More than half of Australian residents living in a large city would be open to forgoing their metropolitan lifestyles and moving to a smaller area in search of more affordable housing and better conditions for raising children.
A study by the University of South Australia found 53% of people living in large cities (population of more than 100,000) would be willing to move to a mid-sized city (population under 100,000). This would be equivalent to someone relocating from Melbourne to Albury or from Adelaide to Mt Gambier.
Researchers surveyed more than 3000 people from across Australia in 2021 - at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic - on where they live and the factors that would shape their decision to relocate, including employment, housing and social connectedness.
Results revealed that 84% of respondents were living in large cities and more than half of them would be willing to relocate somewhere smaller. Of these, 21% had a strong desire to move but the lack of job opportunities in mid-sized cities was cited as a major barrier.
Lead researcher Associate Professor Akshay Vij says this indicates that most residents would prefer to live in smaller urban centres but are concerned about economic opportunities and the inadequacy of services in those areas.
The COVID-19 pandemic with its lockdowns and restrictions on travel, saw a shift in regional Australian populations. This was enabled by the ability to work remotely, and likely boosted by awareness of the health risks associated with higher population densities.
For the first time since 1981, Australia's regional population grew more than the capital cities during 2020-21. This growth was especially noticeable in NSW and Victoria where stricter and more severe lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne prompted more people to move regionally.
However, recent evidence from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates there has since been a return to pre-pandemic population trends.
"Our study found that people are willing to relocate to smaller towns but are unable to do so due to a lack of suitable employment opportunities," Assoc Prof Vij says.
"The pandemic and increased adoption of working from home enabled short-term migration to the regions. But as the pandemic has receded and most workers have returned to the workplace, opportunities to work remotely from a small regional centre have faded as well, prompting the return to pre-pandemic migration trends observed in more recent ABS data.
"The primary barrier to regional migration is the absence of appropriate employment opportunities," he says. "While job vacancy numbers have been persistently high in regional Australia, these are typically not the kinds of high-skill high-wage jobs that can help attract residents from large metropolitan centres."
Understanding people's inclinations towards moving to smaller areas is necessary to explore ways to relieve the population strain on big cities. Historically, the major state capitals such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have been the centres of the greatest population growth in Australia.
The number of people living in capital cities increased by 17% between 2011 and 2021, while regional Australia grew 11%. In 2019-20, 72% of the country's population lived in the five largest capital cities.
"We need to alleviate pressure on the larger metropolitan areas. The strain on our big cities is reflected by the current expensive housing market, the rising level of housing unaffordability, growing traffic congestion and overcrowded schools and hospitals," Assoc Prof Vij says.
"Various efforts have been made over the years by past governments to establish new urban centres, however many of these, such as Monarto in SA, have failed to transpire or emerge as major population centres."
Video footage available upon request.
