Life in the big smoke isn’t for everyone, and we get it. Some simply have better things to do than battling peak-hour traffic, lining up for overpriced sandwiches, squashing onto sardine-can trains and fighting for a square of sand at the beach. During the pandemic, plenty of Aussies packed up city life and headed for the coast or the countryside. And the ‘tree-change’ and ‘sea-change’ trend is still going strong, with the cost of living crisis driving more and more people away from the expensive capitals.
According to the latest Regional Movers Index published by Commonwealth Bank and the Regional Australia Institute, 35.6 per cent more Aussies moved from capital cities to regional towns in 2024. Relocations in the last quarter alone were nearly ten per cent above pre-pandemic levels and three per cent higher than a year ago.
So, which regional towns are luring Aussies? The Sunshine Coast is still shining bright as the country’s most popular regional destination for movers, a title it’s held for the past two years. Topping the list for both city and regional dwellers, this sunny region accounted for ten per cent of all net internal migration in 2024, though that’s down from 17.5 per cent the year before.
Chasing at its tail is Greater Geelong in Victoria, which now claims 8.5 per cent of net internal migration. Here, you can enjoy the coastal lifestyle without the Melbourne prices, and still be just an hour's train ride away if you need to catch a game at the MCG. Just a 90-minute drive from Sydney, Lake Macquarie takes third place, with its share of movers increasing to five per cent in December 2024. Meanwhile, Moorabool in regional Victoria remains the fourth most popular regional destination to move to, and Maitland in the lower Hunter region of NSW holds onto fifth place.
As for up-and-coming Aussie regional destinations, the top five fastest-growing council areas – measured by annual growth in net internal migration – include Wingecarribee (NSW), Richmond Valley (NSW), Albany (WA), Bega Valley (NSW) and Wodonga (VIC). Want to find out where else life is good away from the big smoke? You can check out the full report here.
Here are the 10 most popular regional destinations Australians are moving to
- Sunshine Coast, QLD
- Greater Geelong, VIC
- Lake Macquarie, NSW
- Moorabool, VIC
- Maitland, NSW
- Fraser Coast, QLD
- Cessnock, NSW
- Ballarat, VIC
- Port Macquarie-Hastings, NSW
- Shoalhaven, NSW