Published in The Ararat Advocate, Ararat's weekly newspaper published by West Vic News Pty Ltd.
WORKING from home has given Ararat’s newest residents the ability to ditch their city lifestyle for a more affordable country option.
Melissa and Travis Morrison arrived in Ararat last week, leaving their home in the Melbourne suburb of Sydenham and relocating to Ararat with their two young girls.
“Affordability was the highest priority, and just being able to have a big enough house with a backyard for the same amount as you'd buy a townhouse where we were,” Mrs Morrison said.
“We were looking at quite a few different areas but we kept coming back to Ararat.”
The family began scouting possible properties when Melbourne was in Stage 3, finding their ideal home with little difficulty.
“We started looking, thinking that the situation was going to get better. And of course, it went back the other way but we had already invested in a house,” Mrs Morrison said.
She noted that many of the other properties they were considering are still on the market today.
The Morrison’s move has been assisted by a change in attitude from some employers who now consider working from home as a feasible option for some employees.
“I think they understand that [Travis] can definitely handle the workload from home and do even more because he's more comfortable at home,” she said.
They suspect other Melburnians will begin to consider the option of working at home from regional Victoria after trialling its potential during lockdown.
“When my husband mentioned that he was moving at work, the word got around and they said how much they would all like to do the same thing,” she said.
Mrs Morrison has gained a transfer to Spotlight in Ballarat which is a commute she’s willing to bear in the short term.
Her two girls are beginning school at Ararat West Primary School and Ararat College, and the whole family is looking forward to exploring the district once Stage 3 has eased.