Regional migration: The top three locations for pandemic relocators

City slickers continue to migrate to Victoria’s regions, with the top three shires for internal migration revealed.

Kale Munro and partner Lauren Brown are among the exodus of Melburnians escaping the city for greener pastures in the past year.

Mr Munro and Ms Brown last year moved to Kergunyah South in the Alpine Shire, which experienced a 47 per cent growth in population last year.

Originally from Queensland, Mr Munro moved to Melbourne in 2014 as a photography graduate seeking employment.

Eventually frustrated with the grind of city life, Mr Munro and his partner Lauren Brown looked at what life in the regions might be like.

“I spent six years working a range of arts-related jobs, and was basically frustrated with living in the city, the price of living, the hyper competitive nature of those poor-paying arts jobs,” Mr Munro said.

The couple eventually moved to Kergunyah South in mid-2020, after a short stint in Bendigo.

A recent Commonwealth Bank Australia report showed an 11 per cent rise in migration from capital cities to country regions in the June 2021 quarter compared to same time last year, with local government areas within a three-hour drive of Melbourne recording the largest growth in metro-migrators from June 2020 to June 2021.

Moorabool recorded a 68 per cent increase in population growth, with Mansfield close behind with 62 per cent growth, Corangamite 52 per cent, and Alpine 47 per cent increase in population.

Greater Geelong also saw an increase in city relocators, with a recorded population growth of 26 per cent.

Commonwealth Bank’s Executive General Manager for Regional and Agribusiness Banking

Grant Cairns said rising housing prices in capital cities and flexible working options, making a lifestyle shift to a regional area “has become a realistic option” for many people. .

“The experience of lockdowns is front of mind for Victorians, so the desire to seek a tree change is rapidly growing,” Mr Cairns said.

While his reasons weren’t purely driven by the pandemic, Mr Munro said he’s been able to live his most authentic life since relocating to the Alpine shire.

“The past 12 months have been the best of my life,” Mr Munro said.

“There’s a few reasons why we decided on the Alpine shire. The affordability of it, not being priced-out of the rental market every six months. Living out here, there’s a real prospect of owning a house one day, something we didn’t think we’d be able to do,” Mr Munro said.

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