City Dwellers Find Purpose in Rural Life

0:00From the Daily News Now Network, this is Corey with Adelaide News Today. More Australians are swapping city bustle for quiet rural spots, chasing a fresh start. Take Max Hudson, a 20-something tradesman from Melbourne's Packingham suburb. Tired of traffic and routine weekends, he studied agriculture and landed on remote King Island in Tasmania's Bass Street, home to just over 1,000 people. This tree-changed trend has picked up since the COVID pandemic. The latest regional mover's index shows 11.5 percent of big moves are from capital cities to regions, outpacing the reverse at 8.4 percent. Folks from Sydney and Melbourne lead the pack, like Max, who jumped into station handwork on a cattle property focused on regenerative farming. Challenges hit quick in such isolation. Max thought he loved solitude, but after two years, loneliness crept in with few folks to chat with. Courtney Moore felt it too, leaving her bank job in Albany for 5,000 acre sheep farm

1:01in remote Western Australia with her farmer husband. Both grieved their old city sales while adjusting to empty horizons. They pushed through by training working dogs, Max bonded with his pup Roxy through beach runs and play, turning work into fun. Courtney dove into sheep dog trials to carve out her own role on the family land. Now Max farm sheep in Victoria's Gippsland, just a two-hour drive from friends and family. No regrets for him, hurting dogs and paddocks feels like the right lifelong path. These stories show world shifts, bring purpose, even with the tough bits, thanks to our sponsor for helping bring you this episode. It looks like a pillow, it sounds like headphones, bill for comfort and sound, S-O-L-I-SoliPillow.com. dot com dot com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com com