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Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The top towns Aussies are fleeing to in droves and the surprising group that's leaving the big cities for a lifestyle change
Aussies fleeing the housing affordability crisis in Sydney and Melbourne are choosing to settle in more affordable regional centres that are still within reach of capital cities. Those making a sea or tree change from a major city are choosing destinations like Newcastle, Geelong, and the Sunshine Coast as their new home, based on Commonwealth Bank customer data shared with the Regional Australia Institute. These three towns are within two hours of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane respectively and share some of the delights of Australia's biggest cities - just without the same prohibitive cost. 'They're bigger centres ... they come with the amenity that can sometimes be a barrier for other regional locations,' said Liz Ritchie, CEO of the Regional Australia Institute. 'It's a big decision to move and so (they have) closer proximity, where they know that they can drive within a couple of hours back to see family or friends back in that capital city. 'It makes sense that your first move might just be dipping your toe in the water.' It is clear that many Australians are moving - with New South Wales reporting an exodus of 28,000 residents this year, while cheaper south east Queensland gained 26,000 residents. However, just over 3,200 people leave Victoria every year, suggesting many leaving Melbourne are heading to a regional area a short drive away rather than another state with warmer weather. In Victoria, Geelong received the largest share of migration from another part of Australia with a generous 9.3 per cent share, Regional Australia Institute data showed. The neighbouring Moorabool council area, north of Geelong, gets 3.7 per cent of interstate migration while Ballarat attracts 2.4 per cent of Australians relocating. Queensland gets the biggest number of Australians moving from another state with the Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane getting an 8.9 per cent of movers. Surprisingly, the Gold Coast is no longer the hotspot for interstate migration it once was, attracting just one per cent of Aussie movers. 'Having spoken to many people who live there, it was very popular in the Covid period, then we felt that it was starting to experience some of the growing pains,' Ms Ritchie said. 'Even just getting around, driving regular sort of errands, became quite difficult. 'As price rises increase, places become too hot.' Instead, the Fraser Coast - which includes Hervey Bay - was the second most popular place to move to, getting 3.3 per cent of relocators. Nearby Gympie is the third most popular tree change destination, with a two per cent share. In New South Wales, areas near Newcastle are the magnets for those moving to a regional area. Lake Macquarie attracted 5.3 per cent of people moving from another part of Australia while nearby Maitland took in 3.5 per cent of movers. The Shoalhaven council area - covering Nowra and Ulladulla on the south coast - was the third most popular place to resettle in NSW, getting 2.6 per cent of interstate migration. When it came to making the move to a regional area, Millennials born from 1981 to 1996 were the most enthusiastic about change. More than half or 57 per cent of Millennials are considering such a move, a YouGov poll of 1,028 people for the Regional Australia Institute found. In a break with recent decades, those in their thirties and forties raising children are now actively considering a regional area, where they could afford a house with a backyard and be close to nature. 'What was once not happening is now happening and so they're taking over,' Ms Ritchie said. 'The housing's more affordable, cheaper cost of living and you don't have the commute. 'Because of the hip pocket, high inflation, high interest rates - the issues we've been reading about daily for the last two years, this is driving these decisions.' Moving to a regional area also gives young people the chance to be more involved with the community they live in. 'Not only do they want to buy a house, they also want to coach the local football team or be part of the local community group, whatever it is that makes them tick,' she said. 'So you do have more time and more space and more connection to each other and more connection to the environment.' Generation Z adults - born from 1997 onwards - were also open minded about moving, with 40 per cent inclined to make the move, putting it well ahead of the 25 per cent of boomers considering a change. The e61 Institute think tank noted Millennial and Gen Z Australians - aged 25 to 34 - were particularly struggling to buy a home, like their parents were able to do at the same age 'with this disparity greater in capital cities'. 'Regardless of occupation, Millennials are leaving Sydney and, more recently, Melbourne, as traditional milestones like owning a home may no longer be seen as attainable to many young Australians living in these major cities,' it said. 'Whether home ownership rates will converge with age remains to be seen.' The ability of white collar professionals to work from home is also accelerating the move to regional areas among younger people. Some 47 per cent of those able to work from home say they would consider moving and continuing in their current role on a remote or hybrid basis. Ms Ritchie suggested working from home was now embedded in Australia's workplace culture, and could accelerate the shift to regional areas among the young. 'It tells us that this is here to stay,' she said. 'They're moving because they want to bring the job that they're in, they want to work remotely. 'Look at how our technology and connectivity has emerged and the pace of change - with that technology uplift, younger people are taking advantage of those opportunities.' The number of Millennials moving to a regional area grew by 54,000 between the 2016 and 2021 Census surveys, a Regional Australia Institute analysis showed. Even before Covid, a major shift was underway. 'Probably you have to go back to the mid-1950s - so a massive change really in a short period.' To illustrate this point, house prices in regional areas rose by 5.4 per cent over the year to May, CoreLogic data showed. This outpaced the three per cent growth pace of capital cities.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
In Downtown Baltimore, a 1922 Madison Street murder gets a retelling
Park Avenue and West Madison Street seem an unlikely setting for the grim events of August 18, 1922. The landmark Gothic brownstone spire of First Presbyterian Church (the tallest church tower in Baltimore) threw a shadow toward Howard Street, where the Commonwealth Bank had just opened its bronze doors. Within minutes, William Norris and Fred Kuethe left the bank carrying a cash payroll of $6,750 for employees at their flourishing construction firm. A five-member bandit gang descended upon Norris and Kuethe. Within seconds, a stickup became a botched, bloody crime scene. Witnesses heard the gunshots. Passengers saw the incident from their seats as streetcars passed. The attackers jumped into a large, stolen Hudson Cruiser touring car and sped off toward East Baltimore. Many bystanders noted the license: 85:065. A city police officer saw the oversized Hudson and recognized one of the gang members. Within 24 hours, paper currency bands with 'Commonwealth Bank' on them appeared in Back River, where some of the loot was distributed. Bystanders picked up Norris' wounded body and carried the contractor two short city blocks to Maryland General Hospital, where he died on an operating table. A new book, 'Murder on Madison Street,' by author John Voneiff II, retells this Baltimore story based upon previously unpublished notes taken by the prosecuting attorney, Herbert R. O'Conor, who later became Maryland's governor and a U.S senator. By chance, Voneiff heard O'Conor's son, James Patrick 'Jim' O'Conor, retell this tale while both men were in the Baltimore County Club's exercise room in Roland Park. The men, who enjoyed a rich friendship, rehashed the particulars of the Norris murder case. Voneiff, supplied with the lawyer Herbert O'Conor's copious notes, then wrote the book over three years during the pandemic. James O'Conor died in 2023. His father, the governor-senator, died in 1960. The result is a Baltimore true crime classic. Things like this were not supposed to happen in Baltimore, steps away from the Washington Monument and the Peabody Institute. Within a little more than a year, the Alcazar, today's Baltimore School for the Arts, would open a few feet from the murder scene. Most of the best physicians and dentists in Baltimore practiced nearby. The victim, William Norris, was 44 years old, a City College and Maryland Institute graduate, married with young sons. He was a co-owner of Hicks, Tate & Norris, a construction firm located across the street from the murder site. He lived in Govans on Beaumont Avenue. Civic outrage burned bright when a business executive, just doing his job, was gunned down on an otherwise quiet Friday, a payday morning. The Baltimore Sun and Evening Sun immediately posted a $5,000 reward for the capture of the killer. Then Gov. Albert Ritchie added to the reward pot, as did members of Maryland's Masonic orders. Voneiff's book, drawn from the prosecuting attorney Herbert O'Conor's extensive private papers, indicates that Baltimore had more of a pervasive underworld crime scene than people commonly understood. National prohibition brought a trade in illegal liquor production and sales. Baltimore had plenty of thirsty customers who patronized what became an expanding army of haphazard crooks. Political corruption flourished, if not always acknowledged. City State's Attorney Robert F. Leach Jr. became so disenchanted that he left his office without seeking reelection. The Norris case involved a set of interesting players. The gang's ringleader and brain was a cool customer named Jack Hart, a crook with all the right credentials. He was smart, liked the illegal liquor racket and managed to escape the State Penitentiary at least twice. His wife, an East Baltimore lass named Kitty Kavanaugh, who by all accounts truly loved her man, added spice to the Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow scenario. The crime was conceived quickly in a house in the 900 block of North Broadway in Upper Fells Point. Some of the loot was divided up in Essex and Back River. The crime was so controversial that the trial of the shooter, a man named Walter Socolow, had to be moved to Towson's Baltimore County Courthouse. Socolow opened fire when Norris and Kuethe refused to surrender the payroll, worth about $150,000 in today's money. He was spared the hangman's noose and spent years incarcerated before being paroled and trained as a printer. He ended his days in 1970 living in a rooming house and making a living in the old News American's composing room. The sensational case unfolded quickly. Baltimore police detectives captured Hart in a Pennsylvania Avenue apartment near the White House in Washington, D.C., after being ratted out by the wife of one of his liquor-dealing criminal accomplices. Socolow fled to Long Island and initially hid at the American Hotel in Sag Harbor. New York. New York City police detectives arrested him after he bought a copy of The Baltimore Sun at a Bryant Park newsstand near the New York Public Library. The story took a hit of criminal/legal adrenaline when prosecutor O'Conor, with Baltimore detectives and assisted by New York cops, kidnapped Socolow from an extradition hearing that could have delayed his speedy passage back to Baltimore. O'Conor and his captive Socolow, with detectives in tow, found backstairs out of the courthouse. An unmarked New York cop car took them to a steam ferry, the Elizabeth, to traverse the Hudson River. They disembarked at Jersey City and caught a series of trains to Baltimore. Justice moved very quickly. Socolow was convicted on October 20, 1922, less than two months after the heist. Have a news tip? Contact Jacques Kelly at and 410-332-6570.
Perth Now
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Perth Now
Neighbourhood bar and diner is better than sliced bread
Scrawled in chalk above our heads: 'The best thing since sliced bread'. Sliced is crossed out, replaced with 'barbecued'. Truer words were never spoken, nor scrawled on a restaurant wall. The barbecued bread with whipped butter at Mt Hawthorn bar and wood-fired eatery Sonny's is the best thing since someone in the Middle East decided they had some grains to grind 14,000 years ago. The charred carbs arrived straight from head chef Sofika Boulton's kitchen, smelling like campfire and served with butter so light it threatened to float away like a dandelion. Opened late 2022 in a former Commonwealth Bank branch by experienced Perth bar and restaurant manager Jessica Blyth, who named the joint after her rescue greyhound, this Mt Hawthorn favourite feels like a hipster's retro lounge room. Ferns, monsteras and other pot plants compete for space among bric-a-brac. Yves Klein art prints and provocative Grace Jones posters adorn walls. Sonny's menu switches up every few weeks, sometimes small tweaks, other times it's entirely fresh dishes. Boulton uses ingredients from her own or local gardens. Blyth gives the chef complete creative freedom in the cramped kitchen. After the bread to end all bread, we had the raw beef ($24). This turned out to be Italian-style steak tartare, or carne cruda. Sonny's in Mt Hawthorn. Credit: Supplied Boulton dry ages a whole sirloin in the diner's cool room for a week to reduce moisture and enhance flavour, before the meat is hand-diced, then dressed with a yuzu and Meyer lemon vinaigrette. The cruda is then served with a warm butter emulsion and covered in shaved pecorino and toasted pepper. Citrus prevents the chunky-cut steak and egg yolk from being too rich. This dish is the best tartare in town, and I can't believe it's not tartare! The grilled market fish was a coral trout, caught in Exmouth, and served with roast chicken butter and hand-harvested Goolwa pipis from South Australia ($40). The gorgeously firm fillet of fish was enhanced by the sweet, nutty saltwater clams, while diners should save some barbecued bread to mop up every, single, last drop of the savoury beurre blanc. All three sides sounded delectable but, on Blyth's recommendation, we nabbed the slow-smoked aubergine with macadamia butter — yes, Boulton uses a lot of butter. She knows what side her bread is … something something … on. Anyway, macadamia butter made from grilled eggplant purees plus blitzed raw macadamia nuts, seasoned with sherry vinegar, was piped onto the slow-smoked vegetable, which was surprisingly chewy. A must-have side dish for $18. The one misfire of Boulton's rustic yet spectacular cookery was the charcoaled kipfler potato with smoked butter (more butter!) and Geraldton wax ($18). Sliced lengthways, the spud was too hard, too dull, too bland. Too bad, because the rest of our meal had us in raptures. Did I mention the bread and butter? Sonny's in Mt Hawthorn. Credit: Supplied For dessert we had the Basque cheesecake, which had a burnt top sprinkled with salt — basically, salted caramel. Under the lid, the cake had perfect consistency, creamy but firm. The best $16 you'll spend all year. You'd struggle to find a better iteration from Bilbao to Pamplona. We paired the cheesecake with a delicious Pedro Ximenez from Chouette in the Swan Valley, a solera blend going back to when Pedro Almodovar released High Heels. Readers may recall I reviewed Sonny's about two years ago. Why have I returned so soon? Two reasons. Firstly, Boulton is rightly regarded as one of Perth's best and brightest culinary talents. Last time I ate here, she was working at Bar Rogue, which has also been reviewed. (Head to the Food Hub section of to sift through 600-plus restaurant reviews.) Clearly, her love of fresh produce, fermentation and wood-fired cooking is sympatico with what Blyth hopes to achieve in her impressive first foray as a restaurant owner and operator. Secondly, it's a great room, great service and now truly great food. While it might be named after a pooch, Sonny's has not gone to the dogs. Sonny's in Mt Hawthorn. Credit: Supplied 126 Hobart St, Mount Hawthorn Wednesday-Thursday, 4pm-late. Friday-Sunday, midday-late. Yes Super cool neighbourhood bar and restaurant. Two years after opening, Sonny's hums along with excellent wood-fired dishes and a vibrant drinks list. If you can't decide what you want from the concise and ever-changing menu, go for the $70 per person chef's selection.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Dollar hovers near 3-1/2-year low as traders wager on US rate cut
By Ankur Banerjee and Lucy Raitano SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) -The U.S. dollar hovered near its lowest level in 3-1/2 years against the euro and sterling on Friday, as traders wagered on deeper U.S. rate cuts while awaiting trade deals ahead of a July deadline for President Donald Trump's tariffs. The euro got a small uplift in early European trade after the latest data showed French consumer prices rose more than expected in June. By 0808 GMT, the euro was 0.2% higher at $1.17208 a fraction away from the $1.1745 it hit in the previous session, its strongest since September 2021. Sterling last fetched $1.3742, just below the October 2021 top of $1.37701 touched on Thursday. With the geopolitical tremors of the Israel-Iran conflict in the rear view mirror after a ceasefire that appeared to be holding, market focus this week has been on U.S. monetary policy. The prospect of Trump announcing the next Federal Reserve chair, expected to be more dovish, earlier than usual to undermine the current Chair Jerome Powell has raised the odds of the central bank cutting rates. Powell, whose term ends in May, was also interpreted as being more dovish this week in testimony to U.S. Congress, adding to expectations of more rate cuts. Traders are now pricing in 64 basis points (bps) of easing this year versus 46 bps expected on Friday. "The sooner a replacement is announced for Powell, the sooner he could be perceived to be a 'lame duck'," Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, said. Trump has not decided on a replacement for Powell and a decision is not imminent, a person familiar with the White House's deliberations told Reuters on Thursday. "For now, expectations President Trump will choose a more dovish chair will keep downward pressure on FOMC pricing and the USD," CBA's Kong said. Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell and called for rate cuts this year, stoking investor worries about the slow erosion of the U.S. central bank's independence and credibility. The dollar index, which measures the U.S. unit versus six other currencies, was lingering near its lowest since March 2022 at 97.159, on course for a 2.3% decline in June, its sixth straight month in the red. The index has dropped more than 10% this year as Trump's tariffs stoke U.S. growth worries, leading investors to look for alternatives. The yen was unchanged at 144.375 a dollar, while the Swiss franc was last at 0.799 a dollar, perched near its strongest level in a decade. Traders are looking ahead to the release of the core PCE price index in the U.S. on Friday, which could offer additional clues on the Fed's rate trajectory. "The story now is for more rate cuts, and a lower print could accelerate this, but expectations are already quite low," Michael Pfister, FX analyst at Commerzbank, said. Investors are also looking for signs of progress on new trade deals ahead of the July 9 deadline for Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs as nations scramble to get an agreement over the line. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday the EU should do a "quick and simple" trade deal with the United States rather than a "slow and complicated" one. A White House official said the U.S. has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earths shipments to the United States. Emerging market currencies also got a lift from the beaten-down U.S. dollar, with the Taiwan dollar surging to its strongest level since April 2022. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Euro rises to highest since 2021 against dollar
The euro is hovering near its highest level in almost four years against the dollar, as traders await trade deals ahead of a July deadline for US president Donald Trump's tariffs. With the geopolitical tremors of the Israel-Iran conflict in the rear view after a ceasefire that appeared to be holding, market focus this week has been on US monetary policy. Advertisement The prospect of Trump announcing the next Federal Reserve chair earlier than usual to undermine the current chair Jerome Powell has raised the odds of the central bank cutting rates. "The sooner a replacement is announced for Powell, the sooner he could be perceived to be a 'lame duck'," said Carol Kong, a currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Trump has not decided on a replacement for Powell and a decision is not imminent, a person familiar with the White House's deliberations told Reuters on Thursday. Trump has repeatedly attacked Powell and called for rate cuts this year, stoking investor worries about the slow erosion of US central bank's independence and credibility. Advertisement The euro eased to $1.16885 after hitting $1.1745 in the previous session, its highest since September 2021. The dollar index, which measures the US unit versus six other currencies, was lingering near its lowest since March 2022 at 97.398, on course for a 2 per cent decline in June, its sixth straight month in the red. The index has dropped more than 10 per cent this year as Trump's tariffs stoke US growth worries, leading investors to look for alternatives. Investor are also looking for signs of progress on new trade deals ahead of the July 9th deadline for Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs as nations scramble to get an agreement over the line. Advertisement World US and China sign trade agreement, Donald Trump sa... Read More German chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Thursday the EU should do a "quick and simple" trade deal with the United States rather than a "slow and complicated" one. A White House official said the US has reached an agreement with China on how to expedite rare earths shipments to the United States. The US dollar's weakness pushed the Australian dollar , often considered a risk proxy, to a seven-month high of $0.6564 on Thursday. Emerging market currencies also got a lift from the beaten-down US dollar, with the Taiwan dollar surging to its strongest level since April 2022. "Everyone is selling US dollars – foreign investors are selling, and exporters are selling too," a Taiwan-based trader told Reuters. "Even now, we have big clients who sold their US dollar positions early this morning."
