Cairns has long been a magnet for retirees and backpackers, but there's another group that's growing too: entrepreneurs.
Take realtor Darren Reed for example. We meet in front of a fabulous home he's currently selling.
"At an asking price of $1.2 million, its top of the market here. But in Sydney that would get you a one bedroom flat," he says.
It’s that contrast in cost of living that prompted Darren to ditch Sydney and move north three years ago
Darren Reed launched his real estate business after moving to Cairns. Source: SBS
He says he would never have been able to start his own real estate business, Reed Realty, back home.
"We were so stressed out in Sydney with a big mortgage. Sydney is a very competitive market when it comes to real estate and simply marketing yourself would be extremely expensive."
Setting up in Cairns cost Darren less than $30,000, and he's already earned double that -"which is a small wage, but pretty good equation for your first year in business, I think.”
The city's pull is also in the laid-back lifestyle enjoyed by its 162,000 residents.
“It’s much more relaxed. I can do a lot of my workday in board shorts if I don’t have meetings,” Darren jokes.
Tech in the tropics
Board shorts are a favoured uniform for KoalaSafe co-founder Adam Mills too. His parental control device for the internet sells around the world, all while he works pools side.
"We're really geographically diverse, my co-founder is based in San Francisco. I run tech out of Cairns and we have a team of developers in the Philippines."
While Sydney remains one of the main hubs for start-up activity in Australia, Adam says having the NBN in Cairns has helped avoid any negative impacts on productivity. "I have better internet speeds here than I did in Sydney."
Cairns' cost of living is desirable - with the price of a room in a sharehouse in Sydney being the equivalent of a two bedroom apartment. Source: SBS
But he agrees Cairns' lifestyle benefits are best of all.
"I live in a two bedroom apartment by myself, in a compound with nine pools and gardens, for less than the price I was paying for a share house in Glebe."
Building an 'ecosystem'
"As technology enables people to live anywhere it’s like why not choose to live a desirable lifestyle location?" asks Troy Haines, the CEO of Cairns's first start up hub, theSPACE .
Based at the TAFE campus, the co-working space aims to give businesses the same support they would find in a capital city.
"I looked more broadly around the world at where ideas were flourishing, like Silicon Valley and even Sydney more locally, and I though what is it about those regions that help people to turn their ideas into reality more effectively? And they've all got an ecosystem to support that. I thought, well, that's what we need to do."
Troy's instincts have proved canny. In 2015, Cairns became home to the highest density of start-ups per capita out of any city in Queensland.
That's one start-up for every 3500 people.
It’s a trend that locals say seems likely to continue as more people take advantage of new technologies, and chose to work remotely.
At theSPACE, businesses vary from tech to travel and more. Source: SBS
Sea change challenges
There are of course challenges to working out of Cairns too.
"Recruiting technical talent here might be a little difficult - we haven’t had to do that yet," says Adam from KoalaSafe.
He concedes it’s a bit of a chicken-and-egg problem: “Companies like KoalaSafe need to be here to build that ecosystem."
Adam says networking can also be an issue. He regularly flies to Sydney to keep front of mind with investors and associates.
“Making sure people know you’re still around is the challenge."
But Adam and Darren agree that loving where you live is ultimately good for the bottom line.
“You’re simply happier. It’s hard to work out whether you’re better off financially simply because you feel better,” Darren says.
Want to find out the secret to small business success? Tune into #BizSecretsSBS at Sundays 7am on SBS, stream on SBS On Demand, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
