City-exit and Community-fit: Finding One’s ‘Place’ in Australia

Abstract

Understanding what prompts ‘community-fit’ (subjective feeling of alignment with one’s residential community) is vital for retaining city-leavers voluntarily choosing to live outside major cities and for community well-being/prosperity. In Australia, city-exit is supported by decentralisation policy and media using imagery of gentrified rurality, wholesome communities, and affordability to assuage metropolitan congestion and address non-coastal rural-regional depopulation. This results in land development accompanied by population turnover as a few urbanites permanently relocate inland. By presenting a thematic analysis of interviews with city-leavers and government/industry professionals, this article identifies key factors affecting (dis)satisfaction with communities sought/left. Findings show community satisfaction is achieved through sociocultural-affirming social interactions, not property/amenity consumption. Hence, developing rural-regional marketing strategies that better articulate communities’ sociocultural dimensions may increase awareness of place-based values/characteristics pre-relocation to avoid poor community fit and cost. Finally, to support resident retention, inclusivity practices accompanying community change are advocated.