4 ms·

We (me and my SO) are saving and planning to move out of the city, to a piece of rural land that has its own water source and where we can grow most of the food

We (me and my SO) are saving and planning to move out of the city, to a piece of rural land that has its own water source and where we can grow most of the food we eat. This should happen in a couple of years, once our daughter will be old enough to get a licence and drive to the city if she wants; we don't want her to be cut off from her network of friends. Climate change is not the only reason why we are doing this but it's part of the list of "risk factors" that in our opinion made it a bad idea to keep living in a city. We are in Sydney NSW, Australia and we will move to rural NSW. Climate related factors that we considered in terms of the new location are: no low lying coastal areas, no areas located in a flood plain, no areas close to dense woodlands in order to lower fire risk.

Gustomaximus 5y ago
I did similar but more for lifestyle reasons. We moved Sydney to Brisbane so we could stay in reasonable range to a major city, we are ~1hr to the CBD. If you want to stay close to Sydney look at land behind central coast if not already, that is quite nice. We did that but were a couple years late to the price boom there so our land size expectation didn't meet the budget we had once we went property hunting. While not reason for moving we did discuss climate change as choice factor. While lots of variables and Brisbane being a couple degrees warmer on average was a factor, though we felt its generally a more stable temperature range and doesn't get the peaks of Sydney so may become more like Cairns type thing going forward, still liveable with temp raises and hopefully not huge peaks inland rural gets. Also being near the coast is an advantage for stability. Humidity is a downside and we'll likely see cyclones coming further south but Id prefer that and rainfall than moving to rural NSW that will likely experience increased droughts vs here. For the network of friends, obviously you want to keep that but we notice how farm life makes us much more a family unit in comparison to city life where there is more options and people. And for us the local rural community has become a great network. We make a conscious effort (as well as enjoy it) to entertain, organise events and help people out to build on this. Regarding 'grow most of the food we eat' at the risk of telling you what you know, be aware this is a huge time sink. If you are both working + kids this will be difficult. You will also need heaps of water. A small creek, couple of regular dams or household tanks probably wont cut it. Make sure water is in over-abundance or you can add a bunch of storage/bore etc some way. Also be prepared for looking after the property to take over your life, especially if you are planning for livestock vs a bush block. Overall we are very happy with having done the move. Even if work or other forced us back to the city I would be glad to have had the experience. Good luck finding your tree change!
- mastazi 5y ago
  > I did similar but more for lifestyle reasons. I should have added, lifestyle is a big one for us too. We looked north of Central Coast but also other regions. We are thinking to be a bit more elastic and a commute of 1.5 or 2h would still be acceptable. This is a change that me and my wife want, but our daughter who is still a teenager shouldn't be forced to give up her friendships so that's a factor. As I said she will be able to drive by the time we move. And I anticipate in a few more years she might want to move out to attend uni etc. Me and my wife both grew up on farms (I grew up on a farm in Italy that had vineyards, olives and eggs production, my wife in Thailand had rice, meat chickens and egg ducks), we know what it entails, and that it's hard and that it's going to be a huge time sink, but we still want it :-) I agree with you re: source of water on property, that is the main factor we are considering when selecting the property. Good luck with everything! I know several people who moved from Sydney to South QLD they are all very happy!
- cutthegrass2 5y ago
  I have family in Australia (NSW and Queensland) who are becoming increasingly concerned with the habitability of Australia over the coming decades. Have you given much thought to this / do you have any practical advice besides emigration?
  - mastazi 5y ago
    The whole of Australia? That seems like an overly simplistic view. Australia is a very diverse country from a climate standpoint, there is everything from deserts to alpine regions[1]. Of course the impact of climate change will be seen everywhere, but in different ways depending on the specific areas, and not unlike the rest of the World. For example, if we look at Koppen climates: it is true that much of Australia is arid (desert) or semi-arid (grassland)[2], but the non-arid regions of Australia (temperate, subtropical, tropical, equatorial) amount to an area equivalent to the surface of several European countries put together[3]. [1] https://theaustralianalpsnationalparks.org/ https://theaustralianalpsnationalparks.org/ [2] http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/climate-classifications/index.jsp?maptype=kpngrp#maps http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/climate-class... [3] Just to give an idea: UK, Italy, Germany and Ireland are here laid over some of the tropical and temperate regions of Australia. https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTU5NzgzNzE.MzQ3Mjg3Mw*NTQ2NTc1Nw(ODAxNDU4NQ~!DE*MTYxNjc5OTU.MjU3MTIzOTQ)Mw~!GB*MTQ4MDM2MjE.MjI2MjA1Mzc)NA~!IT*MTU2NjY2NjY.MjYwMzY3Mzk)NQ~!IE*MTUxODg3OTg.MjYzOTQxNDA)Nw https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTU5NzgzNzE.MzQ3Mjg3Mw*...

Gustomaximus 5y ago

I did similar but more for lifestyle reasons. We moved Sydney to Brisbane so we could stay in reasonable range to a major city, we are ~1hr to the CBD. If you want to stay close to Sydney look at land behind central coast if not already, that is quite nice. We did that but were a couple years late to the price boom there so our land size expectation didn't meet the budget we had once we went property hunting. While not reason for moving we did discuss climate change as choice factor. While lots of variables and Brisbane being a couple degrees warmer on average was a factor, though we felt its generally a more stable temperature range and doesn't get the peaks of Sydney so may become more like Cairns type thing going forward, still liveable with temp raises and hopefully not huge peaks inland rural gets. Also being near the coast is an advantage for stability. Humidity is a downside and we'll likely see cyclones coming further south but Id prefer that and rainfall than moving to rural NSW that will likely experience increased droughts vs here. For the network of friends, obviously you want to keep that but we notice how farm life makes us much more a family unit in comparison to city life where there is more options and people. And for us the local rural community has become a great network. We make a conscious effort (as well as enjoy it) to entertain, organise events and help people out to build on this. Regarding 'grow most of the food we eat' at the risk of telling you what you know, be aware this is a huge time sink. If you are both working + kids this will be difficult. You will also need heaps of water. A small creek, couple of regular dams or household tanks probably wont cut it. Make sure water is in over-abundance or you can add a bunch of storage/bore etc some way. Also be prepared for looking after the property to take over your life, especially if you are planning for livestock vs a bush block. Overall we are very happy with having done the move. Even if work or other forced us back to the city I would be glad to have had the experience. Good luck finding your tree change!

mastazi 5y ago
> I did similar but more for lifestyle reasons. I should have added, lifestyle is a big one for us too. We looked north of Central Coast but also other regions. We are thinking to be a bit more elastic and a commute of 1.5 or 2h would still be acceptable. This is a change that me and my wife want, but our daughter who is still a teenager shouldn't be forced to give up her friendships so that's a factor. As I said she will be able to drive by the time we move. And I anticipate in a few more years she might want to move out to attend uni etc. Me and my wife both grew up on farms (I grew up on a farm in Italy that had vineyards, olives and eggs production, my wife in Thailand had rice, meat chickens and egg ducks), we know what it entails, and that it's hard and that it's going to be a huge time sink, but we still want it :-) I agree with you re: source of water on property, that is the main factor we are considering when selecting the property. Good luck with everything! I know several people who moved from Sydney to South QLD they are all very happy!
cutthegrass2 5y ago
I have family in Australia (NSW and Queensland) who are becoming increasingly concerned with the habitability of Australia over the coming decades. Have you given much thought to this / do you have any practical advice besides emigration?
- mastazi 5y ago
  The whole of Australia? That seems like an overly simplistic view. Australia is a very diverse country from a climate standpoint, there is everything from deserts to alpine regions[1]. Of course the impact of climate change will be seen everywhere, but in different ways depending on the specific areas, and not unlike the rest of the World. For example, if we look at Koppen climates: it is true that much of Australia is arid (desert) or semi-arid (grassland)[2], but the non-arid regions of Australia (temperate, subtropical, tropical, equatorial) amount to an area equivalent to the surface of several European countries put together[3]. [1] https://theaustralianalpsnationalparks.org/ https://theaustralianalpsnationalparks.org/ [2] http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/climate-classifications/index.jsp?maptype=kpngrp#maps http://www.bom.gov.au/jsp/ncc/climate_averages/climate-class... [3] Just to give an idea: UK, Italy, Germany and Ireland are here laid over some of the tropical and temperate regions of Australia. https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTU5NzgzNzE.MzQ3Mjg3Mw*NTQ2NTc1Nw(ODAxNDU4NQ~!DE*MTYxNjc5OTU.MjU3MTIzOTQ)Mw~!GB*MTQ4MDM2MjE.MjI2MjA1Mzc)NA~!IT*MTU2NjY2NjY.MjYwMzY3Mzk)NQ~!IE*MTUxODg3OTg.MjYzOTQxNDA)Nw https://thetruesize.com/#?borders=1~!MTU5NzgzNzE.MzQ3Mjg3Mw*...