More Aussies making the move to regional living
Australians are fleeing major cities in record numbers, swapping Melbourne and Sydney for regional hotspots.
A new sentiment survey from the Regional Australia Institute suggests two key reasons are behind the mass exodus from these cities, cost of living and housing affordability.
These are the reasons Aussie families are choosing a move to regional towns. Today
But these aren’t the only reasons Aussie families are making the move.“We also know they are looking for a better lifestyle, more connection with community and environment and they are also looking for more time and space,” Regional Australia Institute CEO Liz Ritchie told Today.
Liz said the findings also suggested one in three city-dwellers want to set up a life in regional Australia and it’s important to pay attention to these trends.
“We’ve been seeing this trend for over 10 years now and calling for a national population plan that will enable us to look at where settlements are currently going to and perhaps where it will go in the future,” she said.
“And we really need to get serious about matching that sentiment with investment.”
However, Liz said more planning is needed for regional communities to cope with the influx of population growth.
“We were seeing movement to the regions before COVID, but of course COVID supercharged that mobility to the regions and since then, we’ve seen this trend continue,” she said,
“So we have to get serious around planning and investing in that infrastructure - both at a national level, but also at a state and local government level.”
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