Interesting article:
A record number of people have moved out of the nation’s capitals, with Melbourne losing many to regional Victoria and states such as Queensland.
From the article:
Melburnians are leaving the city and heading for cheaper housing and lockdown-free life in the state’s regions and other parts of the country as the coronavirus pandemic up-ends migration across the country.
A record net 11,800 people left the nation’s capital cities in the three months to the end of March, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Tuesday, with Sydney and Melbourne feeling the pandemic-fuelled drain.
Since the start of the pandemic, a net 22,651 people have left Melbourne for other parts of Victoria. In total, Melbourne has lost a net 34,366 residents, including 3682 who have made the move to Brisbane.
In the March quarter, a net 8300 people left Greater Melbourne compared to 8500 in the final three months of 2020. It was the second-largest quarterly drop in internal migration for Melbourne this century.
Victoria failed to make a net gain of residents from any state or territory over the three months, with its biggest loss, of 2900, to Queensland.
People in the prime of their working years are the biggest group moving out of Melbourne.
A net 2500 people aged between 25 and 44 left the city in the March quarter while 2800 aged between 45 and 64 took flight. They took with them 1800 children under the age of 14.
While Sydney and Melbourne shed residents, Brisbane and Perth are increasingly attractive to internal migrants. Brisbane has gained 16,300 people from other parts of the country since the start of the pandemic while Perth has gained 5072.
The ABS figures pre-date the latest Greater Sydney lockdown.