Brisbane’s expats are heading home

They leave the city in their 20s and come home again in their 30s.

Joel and Bronte Berlin: ‘We’re all a little more like homing pigeons than what we’d like to admit.’ Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen

It’s a phenomenon that spawned the 2008 film All My Friends Are Leaving Brisbane, but the expression – reflecting the high number of twenty-somethings lured from the Queensland capital to the brighter lights of Sydney and Melbourne – is only partly true. A more accurate title, depending on the age group, might be “All My Friends Are Coming Home”.

Census data confirms that many Queenslanders move away from Brisbane in their 20s, tempted by career opportunities and the attractions of a bigger city, only to be lured back by the lifestyle benefits promised for raising a family.

Among the expatriates to leave and come back are business banker Joel Berlin, 29, and his chiropractor wife Bronte, 28, who left for Melbourne in 2010, pursued their careers and returned this year.

“It had been about eight years in Melbourne and for such a big city it had begun to feel like a small place,” Joel says. “I visited Brisbane each year for about two weeks, each time noticing a slightly bigger, more vibrant city. I began to view Brisbane as more than just a city to be close to family, rather a new city with new opportunities.”

The decision to leave Brisbane in their early 20s was fuelled by career ambitions, university options and the desire to experience something new. “I didn’t have any particular dislike for Brisbane, I just assumed the grass would be greener in a bigger city,” Joel says. “I was personally keen to work in finance in either Sydney or Melbourne due to the sheer opportunities in those cities at the time.”

The couple settled into their study and work – Joel landed a “dream job” within 12 months and Bronte’s studies progressed well. They bought a house, made new friends and enjoyed exploring their new home. “But I was growing concerned about a potential plateau as we grew older,” Joel says. “We found the rat race a little like being stuck in a rut at times.”

They married last year and, as their friends settled down, they found it harder to juggle their Melbourne life and Queensland life and decided to move back. They have both found good jobs and plan to “invest personally” in the city.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows Brisbane had the highest net internal migration of all capital cities in 2016-17 (12,000), ahead of Melbourne (9200), Hobart (880) and Canberra (660). University of Queensland demographer Aude Bernard says analysis of the data shows a story of young adults moving away but returning in their late 20s and into their 30s, often with children in tow. “While Queensland is a net receiver of interstate migrants overall, it gains mainly young families but loses young adults, albeit to a small extent,” Bernard says. “Qualitative studies suggest a combination of factors including lower cost of living, attractive lifestyle and, in the case of individuals returning to Queensland, proximity to family (underpin the processes).”

Joel Berlin says his experience is reflected in the data and that many of his friends who moved to Sydney or Melbourne have moved back to Brisbane or are preparing to do so. “We like to justify our decisions by claiming we’re moving back due to family, cost of living or any other combination of reasons,” he says. “Reality is, we’re all a little more like homing pigeons than what we’d like to admit.”