00:00Many young Australians the idea of moving away from your hometown is an exciting prospect
00:04but what does it actually look like? Whether it's for job opportunity or as simple as a change of
00:09scenery how do you decide where to live and is it more affordable than the big cities? I think it
00:15was definitely cheaper than a big city. I was expecting to have to pay more than what I do
00:22so yeah that was a good surprise. According to the most recent data from February 2026 by
00:27suburb trends, rental markets across regional Victoria and southern New South Wales remain
00:32under severe supply pressure. For young renters like Ashley, moving regional was full of exciting
00:39uncertainties. I guess it was a bit daunting. I hadn't lived out of home in my old town so yeah
00:48it was a bit stressful trying to make sure that my new housemates were going to be good. Young people
00:55bring energy, creativity and arts and music, cultural and linguistic diversity to a place.
01:04James Goring is a lecturer in education at Deakin University and he said without people coming to
01:10these regional towns it can have a flow and effect on all industries. Local state government and even
01:17local industries, big industries like the meat processing that you've got down there and the
01:25the dairies and things who are attracting a lot of workers, newspapers, whatever, they need to put their
01:30heads together collectively and recognise that this is a problem. Democracy is pretty boring but it does work
01:38in some ways and I think it's really important that young people vote and turn up and you know
01:45ask the leaders who are going to represent them and their interests and if housing is a major issue
01:52vote in politicians who are going to address that problem. With more young people moving from big
01:58cities to regional every year housing remains a high priority.
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