YOU MOVED WHERE?! is our podcast series exploring the experiences of people who’ve packed up their lives in big, capital cities to set sail for new adventures in regional Australia. In each episode we learn why people decided to make the move, we hear about the challenges they encountered and discover the many upsides associated with life out of the fast lane. In Series One we heard incredible stories from some brilliant people such as Luke Prout, the publican from Tamworth, Jacinta Reddan, the high-flying businesswoman who relocated from Hong Kong to Cairns and Olympic swimming legend Giaan Rooney, who now calls a macadamia farm home.
Series Two is BRAND NEW and just like Series One it’s jampacked full of stories, ideas and insights from interesting people who’ve transplanted their lives from capital cities to regional places. In each episode we learn about the magic of moving – from career renewal, revived identity, celebrating changing seasons, embracing support, establishing new networks, and how it truly feels to dig your feet into the dirt.
For Series Two we kicked things off with a live recording at the Regions Rising Conference in Bunbury part of Regional Australia Institute’s national Regions Rising event series; a program of physical and virtual events which highlight research presented by Regional Australia Institute on regional issues and ideas including discussions about jobs and skills, housing, population, liveability, productivity, and resilience.
This first episode sets the tone for a series bursting with unique and uplifting stories as we chat to three marvellous movers– filmmaker Chanel Bowen; a proud member of the disability and hard of hearing communities, Jill Watkin Manager of the Kodja Place Cultural Centre for the Shire of Kojonup and Tanuja Sanders an experienced engineer, entrepreneur, and olive farmer.
Photo credit Caroline Moylan
Chanel had a regional upbringing in Gracetown and Fitzroy Crossing, she moved to the city for university and work and in 2019 she moved back to the regions when she purchased a house in Dunsborough, in the Southwest region. Jill was living and working in Northumberland in the United Kingdom, and in 2021 she moved to Fremantle however, a job opportunity took her to Kojonup in the Great Southern region in 2022. Tanuja Sanders also moved from a global city, uprooting from India to Melbourne and then to Binningup, in the shire of Harvey, in 1999, where she currently resides.
For some of the guests in Series Two the move was planned and specifically orchestrated but for others the location change was serendipitous, and the move launched a series of unpredicted events that changed their lives for the better. Tanuja reflected on her magical moving moment, “driving on the old Coast Road, we found this home open, and we just drove in you know. It said, ‘100 acres’ which didn’t mean much to me at the time…we drove up the driveway and went to this house and in two days I had signed the contract… the weekend after we walked around the boundary which was a three-kilometre walk!”
Additional to the shared experience of moving from city to country, the three women are all homeowners and purchased their properties in the region. For Chanel, the decision to buy outside the city was influenced by affordability and the need for space, “I’ve got twelve acres and I’ve always been really interested in space, but I became so much more interested in having my own space when I acquired my disability. It was really important for me to have a place where I could actually hear silence…when you have sensory stimulation, like I do, an over sensation at certain times and noises that I used to not pay any attention to are now an incredibly big deal. And I think I did what a lot of people did during COVID where I went, ‘oh my goodness – why am I not living where I need to live? I need a space that has the room to accommodate for those needs.”
The women are highly successful in their respective fields, and don’t feel that their locations inhibit their ambition. They’re all kicking national and global goals from their different pockets in regional Australia – working on international projects, winning international awards, and tapping into incredible opportunities that are now accessible due to digital connectivity. However, they don’t wear rose coloured glasses, they’re aware of the challenges and they all agree that it’s a highly innovative environment as people make do with what they’ve got. They see the regions as a hub of creativity where people are naturally geared to think outside the box because they don’t have everything at their fingertips.
Jill was delighted to discover the impressive social capital in the regions, “the skills that actually exist in the regions are mind-boggling and that’s what I’m finding in the work that I’m doing. There is so much talent locally and I mean Kojonup is such a small town and Shire punches so far above its weight. We’ve got world class entrepreneurs, farmers, innovators. You name it – we have it in Kojonup and that has absolutely blown my mind.”
They’re all active members of their communities and give a lot back – Tanuja participates in extensive volunteering activities including motivational speaking where she shares her inspiring personal story about moving to the regions as a migrant, “it’s literally uprooting every aspect of your life, whether it is cultural, social, you basically uproot an entire fully grown tree bring it to a completely different place and plant it and that’s where you start; from scratch again.”
Chanel has worked for local film festival Cinefest for many years and passionately advocates for disability stories on screen, and Jill goes above and beyond in her role at Kodja Place to nourish stories and voices of people in the community that have previously been overlooked. They all believe that moving into a regional community requires reciprocity; where showing respect and caring for local people and places goes hand in hand with the warm welcome they’ve all received in their respective towns. Says Jill, “I had problems when I was moving in with the garden, “oh, we’ll just organise a busy bee when’s it convenient, we’ll all come round”…and here they come – the farmers with the tractors to move all the heavy stuff. Northumberland’s a very friendly place, but it ain’t got nothing on Kojonup!”
The conversation with Chanel, Jill and Tanuja was a thrilling end to the Regions Rising conference in Bunbury and the contagious energy of the three movers was palpable within the space. By the end of the chat the audience didn’t need much to convince them that a regional change was a move to more however, the closing pitches from each of the speakers certainly sealed the deal!
REGIONAL ROUSE:
Chanel Bowen:
“If you could live where I live, every single night just before the sun sets the Carnabys will do a big circle and they’ll be calling out and they’ll be crying and me and my mum will always make sure that we catch the Carnabys and it’s really interesting because this apparently is a common thing but…they’re all white tails and they’ve adopted a red tail in there and apparently that happens because…red tails are endangered and apparently the whitetails will take in a red tail and we always see that little red tail go around. It’s really beautiful. I love that.”
Jill Watkin:
“If you’re thinking about moving to Regional WA just do it because I did and I just embraced it and it’s embraced me back. The sunsets, the silence, the beautiful countryside. The sunsets are so wonderful, absolutely gorgeous. I think just as Dennis, who gave the Welcome to Country before, touched on – it’s a sense of belonging and connectivity.”
Tanuja Sanders:
“Well, I enjoy living in the region but more than just what I enjoy and what I like, I also believe what do I give to the community here? What value proposition did I bring by moving to the Southwest? Initially they thought, “who’s this girl?” I mean…they see a woman who doesn’t even look like a farmer – she grows nails and wears jewellery, how the hell would she end up doing farming? But here I am a farmer and I bring the vibrancy and diversity to the farming background.”
YOU MOVED WHERE?! Series two is bursting with anecdotes, adventures and captivating stories from people who have moved from cities to regional areas all over Australia. Make sure you listen wherever you get your podcasts and keep an ear out for Episode two…
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