The best quality of life in the ACT is in Weston Creek, according to a survey that put traditionally sought-after suburbs much further down the list.
Weston Creek was the only part of the ACT ranked among Australia's 25 most desirable communities as judged by the BankWest Quality of Life Index issued this week.
Weston Creek was ranked the 16th most liveable community, ahead of Tuggeranong (30th), Woden Valley (36th), Belconnen (44th), Gungahlin (45th), South Canberra (57th) and North Canberra (146th).
But the ACT's quality of life is still highly rated, generally speaking, with six of the seven areas ranking in the top 10 per cent of local government areas in Australia.
The best value for money in the ACT is offered by Tuggeranong, where the index says the median house price is $390,000.
Yass Valley ranked well among regional areas, coming in as Australia's 35th most liveable community.
The survey ranked local government areas or, in the case of the ACT, statistical subdivisions by average income, employment rate, owner-occupation rate, crime against property, the percentage of detached homes,the percentage of people in good health, the percentage of 16-year-olds enrolled in secondary school and the percentage of people 15 and over who contribute to the community as volunteers.
The survey's principal basis of information was 2006 Census data, with house prices sourced from last year's data collected by Residex information provider.
Weston Creek had a low level of empty homes. Its residents were overwhelmingly healthy (85.7 per cent). More than half of Weston Creek homes 55 per cent had broadband access, which put the suburb among the top 5 per cent of districts on a national basis. Labour force employment was 97.1 per cent.
Tim Dalton has lived in Weston Creek since 1976. He now works as a real estate agent in the Weston Creek office of Richard Luton Properties and is a former chairman of Weston Creek Community Council.
He said the ''number of strollers'' in the area showed that many people regarded it as a good place to raise a family.
The only recent black spots were the closures of Weston Creek and Rivett primary schools in 2006.
Mr Dalton said, ''It's easy to get around: there are a lot of facilities, it's 12 minutes in the car into the city. It's very easygoing.''