Tasmania is a favourite destination for sea-changers, with their desire to walk barefoot in the sand and stare at a soothing ocean view.
It's also a trendy place for tree-changers, longing to immerse themselves in nature, be at one with the environment and avoid close neighbours.
And now UTAS School of Social Sciences researcher Dr Felicity Picken is exploring the increasing prevalence of hill-changers in Tasmania, why they feel they could improve their health and wellbeing, and why they are not so keen to set up camp on the coastline like many of their predecessors.
Lifestyle seekers have become a steady population source for Tasmania, leading to the new term "T-change" popping up in casual vocabulary, and the reasons for making the move are usually related to quality of life decisions.
Tasmania has a justifiable reputation as a clean, green destination, with pristine water and air and quality food supplying the basics for a healthy lifestyle.
To that add the luxury of space, a slower, less stressful pace and relatively affordable housing choices at altitude or sea level.
More specifically, T-changers have pointed to everything from bathing in seawater to help manage their dermatitis, to being more physically active on a hobby farm and to having access to organic farm produce, as well as the mental health benefits of being close to nature, avoiding city crime and living in a gay-friendly community.
"In the pursuit of health and wellbeing, people move to warmer or cooler climates, to avoid pollutants and contaminants in dense, urban environments and to immerse themselves in a slower pace of life," Dr Picken said.
"This is one of the ways in which people, many of whom are retired, can proactively manage their physical and psychological wellbeing, regaining attachments to community and beginning a new, more relaxed phase of life.
"Well-established, popular views about the curative properties of sea air still underpin many sea-changers' decisions and Tasmania boasts some of the freshest air in Australia."
Data shows Tasmania is one of only three states to make a net gain from interstate migration in the past decade.
Dr Picken's research is broadly concerned with the way coastal areas are increasingly becoming what she calls a "palette of evidence for climate change".
She notes increasing risk assessments, and futures scenarios predict many parts of Australia's coast will become vulnerable to the effects of climate change including increased storm surges, higher category cyclones and inundation.
Since taking up a three-year Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute postdoctoral research position at UTAS in 2011, she has been exploring whether Australians' relationship with the coast is changing under the culture of climate change and whether social analysts can continue to count on current levels or even increasing desire for coastal lifestyles.
Dr Picken believes Tasmania has the best combination of what attracts both sea- and tree-changers as well as providing an interesting case for climate change futures given its temperate climate and potential to offer refuge from sea-level rises due to its elevation.
"There is potential that as climate change fears gain momentum and insurance in low-lying coastal areas increases, these cultural and economic levers may see changes in migratory and settlement patterns towards Tasmania," she said.
"In the absence of definitive outcomes and hard solutions, there is a pressing need to develop the conceptual and methodological tools to investigate possibilities around migration and town and country planning in the future."
Dr Picken has been working with Monash University researcher Dr Nick Osbaldiston to conduct interviews with local government representatives along the eastern seaboard, and their combined efforts are painting a long-term picture most people don't even consider.
"For instance, will people start to think more about living inland or in the mountains, will a lack of insurance for coastal properties mean the average family can't get a loan to buy a home or shack near the beach?" she said.
"A lot of climate change talk is so gloomy, but maybe Tasmania can turn that into a positive – people will keep coming here for the health and lifestyle benefits and they may think more about living inland rather than on the coast.
"Migrants want the opportunity to be closer to nature, to experience noise reduction, to walk in the open.
"Many urbanised environments, with their dependence on high volumes of transport and their associations with work rather than leisure, are increasingly regarded as pathological environments to people who seek to find a better sense of wellbeing elsewhere."