Four Aussies share the highs and lows of moving to the country

Whether you’re seeking adventure, a slower pace or just more space, these inspiring women and their stories of moving to the country are guaranteed to inspire and delight.

Each shares a realistic perspective on the highs and lows, their expectations and the unexpected rewards of uprooting their lives and loving miles away from the familiar.

From Perth to the Pilbara

“I guess I had a bit of a quarter-life crisis,” says Pilbara reporter Madelin Hayes, 26. “I’m a Perth girl originally. I lived and worked there throughout my early 20s, writing for a section of the Sunday Times called Outdoor Explorer.

“It was very behind-the-desk work. I was writing about these incredible places that I’d never actually seen for myself, so I decided to give regional journalism a crack.

“I moved in September 2024 and live in a company house in Karratha, so being able to escape on weekends is a real highlight for me. There are so many beautiful, untouched places up here. The islands out near Dampier are especially amazing. People here have shacks on the islands, it’s very relaxed and easygoing. I’ve definitely made friends with a few people who have boats!

“You really feel like you’re away from the world in Karratha, which is amazing, but at times I’ve felt far away from family and friends, too. I no longer underestimate the power of calling home and touching base with people, because if you’re thinking about them, they’re likely thinking about you, too. But I’ve also seen how lovely and welcoming people can be.

“In Perth, my weekends were spent catching up with the girls for a coffee or brekkie, but you find new ways to spend your weekends up here. I’ve really enjoyed finding more ways to be creative.

“I’m not sure if Karratha will be my home forever, but the lifestyle here is amazing. The thing I love most about living here is that I get to write stories about everyday people doing really cool things. Country people are so humble about what they do – they often don’t realise they are doing incredible things.”

A simpler life in Trentham

“The extended lockdowns in Melbourne in 2020 and 2021 made living in the city extremely claustrophobic,” says writer Louisa Deasey, 48. “For me, the city seemed 10 times louder than it had before COVID. I had this sense that someone was looking in the window at me all the time, talking to me, and interrupting me. I hadn’t realised I wasn’t able to write.

“In September 2022, I took my cat and went to Castlemaine to house-sit for friends. I couldn’t believe how peaceful I felt, I had the best sleep I’d had in months, and I was creative. On the drive back to Melbourne, I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to keep this peacefulness for as long as I can’, but it was literally within an hour of getting back to my apartment in North Fitzroy that my heart rate went up again. I thought, ‘I’ve gotta get out of here’. That was October 1, and I moved to Trentham, in Central West Victoria, on November 5.

“Something I used to think about the country was that people wanted to know what you’re doing all the time, but here the people are so lovely, and I never get the sense that I’m being spied on. What people care about here is whether you’ve got enough wood and if you’re warm enough at home. But it is true that in the country you need to know your neighbours because nature runs the show out here, and you rely on each other.

“My boyfriend, Sam, still lives in Melbourne. Sometimes I really miss him and wish he lived here, but mostly I have the best of both worlds. During the week, I love working from home in my office, where I can write without interruption. Then when Sam or my family comes up to stay, I appreciate seeing them so much more and can give them more attention, too. I didn’t realise how much I wanted to live like this until I came here.”

Swapping Sydney’s East for the Central West

“I met Pete when we went to University together 40 years ago,” says Julie Hancock, 61. “We reconnected coincidentally 10 years ago. I was very much an Eastern Suburbs native, and he was a sheep farmer from Wellington, NSW, but we were in our early 50s by then and I do think it was a matter of timing for us both.

“Pete’s wife passed away when his little girls were five and six. When we re-met, the girls were 11 and 12, and at boarding school in Mittagong. So, when we got together, we had this triangle long-distance relationship between Sydney, Wellington and Mittagong.

“We did that for four years and then COVID hit when I was up in Wellington for the weekend. Pete said, ‘You know if you go home, you probably won’t be able to come back anytime soon’, so that prompted the move. When COVID calmed down, I realised I didn’t want to move back.

Lake Burrendong – or ‘The Dam’ to locals – in Wellington is a popular spot for water sports and fishing. ((Photo: Destination NSW))

“Pete told me the best way to be happy in a small country town is to join a community group. I’d always been interested in amateur theatre, so I joined the Wellington Amateur Theatrical Society. A year later, I was the president and director. I’m also the self-nominated first lady of the Wellington Race Club, because Pete’s the president.

“I still work three days a week in media sales at Triple M in Dubbo, and we have two cottages in town that we’ve restored and now rent as holiday accommodation: Percy Street Gallery Cottages. Honestly, I thought I’d have more spare time living in the country, but I’m busier than I’ve ever been!

“I must admit I go to Sydney for my GP and dentist; the rural health crisis is a real thing. The GP here is a lovely man in his 70s who has devoted his life to being a country doctor, but you literally can’t see him for three or four months, so that’s been challenging.

“More than anything, I feel very lucky. I didn’t have children, so meeting someone with two girls [Alex and Edwina, now 22 and 20] means I’ve gotten to experience that. I’ve never tried to replace their mother, but we’re great friends, and I just feel really lucky that this happened to me and I got this chance at an amazing life.”

Heading north

Tanya and Matteo Barbariol with sons Luca and Oscar at their garden patch on a friend’s property up the road. ((Photography: Jamie Green))

“Growing up, I always lived in small towns and communities across the Northern Rivers and Tweed Coast, whereas my husband, Matteo, was born and bred in the city,” says Tanya Barbariol, 34. “I went to Sydney for what was supposed to be a month or two when I was 21, but I ended up meeting Matteo and stayed for nine years. We moved back in mid-2022.

“Moving here has been the easiest thing because we really connected with this place. Barely any of the people we know here are actually from here, so there’s a strong sense of community because we’ve all chosen to live in Bangalow for the same reason. In the city, I felt like a lot of the time you were passing people by; I chatted to people all the time and had social friendships, but it never really felt like a deep community connection.

“We love having a more outdoorsy lifestyle. We’re always at the beach, or in the countryside visiting waterfalls and rainforests. These days, I never go to Woolies or Coles – I get all our groceries from farmers’ markets or an amazing local delivery service that delivers to our door, direct from local growers.

“Because we have young kids – Oscar is four and Luca is nine months old – living on the outskirts of town works well for us. We can walk into town for a coffee and still have elements of city life, but we also have our space – it’s the best of both worlds.

“The funniest thing, for me, is that people assume some services, like the post, would be delayed, but because we’ve chosen such a well-connected area, I’d say if anything it’s the opposite.

“I would say access to supply is more of a challenge, now I have to source from several different farms. But on the upside, I have my own garden and access to a sunny patch on a friend’s property just five minutes up the road, which is a dream come true!