TOP 5 Australian REGIONAL Cities to Live in (2024)

[Music] many of you have been asking me to make a video about Regional areas in Australia especially considering that many of these areas usually tend to be a bit more affordable than major cities like Sydney brisban or even Melbourne disclaimer these are my favorite areas and the areas that I know relatively well of course there are many other areas that are considered Regional for migration purposes across Australia but these are my top five base on what I know and what I like if you're interested keep watching now the first Regional area in my list is Wen gong I already mentioned this in other videos but I actually go to wenon quite often because my Australian partner has relatives living there and to be honest in my personal opinion wangong is an amazing City that during the past 5 years has changed significantly the best way to describe it I guess is that this city has been going through gentrification meaning that in the past my understanding is that it was an area that didn't have the best reputation especially for living but today the city is super well kept clean and that was a super pleasant surprise last time I was here a few months ago there are lots of trendy cafes and bars popping up and the best thing about W and gong in my opinion is that this area is located by the beach and you have easy access to all the beautiful coastal towns along the south coast of New South wals just for reference my favorite coastal towns are bulai JIS Bay Ean naroma and and of course there are many others around the area but these are the ones that every time we go driving along the east coast of Australia we always stop in this beautiful towns and these beautiful areas because they stunning there are also other Regional areas that I highly recommend taking out along the east coast of Australia especially in New South Wales and another thing that I really love about Wong gong and I think in New South Wales in general is that they have Rock balls most coel towns and even in the city as well when you go to bondle beach you're going to find rock pools which is something that I haven't seen at all here in Victoria or in other states like Queensland for example another great thing about living in Wong is that in general terms I think this city is a bit more accessible in terms of affordability than Sydney and perhaps if you work in Sydney but you're living W andone it's very easy you just have to catch the train and it takes you around 1 and a half hours to get to Sydney cvd and also if you're planning to study here in Australia perhaps the University of won could be a great option for you if you want to leave in this Regional area now having said that considering that wenong is an area that has been growing significantly during the past years I understand the rent prices in this area have gone up considerably for example the median rental price for a house in wongon is around $660 Australian dollars per week whereas for a unit or an apartment you can expect to pay around 500 per week and if you want to buy a house then the price goes up significantly and you can expect to pay above 1 million Australian now let's talk about the labor market in wenong because this is something perhaps that it's worth noting if you're considering moving to this area and basically settling here and working now wangong is located in the aawara region and the top five major industries in this area include Healthcare and social assistance Education and Training retail trade construction public administration and safety and the top five major occupations in this area are sales assistance aged and disabled carers registered nurses General clerks and electricians now the median weekly earnings across the new southwes region because I don't have a specific data for wangong is around $1,339 Australian dollars so if you thinking of moving to New South Wales and you're seeking that a beach kind of Lifestyle perhaps woolongong could be a good option for you now the second Regional area in this list is jilong jilong is located about 75 km Southwest of Melbourne in the state of Victoria and this city is best known for its beautiful Waterfront and cultural attractions and I think you may want to know is that if you're a student dickon university has one of its campuses in jilong and actually when I graduated from my psychology degree at dickon University we had our graduation ceremony at the jilong campus so now another great thing about living in gilong is that this city again has been going through gentrification very similar to wen gong and it's actually a pretty well developed city with a lot of Office Buildings and does around the area and it only takes you a bit over an hour by train to get to Melbourne City so in terms of public transport and accessibility dong is not a bad option at all now in terms of housing dong is actually a relatively affordable area to live in within Victoria with the median rental price for a house being around 500 Australian dollars per week and for unit or apartment around $487 Australian dollar per week on the other hand if you're looking at buying in D you can expect to pay around 964 th000 Australian dollars not too bad again especially when you compare it to other parts of Melbourne Victoria now in terms of the Long's labor market this is what you need to know the top five major industries in this city include Healthcare and social assistance retail trade construction Education and Training and Manufacturing and the top five major occupations include sales assistants register nurses aged and disabled carers retail managers and general clerks it's very interesting that the major industries and occupations in this Regional area dong are very similar to those in wenong now the median weekly earnings across the state of Victoria where dong is located are around $1,280 Australian dollars so again dong is a original area that perhaps you may want to consider if you're seeking to live close to Melbourne and in the state of of Victoria now third on our list is bat and again we're still in the state of Victoria bat is a city located around 115 km Northwest of Melbourne and it's a historically significant city known for its Rich Gold Rush Heritage stunning architecture historical buildings and cultural offerings interestingly enough valat is also a city that has experienced significant growth since the pandemic especially because so many people during these times during this period decided to move away from the city to quieter areas perhaps a bit more Greener and with more freedom and I honestly can tell you that Ballarat indeed has again gone through a huge gentrification process this area has grown a lot and then I go there very often because I climb in the grand Pian National Park so we have to pass through bat and it's insane how this city has changed this a very stark contrast between before the pandemic and after the pandemic and indeed there are lots of bars and restaurants and puffs popping up it seems uh very well maintained and super developed so again I think it's a it's a really nice area to perhaps to consider and also in terms of demographics you tend to see now a much younger generation living there like young professionals with families yeah and I think this is great as well for the for this area to grow and develop and also encourage the creation of more jobs as well now the downside of t ification is that house prices in balarat have actually gone up slightly during the past years again since the pandemic but having said that when you compare the medium prices in this area to others in Victoria or even other areas across Australia it's still pretty affordable to both rent and buy Here For example the median rental price for a house in balarat is around $400 Australian dollars per week and for a unitor apartment 350 australi per week and the medium price for buying a house is around $620,000 Australian dollar not bad at all considering that most houses here in Australia especially major cities and the most popular states are usually over 1 million and something else that it's pretty good is that if you live in balarat you're only 1 hour and 30 minutes away from melbour by train so again it's pretty accessible in terms of public transportation now when it comes to ballarat's labor market the top five Industries are Healthcare and social assistance Education and Training accommodation and Food Services retail trade and Manufacturing and the top five major occupations include sales assistants aged and disabled carers register nurses region managers and general clerks and as we said before the median weekly earnings in the state of Victoria are around $1,200 Australian dollars per week so this is balarat and perhaps it's an area it's a city that you may want to consider now next on our list is Gold Coast and many people are going to be surprised about this because the Gold Coast is actually considered a regional area for migration purposes now the Gold Coast is located in the state of Queensland and it's a great tourist destination for anyone who likes the beach the night life them parks and nature now I remember the first time that I went to the Gold Coast and it actually reminded me of Miami in Florida in the US I've been to Miami several times and yeah the Gold Coast has that kind of vibe especially as well not only the B but also the architecture and how and the layout of the city itself especially all these areas surfers paradise and Broad Beach Etc and again you'll see it in the high-rise buildings by the beach all the bars and cafes and young people parting at night it's a very Lively City in my opinion now if you want to know more about the Gold Coast I have a dedicated video about it highly recommend watching that now in terms of housing the city as all the others in this list has actually experienced significant growth since the pandemic so much so that the Gold Coast is today one of the fastest growing cities in Australia but at the same time unfortunately one of the cities that has been most affected by the housing crisis so I guess this is the downside of this rental boom to give you an idea the median rent price in the Gold Coast is around $775 Australian dollars per week for a house and around 530 per week for a unit it so pretty spicy now in terms of the labor market in the Gold Coast the major five Industries are Healthcare and social assistance construction retail trade Education and Training professional scientific and Technical Services and the top five major occupations include self assistants register nurses retail managers General clerks aged and disabled carers I don't know if you notice so far but it's very striking how occupations in retail trade and Healthcare and social assistance are actually consistent ly appearing as the top industries across Regional areas here in Australia I do think that these numbers reflect a bit the fact that Australia has an aging population and more support is required in these industries especially Healthcare and everything that relates to caring now the median weekly earnings in Queensland where Gold Coast is located is $1,300 Australian dollars per week more than Melbourne surprisingly so again the Gold Coast is an amazing alternative perhaps if you're young or even a retired person and you're seeking a beach lifestyle but perhaps you take into account that this city is one of the fastest growing cities as we said and you may find a bit of issue in terms of finding suitable housing here but of course as I always advise do your own research and try to find whatever suits you best now next on our list is the alcen region of Victoria and I know that many of you are probably yelling at the screen and saying all the cities are in Victoria yes because as I said these are the cities that I like and that I know well but probably in the future I'm going to make videos about other Regional areas but these are my top five the Alor region is located a bit over a 3-hour drive from Melbourne City what I love about this area is that you're basically living in nature and you're close to beautiful towns like bright meid for har Bill dinner plane Etc and again the beauty of living in the alpan region I actually have friends living here and the beauty is that during winter you have easy access to the snow ski resorts CrossCountry skiing and during summer if you're an outdoor lover you're surrounded by beautiful mountains and hills and you can go on Hikes mountain biking paragliding rock climbing in M Buffalo swimming in beautiful legs and more so again the alpan region of Victoria is one of my favorite places in Australia and that's why I included it in this list now something that's important to know is that if you want to live in these areas it's going to be Paramount it's going be super important for you to have a car because public transport is not super accessible to get around to be honest taking public transport around this areas is a pain and it's super super timec consuming connectivity in that sense is not very good yet I think that's something to take into account now again the common theme in this video is that all these Regional areas have actually experienced significant growth since the pandemic and the alpan region of Victoria is no exception so now perhaps towns like bri are not super accessible to live in in fact it's actually very hard to find rental properties here like for long-term accommodation but perhaps other towns around the area say middle Ford are still pretty accessible although there are not as many rental properties available from what I've seen for example the median rental price in mid for according to my research is around $420 Australian dollars per week for a house and $300 Australian dollar for a unit although I haven't really seen any apartments or units available for rent in this area and even when I was there and when I go there it's mainly houses now when it comes to buying you can expect to pay around $637,000 Australian dollars per house not bad at all as way of comparison again as I said bright is a town that has grown significantly during the past years and decade if you want and renting a house in Bride will cost you around 577 per week Australian dollars and a unit for around 430 per week and for buying forgetting it's over 1 million or even more it's a very exclusive area but at the same time it does represent how beautiful beautiful this town is so even if you're not going there to live I highly recommend at least going for a visit yeah even for a weekend it's beautiful now in terms of work perhaps the alpan region of Victoria is not the most ideal option if you're planning to work in Melbourne City right it's pretty far but if you have access to remote work or you work in Hospitality or trade perhaps living here is a bit more doable now the alpan region of Victoria or the alpan Shire council is located in the hum region and it was a bit hard to find data but from what I've seen the top five major industries in this area include Healthcare and social assistance construction manufacturing Education and Training and Retail trade and the top five major occupations include sales assistants livestock Farmers aged and disabled carers register nurses is truck drivers as you can see the picture of the labor market in this specific Regional area is slightly different to those that we mentioned previously having said that we still see Healthcare and social assistance as one of the major industries and it's probably one of the major industries across the whole of Australia now again if you work in Professional Services perhaps and you work remotely living in these areas may be more doable if you're looking at jobs in Hospitality fit services or retail perhaps you may be able to find jobs in these areas to be honest every time that I go there I always see science looking for stuff there are skill shortages so I highly recommend having a look if you're interested of course now again in terms of medium weekly earnings for the state of Victoria you can expect to earn around $1,200 Australian dollars per week now as I said at the start of the video there are so many other Regional areas across Australia worth exploring in this video again I'm focusing on my top five the ones that I like the ones that I know areas that are growing and that perhaps need more skilled people to fill in jobs and to keep fostering the growth of this country if you're interested as well I have a dedicated video about the most affordable capital cities in Australia and if you like this video please like And subscribe to keep supporting the channel so I can get bring in more content for you I'll see you next time and thank you for watching