Are there any regions similar to the blue mountains in Victoria/close to melb

My partner and i are looking to purchase our first property together and are looking to moving to Victoria to do so - weve lived in the blue mountains for a very long time and would ideally like something similar - mainly in terms of proximity to the city, whilst still having the beautiful bush at our doorstep! (Doesnt have to be bush land though, beach is just as nice hahah)
Also relatively affordable too, as we are hoping to build on the land we buy!

The suburb would have to be LGBT friendly and not have Major racism issues as my partner isnt white... i know these are very specific questions, but i figure i might as well reach out to see if anyone could direct me in the right place!