What I've Learnt - Annabelle Hickson

WHAT I'VE LEARNT

Annabelle Hickson, editor of the award-winning independent print magazine GALAH. Despite having no publishing or business experience, Annabelle started the magazine from her kitchen table to document regional Australia and the people who live there.

In the past, young people left country towns to find opportunities in the Big Smoke.

But the big rural story of the past few years is where young people returned. The Covid-19 pandemic supercharged the regions in a way that surprised Australians.

Nearly a third of Australians, over 7 million, now live outside the cities. The latest quarterly data shows that more people are moving out to the regions than back into cities. Capital-to-regional migration is tracking at 11.7 per cent above the pre-pandemic average. Sydney accounted for a whopping 80 per cent of all people moving from capitals to regions, up from 61 per cent in the previous 12 months. Millennials are the largest group making the move.

So what is life actually like outside of the cities? Annabelle Hickson is the embodiment of the Australian tree-changer.

Annabelle didn't plan to live in regional Australia, but she fell in love with a handsome farmer from western NSW and thought she'd give it a shot. She knew there'd be some sacrifices - her journalism career at The Australian, the beach and takeaway food that is still hot by the time you get home - but she had no idea how many opportunities there would be for her in this new life, too.

While her husband Ed planted pecan trees, Annabelle looked after their three young children and began to learn what it was to be part of a community, all in it together. She saw smart, clever and resilient people everywhere she looked who talked about opportunities instead of limitations. This was in stark contrast to the simple-country-people stereotypes she'd bought into in the city. Annabelle wanted to read stories from regional Australia that weren't about disadvantage. Stories that reflected her sense of luck at living out of the city. And she wanted a publication that acted as a bridge between the city and country divide. So, she made Galah the magazine.

For the first time, Annabelle has collected the most loved and enduring stories from all issues of her award-winning magazine in book form - GALAH: Stories of Life Outside the City, published by Murdoch books

The changing face of regional and rural Australia

1. The COVID-19 pandemic supercharged the regions in a way that surprised Australians.

2. The latest quarterly data shows that more people are moving to the regions than back winto cities.

3. Capital-to-regional migration is tracking at 11.7 per cent above the pre-pandemic average. Sydney accounted for a whopping 80 per cent of all people moving from capitals to regions, up from 61 per cent in the previous 12 months. (RAI data. The most significant demographic making the move is millennials.

Deborah's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/what.ive.learnt/
Mind, Film and Publishing: https://www.mindfilmandpublishing.com/
Apple Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/what-ive-learnt/id153556330
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3TQjCspxcrSi4yw2YugxBk
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