World | Australia
Aussies trading beach for bush
An estimated 150,000 Australians will quit big cities such as Sydney and Melbourne this year, fed up with long working hours, greater stress and traffic congestion a far cry from the traditional image of Australia as the land of the long weekend.
- The Telegraph Group Limited
- Published: 00:00 June 18, 2006
Sydney: For Australians looking to trade in their stressed city lifestyles, the coast is now so expensive that they are instead heading for the bush.
An estimated 150,000 Australians will quit big cities such as Sydney and Melbourne this year, fed up with long working hours, greater stress and traffic congestion a far cry from the traditional image of Australia as the land of the long weekend.
But about a third of the urban refugees are having to ditch their dreams of living by the beach and embrace the more affordable option of a retreat in the country.
Matthew Bell, 36, was earning £60,000 (Dh399,000) a year as a broker when he and his wife Jo left Sydney with their three children a year ago.
They bought a 2,000-acre cattle property at the end of an eight-mile-long dirt track near the small town of Warialda in New South Wales, 200 miles from the nearest beach.
"We love it," Mrs Bell, 35, said. "Occasionally we miss things like restaurants, and we've been known to go on a 90-mile round trip for a Thai takeaway. But we're so much more laid-back. We love listening to the radio and hearing about the traffic congestion in Sydney."
Country towns devastated by Australia's long-running drought have benefited from the fresh blood, but they have also had quickly to adapt to meet the new arrivals' needs.
Old-fashioned milk bars selling watery tea and tepid meat pies are being replaced by chic cafes offering lattes and sour dough sandwiches.
A century-old homestead with a traditional verandah and five acres of land can be bought in many country towns for £100,000 (Dh665,000). In some outback regions a decent house can be had for as little as £30,000 (Dh199,500).
Australians are engaged in a "nostalgic re-identification" with the Bush, the vast inland region which spawned much of the country's identity, say the authors of Sea Change, Movement from Metropolitan to Arcadian Australia.
News Editor's choice
-
Kuwait condemns Houla massacre
Arab League urged to put end to oppression of Syrian people
-
Road crashes main cause of child death in UAE
Death rate among children in car accidents in the UAE is three times higher than global average
-
Last minute ID rush is on
Expatriates in Dubai have thronged typing centres and Emirates ID registration offices to meet the May 31 registration deadline
