DEMOGRAPHERS have presented a report showing that people are on the move again, leaving regional areas to return to the capital cities due to a “decline in liveability”.

Moving out bush was a decision I made in 1959 and have never regretted.

I left the leafy waterfront domain of Sydney’s Middle Harbour, jumped onto a Butler Airline DC3 aircraft and flew to Burren Junction on a two year jackarooing contract.

I was elated to be out of the insincerity of the top end of city life.

The bush at that time was still echoing from the wool boom days and provided great opportunities for this skinny kid from the city.

In recent years, the cost and availability of housing in the capital cities has soured the ability of young aspirants to own their own homes.

Increasing costs have meant renting has also become a challenge for many young people.

These costs then further dent their hopes of ever owning their own home.

There is always a solution to every problem however.

The obvious one here traditionally was to move to the bush, or at least a regional location where everything is less expensive.

Young families in the city with their own homes and a substantial mortgage could sell their homes for good money and buy again in the regions for cheaper.

Sydneysiders wanted to move to the coast, both north and south.

Those who lived in Brisbane and Melbourne were doing the same thing too.

Now, demographers are reporting increased outflows of migrants from coastal towns.

The popularity of coastal towns means they are now impacted by the same problems people left the capital cities to avoid – overcrowding, traffic issues and the development of antisocial behavior.

The Regional Movers Index follows what internal migrants are up to, highlighting a small new wave of people returning to the cities.

We in the Tea Gardens, Hawks Nest, North Arm Cove and Bulahdelah areas need to try our best to defend our way of life in order to protect it from overdevelopment and the impacts of a quickly increasing population.

By John BLACKBOURN