CAROLINE Harlow knew that relocating from the city to the country 18 months ago would be life-changing.
But she didn't realise just how different the lifestyle would be.
Her first trip to town ended abruptly when the supermarket closed at midday on a Saturday. There was no public transport to speak of and a lack of doctors.
Still, standing beside her beloved horse on her 28 hectares at Creightons Creek, two hours' drive north of Melbourne near Euroa, Ms Harlow says she's happy she made a "tree change" with her husband.
But the noise, alone, of neighbouring farmers cropping at night would shock anyone expecting an idyllic life in the country, she says. "People have a dream when they make the decision to move," she says.
"They think it's a fresh start and something new and exciting, but find that they've got the same problems — they just happen to be in a different location."
Increasing numbers of Melburnians are fleeing the stressful grind of the city for what they dream will be a peaceful country retreat. But tree changes do not live up to the harsh reality of life in rural Victoria, a new study has found.
In fact, 90 per cent of those surveyed say they are so disenchanted they plan to move on — to another town, the coast or back to the city — within five years.
Most say they are stressed by high living costs, poor work opportunities, a lack of services and the effects of drought. Many feel unwelcome and isolated.
While Ms Harlow — who now works for the Strathbogie Shire Council after leaving her home on Melbourne's outskirts — doesn't regret her decision, she says she understands why so many tree changers do.
But, according to Charles Sturt University's Dr Angela Ragusa, who led the study, most of those who now regret relocating did not do enough homework before moving.
Only 2 per cent researched their new locale before relocating from the city and as a result, there were "deep chasms" between city residents' expectations of country life and their experience.
Many report feeling "deeply disappointed" at the cool greeting they received from locals, with one woman telling researchers "there needs to be more done to welcome people who are from out of town and don't have a circle of friends".
Dr Ragusa says about half of the 50 tree changers in Victoria and New South Wales who participated in the study felt they didn't fit into their new communities.
The study, to be published next year, is the first to examine the gap between the popular stereotype of such moves and the reality many discover on shifting from Melbourne or Sydney.
Few tree-change stereotypes held up under scrutiny. The average age of those studied was 43, and 97pc were employed either full time or part time. Only 14pc were motivated by environmental concerns — the main reasons cited for moving were city traffic and the desire to live a "slower-paced" country life.
Tree changers were mainly stressed urbanites with a romantic view that life in the country would offer a better lifestyle. Many subsequently discovered living costs were higher than expected, complaining of a lack of cheap rental housing, overpriced properties and expensive food and petrol. One disgruntled man said his "cost of living is considerably higher in the country … because you've got transport in and out to cope with".
Most said they commuted long distances to maintain contacts with work and friends in the city. Many had decided to cut short their country stay because of a lack of career opportunities.
"I would probably go wherever a position came up, but my first preference would be the city," said a man who now rues his tree change.
An RMIT University study released late last year found the population in tree change, or peri-urban, areas around Melbourne was growing at 1.8 per cent a year, double the state growth rate. Many tree changers were highly educated, highly paid professionals who maintained strong links to Melbourne.
One of the strongest growth areas from 1996-2006 was Kinglake, which was devastated by the recent bushfires. But RMIT associate professor Michael Buxton said the fires were unlikely to have a long-term effect on such population growth, unless the frequency of bushfires increased.
The surge in "amenity migration" had placed significant pressure on services in tree-change areas, he said. "The real challenge now is to have planning occur for this population which minimises the economic, social and environmental costs while providing high-quality lifestyles."
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