New data says people abandoning the city for areas like Geelong and the surf coast wasn’t just a COVID fad.
The Regional Movers Index says the number of people choosing the regions over the city has now hit a 12 month high.
Greater Geelong is in the top five for destinations for movers.
RAI CEO Liz Ritchie says it is proof we aren’t done with the regional sea and treechange.
“People are voting with their feet and making a very conscious decision to live in regional Australia. Whilst the pandemic supercharged this movement, the regional lifestyle is continuing to prove highly desirable for thousands of people, especially those from cities,” Ms Ritchie said.
“This movement in population can no longer be seen as a quirky flow-on affect from the lockdown years. A societal shift is underway.
“This sustained trend provides tangible evidence regarding the importance of investing in and supporting the regions, to ensure communities have the services, skills, and infrastructure they need for their growing populations.”
She added with prices and cost of living issues rising, the regions remain more popular,
“With high house prices and cost-of-living pressures biting, many people are realising the regions can offer the lifestyle they want and the jobs they’re after, minus big city problems – like long commute times, tolls and traffic,” she said.
“People living in ‘commuter belts’, on the outskirts of major metropolitan cities, are relocating within a few years of moving there.
“Often, they’re leaving the outer suburbs for big regional centres like the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Wollongong, Newcastle, Geelong, Busselton, the Alexandrina region, and Launceston.”
