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Print FriendlyLiving in the city and want a place in the country? Join the queue. Rural communities close to Australia’s major cities are experiencing a real estate boom from city dwellers in search of a more peaceful life.
In NSW, small farms and acreages within a 300 kilometre radius of Sydney are being sought by city dwellers for weekend escapes or a more permanent lifestyle change. The story is similar in other states. Typically the people seeking country properties are couples with a grown-up family who want to retire early from their city careers, work from home or commute three to five days a week to the office.
Going Bush, a feature in The Land newspaper (October 28th 1999), found that boredom and stress were two of the main reasons people wanted to escape the pressures of city life to the relative quiet of the country. The option of selling the Sydney house for small farm and supplementing superannuation with ventures like tourism, olive and grape growing or more traditional activities such as fattening beef cattle is also attractive.
So how can city dwellers learn to cope with mending fences, bogged farm vehicles, insect plagues, unreliable contractors and a cow that won’t come home from the neighbour’s place? Not to mention animal nutrition, pasture improvement and precarious commodity markets.
Agricultural and TAFE colleges around Australia offer a huge range of short practical courses in addition to their more traditional degrees in agriculture, farm business and natural resource management. At Tocal Agricultural College near Maitland in the Lower Hunter Valley, you can become proficient in anything from Cattlecare to beekeeping. Courses include: Starting a rural venture; Safe use of tractors; Introduction to olive culture; Worm farming; and Agriculture on the Internet.
The courses offered by various colleges tend to be tailored for their local area. This is often a good guide to what is practical for the soil type and topography on your block of land. Real Estate and stock and station agents, Landcare Groups, Department of Agriculture officers, neighbours and farm field days are all good sources of information if you are buying a place or have bought and need advice.
For women moving from the city to the country the needs are often more specific. Isolation and distance from shops and services can be difficult to manage. A number of women’s and other community groups operate in most rural areas and sporting and other clubs are useful social meetings points for people moving from the city to the country.
Useful links
NSW Real Estate Institute |
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Elders Rural |
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Wesfarmers Dalgety |
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Tocal Agricultural College |
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Orange Agricultural College |
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Gatton Agricultural College |
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Emerald Agricultural College |
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Marcus Oldham |
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TAFE NSW |
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Rural Press |