By Aline Rodrigues
A new NBN research has shown that Queenslanders are keen to take advantage of everything their home state has to offer post-COVID, with an increasing number of people eager to embrace a more flexible lifestyle.
The NBN Flexible Lifestyle Survey investigates how COVID-19 has accelerated consumer behaviour shifts and spurred lifestyle and priority changes. It also illustrates the flexibility consumers now have to make life-changing decisions.
The research was conducted by YouGov and revealed that a third (33%) of Queensland residents are considering relocating after COVID-19 – a decision driven by desires to save money, to live a quieter life away from the hustle and bustle of big cities, and to ensure they’re not putting off the things that make them happy until they’re too old to enjoy them.
According to Kylie Lindsay, Head of NBN Local Queensland, COVID-19 has brought many challenges this year. “It’s also acted as a ‘circuit breaker’ for many people, giving them the opportunity to consider what’s really important to them and whether their existing lifestyle is meeting all their needs”.
The desire to relocate was encouraged by the pandemic’s experience and the accompanying focus on remote work online, with almost half (47%) of Queensland residents saying they’ve wanted to move for a while but have only lately considered it a feasible option.
Amongst Queenslanders looking to relocate, the majority (71%) want to stay in the sunshine state. More than three quarters (78%) of these are looking to move to a regional area, rate quiet streets and low traffic (73%), plenty of green space (67%), good health facilities (60%), and affordable homes (56%) as the most critical features of their ideal community.
“For a significant number of Queenslanders, the realisation has been they love their home state but want to enjoy a more flexible lifestyle that allows them to focus on what really matters in life, like their family and wellbeing. Happily, many of the Queenslanders who want to relocate to achieve these lifestyle benefits believe they can find their ideal community within the sunshine state”, Lindsay said.
Non-Queenslanders
Queensland isn’t just a popular lifestyle destination among current residents either – 38% of Australians who live outside the region and want to move interstate say Queensland is their ideal location.
To Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) CEO, Antonia Mercorella, Queensland property has been in high demand.
“COVID-19 meant property inspections and auctions all had to be done a different way. We had to pivot quickly and capitalise on the digitisation of our industry”.
“It is a trend that has been embraced, and we expect it to only grow in the future. Reliable, fast and secure online purchasing capability from anywhere works particularly well in our industry”, Ms Mercorella said.
Also, the benefits of the relocation don’t just apply to those making a move.
Almost nine in ten (88%) of regionally-located Queenslanders say an increase in people moving to their area to live would bring benefits like more support for local businesses (64%), increase investment in the local community (46%), encouraging younger people to stay in the local area (39%) and increase support for local cultural activities (36%).