Hmm.. thats a tough one... I've lived in Caloundra and Nambour, and have lots of friends that live all over the coast... depends what your budget is really!!!!!! Buderim in really nice - but wayyy to expensive for us!!!!! Plus, you would probably want to be as close to Maroochydore as possible. Its a 20 minute drive for DH to get to work, which isn't too bad. we only have one car, so on the days that I work, I drop him off at Maroochydore, and then drive to Coolum (which is 20 minutes north of Maroochydore). However, if you looked at living in Coolum, the traffic is SHOCKING of a morning and will take you about an hour to get into Maroochydore. Our run from Nambour is not that bad, so I would say areas like Buderim (5 minutes from Maroochydore) or Forest Glen (also close), Glenview, Palmview, places like that are nice, forest like, and not as many people. Can't really say any to avoid, all of the sunshine coast is nice, but for us, its a matter of finding places that isn't overcrowded!!!!! We don't like a lot of people around us, and we like the fact that we can look out upon trees and hills behind our house.. even though we live in the middle of Nambour...