I never thought I’d end up on the other side of the world. I always wanted to live abroad but assumed I’d follow the Aussie rite-of-passage of two-years in London or a ski season in Whistler. But two years of continent hopscotching led me to New York City, and the goal was always to go as long as it felt right.
That was 10 years ago. I still say I split my time between New York City and Adelaide, in part because that’s the plan and because I’ll forever be a hyphenate.
Living some 10,000 miles from Adelaide, I often find myself selling Adelaide to American folks. “It’s small, but cool. It’s the sister city of Austin,” I preface. While Adelaide has undergone a rebrand in the past decade, it still undersells itself.
Interstate migration is an old and persistent problem and has started to trend downwards again, with a net loss of 1,576 as of December 2025. This is, I believe, in part a positioning problem.
While Adelaide plays its lifestyle and liveability cards right, it downplays its ambition. South Australia’s most recent strapline, ‘Celebrate the Simple Pleasures’ highlights this. It subtly tells young people, this is the place to be when you’re ready to settle down.
Jasmin Ilic is an Advisory Committee member at the Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA). She completed her Graduate Certificate in Management at the Australian Institute of Business (AIB), before co-founding a cybersecurity company in Adelaide – even though she’s lived in Melbourne, Sydney, and Hong Kong.
Ilic said the innovation, defence, space and cybersecurity sectors are booming, but South Australia is still an economy of small businesses which can lack enterprise clients, company head offices, and senior roles. This creates a void of middle career professionals.
Ilic said the issue is whether young professionals can see a serious career pathway here early enough. Sometimes in smaller markets, ambition can be treated with suspicion.
“The challenge for Adelaide is not just to retain people. It is to retain their ambition. And that means we need to make success more visible. We need to show young professionals that they can build serious careers here, not just comfortable lives.”
“The opportunity is to reposition liveability as a career advantage, not a substitute for ambition. Adelaide should be saying “you can do serious work, build strong companies, and lead national conversations here, while still enjoying everything life has to offer,” she added.
Policy and investment are only part of the story. The narrative will shift when people see the proof, which looks like graduates staying because there’s opportunities and seniors moving back not because they’re stepping into something significant, not winding down. “The story changes when people can point to real examples and say, “that person built it here, so maybe I can too.”
Ilic cited some undercurrents of change, including Blackbird, one of the biggest VC funds in the country, held two events in four months in Adelaide, for the first time ever. “It’s a really good external nod that people are looking at what we’re doing in the state and seeing that ecosystem maturity.”
Another big win was the success of indie gaming company, Team Cherry, with their chart-topping game, Hollow Knight.
She said in her role at AEDA they’ve been exploring how to piggyback off the simple pleasures campaign but looking at that economically, such as what are the simple pleasures of doing business here.
Even people who love the lifestyle, leave – I, for one. I set out to see the world and pursue my career and everything the world has to offer, not because I didn’t like Adelaide. But beaches, wineries, restaurants, convenience and relative affordability should be the secondary narrative, not the central one.
George Tan, who is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography Environment and Population at the University of Adelaide, is of the opinion that we should encourage young people South Australians to leave – but, then, entice them back.
“We are very quick to laud the skills and knowledge and expertise of South Australians returning to Adelaide and migrants moving to Adelaide, but their skills, knowledge and networks were all gained interstate and overseas,” Tan said.
Adelaide was categorised as a Gamma+ city in the World Cities 2024, which is described as a world city linking smaller regions or states into the world economy. Sydney is Alpha+ and Melbourne is Alpha-, which are very important world cities that link major economic regions and states into the world economy.
While people move to seek better job opportunities and global networks, Tan noted how Sydney is still experiencing persistent negative net interstate migration across all age groups, highlighting the importance of housing affordability and cost of living.
“Jobs and economics are just one part of the puzzle (and often, it is the main focus) but how we plan our cities alongside how places and culture intertwine is also an important part of the story for young people.”
Tan said cultural change and perceptions take time, and being authentic matters.
For those who moved away, memory is a potent motivator. The longer I’m away, the more I hold onto my roots and yearn for the place and people that shaped me. Life has a gravitational nature, pulling you back to come full circle. Yes, it’s ultimately the people who would pull me back home for good, but as I look at Adelaide evolving from afar, the more I want to be part of it.
Having refined its celebration of food, wine and arts, Adelaide must find, express and strategically own its ambition.
Amanda Smith is a freelance journalist who reports on culture, technology, and women’s health. Her ability to hold up a mirror to society, to see both the malaise and majesty, has led to assignments with highly respected titles such as The Guardian, MIT Technology Review, Business Insider, and National Geographic.
