ROUGHLY 130 years ago a war of words erupted between Henry Lawson and Banjo Paterson over which was best; the city's creature comforts, or the delights and challenges of country life.
Lawson started the controversy with seven pessimistic stanzas entitled Up The Country published in 1892. Paterson was quick to respond, saying " ... the bush hath moods and changes, as the seasons rise and fall, and the men who know the bushland - they are loyal through it all".
That, according to the recent Heartbeat Survey conducted by ACM in conjunction with the University of Canberra, is as true now as when Paterson penned his rebuttal.
When we asked 6367 Australians from the capital cities and the regions to rate their lives on issues such as feeling safe, their standard of living, personal relationships, community involvement and financial security the results were astounding.
Regional Australians rated the quality of their lives more highly on each of these issues by at least 10 per cent compared to capitals.
The biggest differences were in terms of feeling safe (47 per cent compared to 27 per cent), personal relationships (39 per cent compared to 25 per cent), and standard of living (37 per cent compared to 20 per cent).
This latter figure reflects the fact that while incomes are generally lower in country areas the cost of living, particularly for housing, is much less.
These outcomes were consistently reflected in how regional residents felt about life with 74 per cent describing themselves as happy compared to 65 per cent of capital city dwellers, 66 per cent optimistic compared to 62 per cent, and 67 per cent content compared to 58 per cent.
Capital city residents were more likely be stressed (56 per cent to 47 per cent), anxious (54 per cent to 44 per cent), lonely (34 per cent to 26 per cent) and angry (28 per cent to 23 per cent).
The survey also confirmed a strong correlation between feeling involved in your local community and knowing what was going on.
This, according to University of Canberra's Professor Sora Park, highlighted the work of regional publishers such as Australian Community Media in keeping communities informed and individuals engaged.
"There is a thirst for localised, quality independent news across Australia, particularly in the regions," Professor Park.
That's because regional residents care about their communities and their communities, in turn, care about them.
