Improvements in telecommuting is making the Australian dream of living and working in a rural or coastal town easier than ever.  

The space, affordability and shorter commute times of regional centres have always appealed to Australians, but improved connectivity now means a sea-change or tree-change is quite feasible for more of the population.

Well-known demographer Bernard Salt calls giving up city life, moving to a lifestyle town, and maintaining your job by telecommuting, an 'e-change'.

The Super Connected Lifestyle Locations report, written by Salt and commissioned by the NBN, describes the shift towards telecommuting in Australia in detail. 

Faster broadband is creating 'lifestyle towns' all over Australia. There are more than 100 towns on the beach or in the country within 150 km of Sydney. In Victoria, there are 160 towns within two hours of Melbourne, and over 140 in Queensland. These kinds of towns have the potential to become 'e-change zones'.

Fast and reliable broadband is essential for a town to be part of the e-change revolution. The survey showed that 65% of respondents said when considering a sea-change or tree-change, that a reliable internet connection was important for providing employment opportunities.

A total of 16% of respondents said they are unhappy with their commute times to work. And 76% of those who have made a sea-change say they are much happier with their lifestyle.  Baby-boomers are leading the way; 21% of baby-boomers have already moved to the coast. And more than 40% of survey respondents said they have already considered making a sea-change or tree-change.

The report claims that 400,000 Australians have already made the switch to working from home, and it says one million more are expected to joint them in the next decade. 

Examples of 'e-change zones' are: Kiama, NSW; Byron Bay, NSW; Armidale, NSW; Ballarat, Vic; Cairns, Qld; St Helens, Tas; Victor Habour, SA; Kangaroo Island, SA; Busselton, WA; Geraldton, WA; and, Howard Spring, NT.

"The dream of packing up your home and living in a coastal or country town may not be so far away," said Salt.

"We are witnessing a quiet revolution in suburban Australia. The fusion of a relaxed lifestyle in tree-change and sea-change locations combined with super connectivity provided by the NBN network, is giving people even greater scope to take greater control of where they live and how they work.

“I predict a cultural shift or ‘e-change movement’ which could see the rise of new silicon suburbs or beaches in regional hubs as universal access to fast broadband drives a culture of entrepreneurialism and innovation outside our capital cities.”