Housing affordability and lifestyle key reasons why people are increasingly choosing remote Australia

Moving from a busy city to the most remote parts of Australia isn’t for everyone.

But with the rising cost of living, more people are opting for a change of trees in search of a rural lifestyle and cheaper housing.

University of NSW Urban Planning lecturer Caitlin Buckle says people’s attitudes towards regional migration have changed over the past few years.

“There is a feeling that COVID may have caused a bit of a rethinking of life priorities and made people want to try something a little different,” says Dr Buckle.

Living the ‘farm life’ dream

Deb and Ian Green came across Silverton while on a caravan trip in NSW.

The couple, married for 24 years, quickly fell in love with this red-soil town with a population of less than 50 people.

“As soon as we walked in, there was something (about it) … the old style drew us in,” Ms. Green says.

The couple said they had been looking forward to moving from Yerrinbool in NSW’s Southern Highlands to somewhere that offered a slightly more “farm-like” lifestyle for some time.

“Five to 10 years ago, we wanted to have a 100-acre farm with a little farmhouse on it, like a lot of people did… but it wasn’t quite the right place or the right time,” Ms. Green says.

Then, during a chance visit to Silverton, they saw a house with a “For Sale” sign.

“We made an offer and then came back (to Silverton). The owner let us stay here for a few nights to kind of test drive the house,” Ms. Green says.

“So we stayed at the house, met some of the locals, and it all went on from there.”

The couple says their new home is a dream come true.

“Today I can look out my window and see cows passing me or horses or donkeys on the road that belong to the community,” Ms. Green says.

Unique solution to the housing crisis

The Greens’ move to remote NSW has also benefited their adult daughters, who, like many millennials and Gen Zers, are trying to weather the housing crisis while raising their own daughters.

Because their new home in Silverton was relatively affordable, the couple did not need to sell their Southern Highlands home, meaning their daughter could move there.

“It’s very difficult to help your children if you don’t have much money because everything is so expensive,” Ms. Green says.

And these types of housing decisions are ones that more Australians are considering.

New trends in regional migration

New research from the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) shows that housing affordability is increasingly becoming the main reason people are moving to regional areas.

“Housing is such a huge cost in people’s lives that in regional areas it may be highly desirable to consider both renting and buying,” says Dr Buckle.

In addition to housing, the AHURI study cited employment and lifestyle factors as other key motivators for moving regionally.

Dr Buckle says these lifestyle reasons include seeking a “better work-life balance”, a “sense of adventure” and a “sense of community”.

It’s all about community

Conrad Brown and Shona Collins moved from the Gold Coast to the remote town of Wilcannia in New South Wales’ Far West more than three years ago.

They, too, left their family home behind for their daughters to live in, noting that the high cost of living makes it difficult for many young people to buy their own homes.

The 15-year-old couple now owns the local cafe in Wilcannia, a town of fewer than 800 people.

They say they really connected with the locals when they encountered Wilcannia, despite the stigma that has historically marred the town.

“Like everyone says, ‘Oh, don’t go to Wilcannia, go straight through there.’ Wilcannia is clean, tidy, the local people are wonderful,” adds Ms Collins.

“And we’re working on changing that idea.”

Proud to provide employment for local people in an area with limited opportunities, the couple have become pillars of the community, collectively calling their young cafe staff their “daughters”.

“These girls came in and didn’t know anything about the cafe. But we’ve been through it all and now they can do anything there,” Mr. Brown says.

Although Ms. Collins hopes they will stay in town.

“We told the girls that eventually we wanted them to run the place,” she says.

The Greens, too, say they know what it feels like to want to keep a community together.

“We hope that while we are here, we can do good and be a blessing to society.”