For aged care worker Claire, her delivery driver husband Renee, and their ten-year-old son Huxley, leaving behind their life in the outer suburbs of Melbourne as part of bold social experiment Meet the Neighbours brings mixed feelings. Sure, it’s a chance to make a fresh start and help breathe new life into a community that needed them, but there is also the possibility that they won’t be welcomed with open arms.
After all, Maryborough, a small town in regional Victoria and the setting for the three-part series, is that has seen it, like so many formerly vibrant regional communities, facing decline.
Both Renee and Claire were born overseas, with the couple meeting back in the Philippines. Claire arrived in Australia six years ago, while Renee has been living here for more than 30 years.
“I migrated to Australia in 1988 with my Mum,” says Renee. “I met Claire in Panay Island in her province of Antique (in the Philippines). Our relationship developed from there and then Huxley came into our lives.”
The trio are one of the eight households featured in the new SBS and Blackfella Films documentary series. Presented by Myf Warhurst, Meet the Neighbours follows the Welcome to Central Goldfields pilot project, and provides an insight into the challenges faced by regional Australia, including skilled worker shortages and a lack of affordable housing.
To date, the family has called a caravan park in Bonbeach, a suburb around 35 km southeast of the Melbourne CBD, home. They’re happy with the suburban life, especially with Renee’s two sisters also living nearby, but when the opportunity to a three-month move to Maryborough presented itself, Renee felt it was the realisation of a longstanding dream.
“It ticked all the boxes. I wasn’t born (in Melbourne), Claire wasn’t born here, Huxley was actually born overseas as well, and I’d been longing to move to a regional area for probably the last five years,” he says.
“It would be something different from Melbourne. I’ve lived in Melbourne for over 30 years, and I thought it would be good for Claire and Huxley to experience other parts of Australia.”
Whilst Renee is confident that move to a regional area is the right decision for his family, for Claire and Huxley, the reality of leaving city life behind isn’t as straight forward: “Claire and Huxley have grown to love Melbourne, so initially they weren’t too happy about it, and it took me a while to convince them,” Renee admits.
“Huxley was also very hesitant to move because he had grown to love the primary school in Bonbeach.”
Claire, Huxley and Renee. Credit: Jackson Finter / SBS
With a delivery driving job lined up close to their new home, Renee’s employment situation is set to be similar to his current role in Melbourne. For Claire, however, a new career in aged care, and her first full time job since arriving in Australia six years ago, is a more daunting prospect as she is still navigating a new language and culture.
In , approximately 30 per cent of people are first-generation migrants and the median age is 42 years old. In , 15 per cent of people are first-generation migrants and the median age is close to 10 years older.
“It is my first time working in aged care,” she says. “There are a lot of challenges, actually, because I’m not really good at communicating, and I haven’t been working with a lot of people until now.”
“Most of the other people working (in the aged care facility) are local people, and most of the people living there are local residents.”
Both Clare and Renee say that the possibility of a slower pace of life and a better upbringing for Huxley are the most important factors in their decision to participate in the program.
“We felt that the town might be better than Melbourne for raising a young family,” they said. “We wouldn’t be comfortable if Huxley wanted to hang around with school mates in Melbourne, but (in Maryborough) after school, we feel he could hang around with his friends. That’s a big plus.”
In contemplating their impending move from Melbourne for the program, apart from missing family and friends, Renee and Claire know there are other day to day conveniences that will not be as easily accessible to them in Maryborough.
“The food!” Renee laughs. “Variety wise, it’s not going to be as good as Melbourne, obviously, but that’s fair enough.”
Despite some initial hesitation, the family says that the chance to participate in the project is an opportunity they simply couldn’t pass up, regardless of what eventuates.
“I’d say, to be hesitant, that’s a natural thing, but give it a go, give it a try and it might work out,” Renee says.
“Try a new adventure!” Claire adds.
As the series progresses, whether they choose to remain in Maryborough, or return to their lives in metropolitan Melbourne, the family’s experience will give audiences new insight into the challenges facing regional communities, and the opportunities that might grow from a mutual openness to change.
Meet the Neighbours will be available to stream free from Wednesday 1 November, or you can tune in weekly Wednesdays from 1 November at 7:30pm on SBS.
Meet the Neighbours will be available to stream on SBS On Demand in five languages: Simplified Chinese, Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean. The series will also be available with audio description for blind and low vision audiences.
MORE TO EXPLORE
Top new series in November 2023
