Due to its strict Covid lockdowns, Melbourne experienced an exodus; but, according to recent data, it is now the most sought-after capital city in the nation.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 32,000 people moved out of Victoria to live in another state in 2020 and 2021 as a result of the residents getting tired of the severe regulations.
This included prohibiting children from using playgrounds, requiring masks outside, and even imposing a strict curfew that forced people to stay indoors at night.
Melbourne, rather than Brisbane, is now the most popular Australian city to relocate to, according to data from the country’s largest online removalist booking service, Muval.
In the first half of 2022, Melbourne accounted for almost 25% of all moving inquiries on the platform.
The city of Melbourne saw enormous negative net migration maxima of 61% in August 2020 and 64% in September 2021, according to statistics collected during the period of Melbourne’s toughest lockdowns.
This occurs when there are more people leaving a location than are arriving.
In the same time frame, Brisbane experienced a significant population increase as a result of individuals leaving Melbourne for Brisbane’s warmer environment.
James Morrell, CEO of Muval, stated that recent patterns indicate “Aussie life is returning to normal” as major capital cities begin to resemble their pre-pandemic states.
According to Mr. Morrell’s research, as Melbourne and Brisbane’s inbound migration begin to level out, some of the dramatic movement between east coast cities that we saw during the pandemic, when tens of thousands of people shifted from Victoria to Queensland, is reducing.
Andrew Ikin, a 62-year-old newcomer to Melbourne, just relocated from Adelaide to Yarraville, Victoria, and said he hadn’t been deterred by the city’s tight limitations since they are “all part and parcel of life at the present.”
‘I can work anywhere with my talents and have moved all across Australia for work, but I had never lived in Melbourne and was drawn to the city for its culture as much as for work and family.
I don’t spend a lot of time at the beach, but I enjoy the theatre and AFL,” Mr. Ikin remarked.
I am up-to-date on my vaccinations and actually contracted Covid after coming to Melbourne, but it’s all a part of life right now, and life must go on. I am aware that Melbourne experienced the worst lockdowns due to COVID-19, but that hasn’t deterred me.
The population of Australia has increased significantly over the past ten years, with the exception of a brief lull when Covid saw international borders close.
Australia’s population reached 25.738 million at the end of 2021, a significant 15.2% rise from 2011, when it stood at 22.34 million.
Australia reached the 25 million mark in 2018, 24 years sooner than Treasury had predicted in its first Intergenerational Report published in 2002.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics issued in April, migrants now make up about one-third of the population, and Australia is continuing to diversify racially.
Australia’s population decreased by 4,200 individuals, or 0.02 percent, between June and September 2020, during the pandemic, as more people left the country than came, and births were unable to make up the difference.
In December, Australia once again opened its doors to skilled migrants and international students, which helped the population grow.
Australia’s population has increased during the past 40 years at an average annual rate of 1.4%.