, bars and shops are a necessity!