There’s no place like home (in regional Australia)
As many regional-born Australians return to the city after visiting family and friends over the break, daydreams of resettling their roots in familiar ground may linger long after the smells of Christmas ham and summer BBQs have faded away.
And with more Australians aged 25-44 moving from cities to regional areas than vice versa, it might be a more common occurrence than we think. According to the Regional Australia Institute, ‘Returners’ make up a significant pattern in internal migration that often fails to be recognised as a positive – and popular – life choice for many Australians.
Drawing on conversations with ‘Returners’ from across regional Australia, Talking point: returning to regional Australia, released today, says the increasing value of lifestyle, proximity to friends and family and access to schools, childcare and health services are making regional areas an attractive alternative to capital cities. Affordability is also key, with the reduced cost of housing and overall cost of living in many regions a definite drawcard.
For Kerry Grace, a local from Macksville, New South Wales, it was the appeal of bringing her three children up in a familiar place, and owning her own home, that first led to the decision. Now having returned over 10 years ago, Kerry is running her own strategic planning and coaching company, and says she hasn’t looked back.
“With the city only a short flight away and access to online work, so many opportunities have been opened up to regional Australians,” she says. “I’ve made new and beautiful friendships, my business is flourishing, my kids go to a good school. It might not be for everybody, but for the people who are considering it I would say don’t stop and think – just do it. The quality of life, affordability, environment and lifestyle really make it a no brainer.”
The RAI’s General Manager of Research and Policy, Jack Archer, says that this is a real win-win for regions and Returners alike. Not only do Returners help to revitalise regional areas, but they also bring with them important professional skills that help to grow and develop their communities.
“Obviously there is a natural drawcard in regional areas that resonates strongly with many Australians,” he said. “We want to encourage more people to give it a go and help regions connect with people who might be looking to make the move, and promoting it as a real, positive and achievable life choice.”
The facts*:
In Australia between 2010 and 2011, over 135,000 people left a capital city to move interstate or into a regional area. Of these:
- 2,374 people moved from Hobart to regional TAS
- 34,551 people moved from Sydney to regional NSW
- 30,576 moved from Melbourne to regional VIC
- 37,016 moved from Brisbane to regional QLD
- 11,252 moved from Adelaide to regional SA
- 19,981 moved from Perth to regional WA
Overall, this domestic mobility led to an increase in Australia’s regional population by 10,597 people.
Are you a regional Returner? Or perhaps you’ve been thinking about making the move for a while? We’d love to hear from you about what drives your desire to move back home, or what the impediments are. You can get involved by commenting below, or heading to the ‘Have Your Say’ section of the website. You can also join the discussion on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
To download ‘Talking point: returning to regional Australia’ click here.
*Based on ABS Migration, Australia 2010-11 Catalogue No. 34120
January 21, 2014 @ 11:27 am
Dear RAI, While its great to see such figures, I wonder how much of the internal migration was driven by the move to resource sector jobs in the regions, rather than returners? Do you have that data? Thanks, Vikki
January 22, 2014 @ 10:20 am
This data includes all people and so there is no doubt that the demand for workers in the resources sector is important in the overall picture. Unfortunately we do not have data which measures why each individual person chose to move to a particular area and therefore cannot determine how significant the trend is.
What makes returning so important is that it can, and does happen in all areas. There are real opportunities for regions to encourage people to return and we are seeing flows of people to many regions, not just those with a resources sector.
January 22, 2014 @ 10:42 am
What effect has the increase in housing prices in our capital cities had on people’s decisions to move to regional areas? I personally need to live in the city as I work in a large IT company. I’d like to live in a regional area and commute but without high speed rail there is no way I want to sit in traffic for hours. I currently rent and walk to work. I work in an inner eastern suburb about 20 minutes from the Melbourne CBD by train. Being a potential first home buyer I’m worried about putting such a large deposit into an overpriced asset that may decrease in value in a few years. Its my understanding that regional house prices are more stable over the long term.
January 23, 2014 @ 12:15 pm
For many people housing prices and the overall affordability of regional living are part of the appeal of returning. Less than 4% of people in a regional city paid over $550,000 for their property. In Sydney, 33% paid more than that amount.
Many of the Returners that we spoke to bought their first home upon returning. With such a significant price difference you can see why this is an important factor.
March 13, 2014 @ 8:46 pm
The move back to rural areas predates the resources rush.
Research from industry funded sources (such as GISERA) indicates that the demand for resource sector jobs actually costs Agriculture industry jobs. Not surprisingly, this research talks about the growth in CSG industry jobs. It also talks about growth in construction related jobs, but these are generally short term and related to the development phase. A fact sheet on the research (check the first para on Page 2) can be found here: http://www.gisera.org.au/publications/project_factsheets/reversing-rural-decline-factsheet.pdf
January 22, 2014 @ 11:19 am
While I am not a returner as such I did make the move from The Shire in Sydney to Goulburn in 1977 knowing that I had ancestral connections through pioneer members of my mother’s family with the Goulburn District.
At that stage I felt it difficult to achieve the home owners dream in The Sutherland Shire and I had an employment opportunity in Goulburn.
Lots of things have changed but the home my first wife chose has become the home of my family’s roots and my children from both my past and present marriage do not want me to part with the family home.
Regional life may not offer the high paid jobs of the big smoke but it is the lifestyle and opportunities, fresh air and plenty of things to do if you have a mind to get involved that are the attraction for me.
My second wife who is from regional Philippines also finds the lifestyle appealing and has secure employment and plenty of friends and family close by.
January 23, 2014 @ 12:18 pm
Great story Darryl-thanks for sharing with us!Really interesting about your connections to the founding family in the Goulburn district.
Can’t wait to hear more stories like this!
February 5, 2014 @ 1:55 pm
We’re a gaggle of volunteers and starting a new scheme in
our community. Your website provided us with useful info to work on.
You’ve performed an impressive activity and our whole group can be
grateful to you.
February 7, 2014 @ 11:56 am
So glad to hear it- we would love to know more about you and your new scheme!
February 19, 2014 @ 3:01 am
Hey there just wanted to give you a quick heads up.
The text in your content seem to be running off the screen in Ie.
I’m not sure if this is a formatting issue or something to do with browser compatibility but
I figured I’d post to let you know. The design look great though!
Hope you get the problem fixed soon. Cheers
February 19, 2014 @ 9:04 am
Thanks for the heads up, really appreciate it. We are looking into it now.
February 19, 2014 @ 12:54 pm
Hi RAI,
Thanks for the report. At the Bush Church Aid Society we are looking at new initiatives to encourage younger leaders in rural and regional Australian churches and communities so it was very timely for us.
Do we have any data on the occupational and educational background of those aged 25-44 moving to regional areas eg are they substantially more likely to have a university degree than the existing 25-44 population in those areas?
March 9, 2014 @ 5:12 pm
Having spent a significant portion of my life in regional areas my friends and I decided to develop a website that would promote relocation for work opportunities. There are some unique features which enable job seekers wanting to move to a particular location to be found by employers in that location who are looking to fill a position where they have the right skill match etc. There is also a section where any organisation can advertise to potential relocates – for example local councils, schools, real estate agencies, clubs, potential employers, vets, doctors etc. People on the move for work can then get a feel for what is on offer in a place they may know very little about.
March 12, 2014 @ 10:58 am
Sounds like a really great website! It’s really wonderful to hear about initiatives like this.