The Rural Renaissance – The Migratory Movement Away From Bright City Lights
opinion piece BY SAMANTHA NOON - QUEENSLAND BASED MEDIA STRINGER
When Covid-19” first raised its head in Australia in early 2020, little did we understand how much impact it would have. Social distancing, face masks and lock downs are now the norm and blissful ignorance is a thing of the past. We have come to expect the unexpected, be wary of a sneeze and have become experts in different brands of vaccines and the associated side effects.
For many people living in urban centres, the epiphany of a life filled with wide open spaces and fresh air has materialised from said event, prompting mass interest in moving to the country unlike anything we have ever seen.
Traditionally speaking, the rural-urban migration has always been a younger generation of country kids chasing dreams and careers in the big smoke. This model is now interrupted for possibly the first time in history, with the traffic turning around and heading back along the well-trodden path they came from.
And why wouldn’t you live out of the urban centres? Apart from the occasional drought, flood and mouse plague “the country” is the best place to live.
According to the recently conducted “Australia Talks” survey completed by the ABC, a whopping 1 in 3 Queenslanders indicated that they do not know their neighbour by name. As a resident of rural Queensland, this is a completely foreign concept to me. Not knowing your neighbour in some rural areas could be a simple matter of life or death when considering the factor of remoteness. More to the fact though – who do you get to feed your dog and water your plants while you are on holidays?
Is it a longing for this kind of community connection that is helping drive the central-bound migration to our rural regions? In light of the Covid-19 event, are we as a society suddenly aware of the concept of isolation? Or is it the idea that some people are escaping a perceived threat that comes with living in close quarters to other people outside your family?
Whatever it may be, rural communities are welcoming their newest residents with open arms -because let’s be honest, we need them to work in our businesses, put their kids on the school bus and shop in our boutiques. Essentially, we need them to sustain our economy.
We are faced with a peculiar situation here in rural Australia, where for the first time we are competing with each other as regions to portray ourselves as the location of choice for those looking to relocate. In Goondiwindi, where I live, we pride ourselves on the tag line “Regional Australia at its Best”, a title given to the town by esteemed media commentator Bernard Salt.
Influenced by our amazing lifestyle offerings, economic stability and cohesive community, Salt wrote favourably of our town in the Australian newspaper way back in 2018 and we have been proudly alluding to the title at every given opportunity ever since.
Now we are competing with other regions who are similarly preaching their perfect rural lifestyles and employment opportunities. The whole process is turning into a marketing game to see who can effectively capture the attention and imagination of people looking to relocate to the regions. Like all things marketing, those who can sell their story the best will come out with the highest “sales”. There have been consultants who have pivoted their entire business around this concept, assisting Councils and Chambers of Commerce with their marketing strategies to capture their target market – something that they have not traditionally had to manage before.
The subsequent domestic tourism boom encapsulated by the international travel ban, has been a blessing for rural communities who have been living with the effects of drought. The continued desire for Australians to “holiday here this year” has led to an influx of tourists and their much-needed open wallets that have provided critical stimulus to many rural economies who are coming off years of drought. It is probably through a concerted effort on a tourism focused connection initially, that the realisation that “maybe I could live here” from our visitors has come to fruition. Back in the "pre-covid" days, many of these travellers would have been found jumping on a Boeing 747 destined for an exotic international destination. This in itself has presented an opportunity to rural communities that would not have been available otherwise.
If Covid-19 has taught the world anything, it is that you can absolutely work from anywhere and achieve everything you used to in your old office space. Modern technology has solved the once inhibiting factor of digital connectivity, with high speed internet available in most areas.
Rural communities are hands-down the best place to base yourself and raise a family. Open spaces, fresh air, amazing lifestyle and career opportunities abound – not to mention a sense of community connection like no other.
And now, finally, the rest of Australia are beginning to see what we have been saying all along!