Seachange (demography)
human migration from cities in favour of rural coastal communities
In Australian culture, a seachange (or sea change) is a form of human migration where individuals abandon city living for a perceived easier life in rural coastal communities. This meaning originated in, or was popularised by, the ABC TV series SeaChange, about city-dwellers who have relocated to the coast. The series has been implicated in a rapid boom in tourism and real estate development in coastal areas, particularly in New South Wales.
A similar term, treechange, describes the movement of urban people to the countryside.
The term "tree change" was coined by ABC Ballarat radio mornings presenter Steve Martin on his radio talk back show after his five question morning challenge.
Etymology
The term sea change comes from Shakespeare's The Tempest, referring to a radical change in appearance or other physical characteristics brought about by long immersion in the ocean.
SeaChange TV series
In the television series SeaChange, which originally ran 1998 to 2000, the main character Laura Gibson fulfils her escapist desire by leaving the city for a small seaside town after her career and family life in Melbourne falls apart. The series was one of the most popular programmes in Australia. The primary filming location was Barwon Heads on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Who is shifting
People shifting to the coast have been characterised as:
Free agent migrators
Include retirees
Majority are of working age, drawn to service the needs of retirees and tourists
Sub categories include pre-retirees, alternative lifestylers and internet business operators
Forced relocating migrants
Principally people reliant on income support including unemployed, single parents and the disabled
Effect
The rate of growth in rural coastal areas in 2008 was 60% higher than the national average.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Seachange (demography)” as human migration from cities in favour of rural coastal communities. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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This entry incorporates text from “Seachange (demography)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.