AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

Australians love city life

Monday, 19 November 2007

A recent population study has found that Australians are more than willing to give up their houses, swimming pools and large backyards for the fast paced inner-city lifestyle.

The report, which studied people under 40 years old, showed an increasing trend to move away from the suburbs towards the bigger cities. Figures show that more and more people are leaving behind the spacious outdoor lifestyle and moving towards the apartment lifestyle in the big cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

This represents a fundamental change to the Australian lifestyle. Being close to the beach has always been a pull factor for Australians, but now it seems that inner city living is competing with the beach to young professionals who are beginning or who are in the middle of their careers. With public transport systems that compete amongst the best in the world in buses, trains, and trams, it is clear to see why the apartment style lifestyle is preferred by this generation compared to previous ones.

The report also indicated that Melbourne is closing in on Sydney as the largest metropolitan area, with a population growth rate that doubled that of the Sydney. Resource booms in Perth have helped make Perth the fastest growing capital city in Australia, with a 2.2 per cent increase, meaning more jobs for Australians and skilled workers who migrate to Australia.

Other big cities such as Adelaide, Brisbane and the Gold Coast also have rapidly expanding populations. This however is offset by a skills shortage in other parts of Australia, mainly the outskirts of the big cities and also regional Australia, hence the need for skilled migrants.