ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the contemporary migration into the two small towns of Oberon and Glen Innes, much like others in regional Australia, if not the larger towns. Oberon and Glen Innes are relatively small towns in rural NSW, but reasonably typical of many towns smaller than 'sponge cities'. The majority of newcomers in both towns highlighted the role of community as a motivating factor in migration. Either they had experienced this in the context of making decisions, hence leading them to choose Glen Innes or Oberon, or they anticipated that it would be one of the beneficial outcomes of migration. The vast majority of new households defined themselves as 'Australian', though one household defined itself as Aboriginal. While economic factors absolutely dominated migration, led by accessible employment and housing, they were strongly associated with intended lifestyle changes towards quieter less stressful lives, where kinship and community were more important.
