This report focuses on a group of young people who were living in non-metropolitan areas in their final years of secondary school, and the pathways they followed in the years following secondary school, including their geographic mobility and participation in education, training and employment. Rural communities have long felt concern about the rate at which young people leave for urban areas, many never to return. This report analyses the issues involved by mapping the experiences of the same group of young people over an extended period of time. The results suggest that the decision to leave non-metropolitan areas, particularly in pursuit of further education, is not a spontaneous one; rather, it is developed over a period of time and within the context of other decisions about one's future, including educational and occupational aspirations and expectations. Appended are: (1) Data; (2) Methodology; and (3) Supplementary Tables. (Contains 21 tables and 1 figure.) [This report forms part of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth, a research program jointly managed by ACER and the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST).]