The big smoke isn’t all it’s cut out to be

The country towns surrounding Australia’s capital cities are in for an interesting future.

As property prices continue to rise, Baby Boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1966, are looking for ways to downsize and move to the country to really make the most of their retirement.

According to the latest RIME study released in 2015 by the Australian Bureau of Statistics more than 36.7% of NSW’s population live outside Sydney.

Last month, market research firm Propertyology identified 40 regional suburbs that are set to experience significant extra demand for housing.

The main towns identified were Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie and Armidale in New South Wales as well as Cairns, Townsville, Hervey Bay and Toowoomba in Queensland.

Each has a ‘capital city feel’ with good health care facilities, such as hospitals and retirement villages, restaurants, cafes and lower house prices under $400,000.

There are 4.45 million Baby Boomers in Australia so, even if only a portion of this number move to the country, housing demand will definitely increase.

For Baby Boomers this could be the perfect time to cash in on an inner-city property to hopefully create a retirement nest egg.

For example, selling an inner-city Sydney property at a median price of $1,000,000 and rebuying regionally at $400,000 could result in a nice amount of cash in your back pocket.

But this isn’t the only benefit. Studies show that people living in city centres experience a much higher chance of suffering depression, anxiety and stress.

Other health benefits include increased outdoor activity, such as walks in the country or along the beach and fresh unpolluted air.

Greater connectivity including the introduction of the better internet, in some regional areas, means proximity to the CBD no longer needs to be a factor when deciding where to live.