Resolutions and contemplating a sea change

More and more Australians are escaping the city to relocate to coastal or country areas. And it’s not just retirees who are making the move, more and more people under fifty are leaving Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to achieve a better lifestyle balance than continue in the pressured environment that city living often entails.

According to an NBN survey, Australians were twice as likely to think about a sea or tree change than actually do it . But for those who do take the plunge, there were two primary motivations identified which smaller, close knit coastal communities often provide:

• slower pace of life, and
• a better living environment

So its your resolution or plan to achieve your sea change?

Researchers have studied those who are successful and unsuccessful in making change to their life – whether that be a move, giving up habits or starting new healthy ones. Here are some of the key stages they have identified and that could help you to understand where you’re at so that you can improve your chances of successfully making your move.

Imagine your goal is to make the move to the coast.

Pre-contemplation: If you’re at this stage you’re not even really thinking about making the move yet. You might love visiting the coast but your life is currently all about the city.

Contemplation: You think you’d probably quite like to live by the sea, but you really don’t know how you would ever make the move when your career, friends, networks, family connections etc. are all in the city you’re currently living in. If you are contemplating the move, you might focus on the reasons for making the move rather than the reasons not to make the move. And weight up the pros and cons of doing it.

Preparation: At this stage, you’ve determined that the pro’s far outlay the cons of making the move and you’re ready to do it,  you just need a plan. At this point, you may want do some research in to the area/s you’d like to move to, the features of the area, job prospects etc. Talking to locals who are in the know will help!

Action: This is the time to make the move and make it happen!

The big question is – are you really ready for change?

If you are, and need advice or help – we’d love to assist.