Regional towns boom as Victorians flock to the country
Debt-laden Melburnians are flocking to regional Victoria for cheaper homes and a better lifestyle — and country and coastal areas are set to benefit.
Victoria
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A whopping 90,000 jobs will be created in regional Victoria over the next year, as city slickers flock to the country and coast post-COVID, and businesses boom.
New research shows one in five Australians wants to move from capital cities to the regions for cheaper homes and a better lifestyle, with debt-laden Melburnians leading the charge. And more than two-thirds of people plan to make the leap in the next year.
The Regional Australia Institute data reveals regional job markets have recovered quicker than those in big cities, and much faster than Melbourne, with 34 per cent more vacancies now than in January 2020, before the pandemic hit.
About 8000 jobs are being advertised in regional Victoria right now.
“They’ve more than made up for the COVID slump,” institute chief economist Kim Houghton said, adding there were professional, trade, clerical, sales and other jobs on offer. Melbourne job vacancies, by comparison, were “still lagging”.
The research showed Melburnians were more likely than people from any other capital city to move to the regions for housing and lifestyle affordability reasons, to reduce debt and be closer to nature, Mr Houghton said.
That was despite the fact many had lived in, and loved, Melbourne for years, and were torn about leaving behind extended family and friends.
Only a fifth of Victorians said COVID had increased their desire to make the move, “which was less than expected”, he said. And it appeared the tree change was being made by all age groups.
Regional centres across the state are bracing for the influx, with house prices already soaring and rental properties scarce or non-existent in many towns.
Some are planning large-scale housing developments and lobbying for state and federal funds to boost infrastructure to meet demand.
Wangaratta’s local council has seized the momentum and is pitching directly to Melburnians via a well-timed television and social media campaign, championing the benefits of big backyards and country air for kids.
Its bold bid has paid off, reaching 35 per cent of Melbourne families with children aged five to 12 in January and an anticipated 40 per cent of city dwellers this month. More than 23,000 visits to its new website, Live Wangaratta!, have been made as result.
Wangaratta mayor and real estate agent Dean Rees, a father of two, said the town was now so busy it was experiencing its first traffic jams and there was no more rental accommodation available.
But local businesses were booming and plans in place to expand housing and encourage investment, with thousands of blocks of land set to come on the market, he said.
The ad campaign was meant to kick off in 2020 but was delayed because of COVID, enabling its launch at the start of this year to capitalise on the great Melbourne exodus, Cr Rees said.
Everything from the fact kids could safely ride bikes around town, to being able to kick a footy or jump on a trampoline in a big backyard was celebrated in the TV ads, he said. “We wanted to show people we had all that and still had great education, good healthcare and jobs, that Wangaratta ticks all the boxes … our (retail) businesses are now flat-out and owners are telling me ‘give me more people, we need more people here to fill jobs’. If you’re worried about not finding a job here, that’s not going to happen,” he said.
Mr Houghton said Warrnambool was another regional centre ahead of the curve, and well positioned to take advantage of the rush to the regions.
LIFE IN A NORTHERN TOWN
Former Melbourne professionals Melissa and Donovan Jacka knew nothing about farming, and even less about goats, when they sold their city terrace and bought 47 hectares near Wangaratta to start a boutique cheesemaking business.
“We chucked it all in for the good life on a farm … stopped working for the man and started farming,” Mr Jacka said. “My wife had some experience of hobby cheesemaking after doing a course … but as for goat farming and milking, we learnt it all from a book.”
It’s seven years since they packed up their kids, Harvey, now 12 and Mackenzie, 15, and made the leap to the country, but it felt like yesterday, Mr Jacka said.
“We couldn’t be happier … would recommend it to anyone,” he said, adding another bonus was the cost of the children’s private secondary education, which was $7000 a year for both kids.
Over the past few years they’ve battled drought, fire and flood — things which never touched them in the city — but the goat farm was now going from strength to strength, Mr Jacka said.
“We just love it … it’s all worked out very well,” he said.
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