Forbes makes case for a year in the country

A young professional and a family have already packed their bags for Forbes after a local council campaign encouraging city-dwellers to spend a year here, boost their savings and experience life in a country town. The Forbes Financial Gap Year campaign invited people feeling the cost of living to try regional life without making a lifelong commitment and seems the concept has struck a chord. The concept centred on a simple proposition: spend a year in Forbes, work locally, experience regional living and get financially ahead, a report from senior communications and business development officer Kathy Garland to the council's October meeting said. Hundreds of thousands of people have seen the campaign and engaged with it on social media as well as across community, business, media and talent attraction channels. The council has taken enquiries from five potential new residents and eight businesses keen to participate, as well as from media. The campaign attracted more than 192,000 views and more than 11,000 engagements on facebook and more than 153,000 views and 3600 engagements on instagram. More important than the numbers are the new narrative around regional relocation, Mrs Garland's report said. "It presented the proposition for residents to try regional living for a defined period while working towards their own financial goals," she said. "This was a particularly valuable point of difference in communicating with younger and early career audiences who may not otherwise have considered relocating to Forbes. "It connected the advantages of living in Forbes with something personally relevant to the target audience: the opportunity to get financially ahead and the ease of making lifestyle and social connections." The proposition also opened up recruitment opportunities for regional businesses. It's been so well received that the council's staff are looking to run it again in 2027, and immediately capitalised on high social media engagement by sharing its Goldridge Estate Spring campaign promotions.