I'm sorry to hear it hasn't worked out.
We live in perth and we hadn't ever been here before, we just did research. We have no family here either and we made a decision that before we applied for pr that hubby would come out to oz on a WHV to look for work/rental etc. he did secure a job which I helped set up from the uk and the rental was down to research from me and he went to meet the landlords after I set it up. We then applied for pr and now we are all here enjoying the life we wanted.
Like someone said, this "dream" is what the individual sees not what others make u believe. We know that australia is a first world country like the one we just left ( UK ) so we had no expectations that it would be of higher standard etc.
hubby is earning a better living here, we hav spent so much more time together as a family, not even having to spend money. Hubby has gone back to work today. We are happy that our quality of life is better than uk but that's down to our choices. U need to be in the right place and have the right attitude.
Hope things work out for you but don't give up too hastily, why not try your luck in Sydney?