City dwellers are increasingly realising that life in the country is a great alternative to city living.

With the lifestyle, amenities and welcoming community of Narrabri Shire, we are well placed to be a destination of choice for ‘tree changers.’

The experience of dealing with COVID-19 has removed one of the most significant barriers to a substantial population shift, according to the Regional Australia Institute.

RAI chief executive Liz Ritchie says the notion of how we work has been turned on its head and she hopes this change will see significant population growth in country regions, following on from a trend that has already been set over a decade.

“From 2011 to 2016, our two biggest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, lost more residents to regions than they gained – and this was well before COVID-19. Over the last few months, we’ve all had to change how we work, and this has allowed staff and employers to see that location is no longer a barrier for where we choose to work,” Ms Ritchie said.

Tuesday’s official launch of the RAI’s latest report, The Big Movers, unpacked population trends around the country and confirms that regional Australia attracted more people than it lost to capital cities during the last Census.

In the five years to 2016, Sydney saw a net loss of 64,756 people to regional Australia.

Between 2011 and 2016, more than 1.2 million people either moved to regional Australia or moved around regional Australia from one location to another.

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