Community Spirit is the Backbone of the Riverina

Moving away from friends, family and social groups in your city can be quite daunting, especially if you’re moving away from the place you grew up in. No matter how attractive the Riverina lifestyle is, the thought of socially starting over can be very stressful, and is often what prevents people from deciding to make the move.

What’s surprising though, is that new residents of the Riverina often report that the relationships with their friends and family back home actually became stronger and more meaningful after the move. New residents are also welcomed by the region’s friendly community spirit, and find themselves enjoying all the extra time and energy that locals have for one another. It turns out that moving to the Riverina is actually more of a boost for your social life than a reason to worry about your relationships.

Perfectly situated between Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, the Riverina is especially convenient for people who have friends and family in more than one city. Not only does this mean that you’ll be more likely to visit a larger number of your loved ones, but it also means that more of the people you care about could come and see how great life in the Riverina is - and hey, they might even decide to make the move as well!

‍‘Not only is there diversity in landscape and amazing job opportunities, people fall in love with the communities.’ - Craig Sinclair, Economic Development Officer at Temora Shire Council, which co-hosted this year’s Country Change expo.Community spirit is the backbone of the Riverina, and it calls many of those who left the Riverina back to their hometowns.

One of these people is Paul New, who was born in Temora, but left when he was 23. He spent 12 years away, travelling and living in Sydney and London, before spending a year working in Nowra after he and his Sydney-born wife graduated as primary school teachers. However, with Paul’s family in Temora and his wife’s family in Sydney, they decided they needed to get back to some sort of support structure for their young family. Temora’s affordable lifestyle won out, and now Paul has his own thriving tennis business, T-Town Tennis.

‘The move has been amazing. I have started up my own Tennis business, my wife is teaching and has purchased a wedding hire business,’ said Paul.

‍‘Temora has an affordable lifestyle, abundant facilities, and there is an ever-growing younger population of people searching for a different lifestyle or just moving back home like I have. My family was understandably happy when I told them I was moving home. My wife’s family was also supportive, although her friends thought that it was a massive step. I would absolutely recommend the move to others.’

‍When Paul was growing up in Temora, the local tennis club was thriving. Tennis was a massive sport with a lot of participation, but sadly, it died off over the years. Paul had a vision of reviving the tennis club and creating something special in Temora, so he completed his Junior Development Certificate and approached the club about leasing the facility.