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Young making dash to coast

YOUNG city folk are more likely than retirees to abandon the big smoke for a sea change on the coast, a snapshot of Australia's population revealed.

Coastal towns were no longer populated with only "the newly wed or the nearly dead", an Australian Bureau of Statistics report revealed yesterday.

Four out of five people who made the move to high-growth coastal areas were younger than 50 years, the report said.

Of all the new residents making the move to coastal regions, most tended to be young people in their 20s (22 per cent), the thirtysomethings (17 per cent) and their accompanying children, including those under 10 (15 per cent) and those between 10 and 19 years (13 per cent).

The findings debunked the myth that most people who moved to the beach regions were retirees ready to enjoy the final years of their lives.

"The beach holds an iconic status in our culture," the ABS Australian Social Trends 2004 reported.

"Coastal regions have long been a favourite place for Australians to take their holidays and relax."

The report said there were several reasons why younger people were moving from capitals and regional cities and country areas to live at the beach. "Some of the factors that motivate people to move include seeking a better climate, finding more affordable housing, looking for work or retiring from work, leaving the congestion of city living, wanting a more pleasant environmental and wanting to be near to family and friends," it said.

The biggest seachange hotspots in Australia are in Cairns, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, and Margaret River and Broome in Western Australia where the proportion of new younger residents is as high as 90 per cent and 88 per cent respectively.

"These are vibrant tourist regions where job opportunities may be a particular attraction, along with the relatively remote tropical location," the report said.

Another reason for the young seachange is the rising cost of housing in the capital cities.

House prices rose more than 70 per cent between 1997-1998 and 2003 while the average age of homeowners has soared as young people are forced out of the market.

In 2001, 15 per cent of home owners were aged 15 to 34, compared with 22 per cent of homeowners the same age in 1981.