Gaining acceptance in rural communities : a study of young families who relocate to non-metropolitan areas in Australia

Recently there has been a demographic shift in the movements of young families away from capital cities. There is some evidence to suggest that many of the families who do move to regional or rural communities face issues of isolation, lack of social support networks and the added obstacle of not being accepted into their new community. The vulnerability of these families places them in an ‘at risk’ situation, where they can become isolated and excluded, as newcomers, from their immediate neighbours and townsfolk and they can be treated as if they are not a part of their new community. This paper focuses on how families, with young children aged 0-8 years, gain acceptance in non-metropolitan areas after relocation. Issues of both social inclusion and social exclusion form the underlying basis of the feelings the newcomers experience upon their arrival in their new location. The paper will discuss the findings from two project research sites and will analyse the challenges to acceptance faced by the young families in this study. Community level strategies that enable the young families to gain acceptance, and general promotion of community acceptance of the newcomers also forms part of the research analysis of these issues.