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With the wildly high cost of living nowadays, people might need to be more open-minded about how they earn their income — like possibly finding a well-paying job outside the country.
A job listing in Julia Creek — a secluded Queensland town in Australia — is offering a potential candidate a $428,000 salary, free rent, and a car. What’s the catch? The job requires the hired person to go completely off the grid.
The sleepy, rural town — which does have electricity and internet — is looking to replace its one and only local family doctor.
Secluded is an understatement because this town is very far removed from everything.
Queensland’s capital Brisbane is a 17-hour drive away and the closest major city, Townsville, is a seven-hour drive away.
Because of that, the salary of this position is double what a doctor would earn elsewhere in Australia, according to AP.
The town’s sales pitch is that whoever takes this position will have the opportunity to live a simpler, slower, more quiet life.
The previous doctor — who the town is looking to replace — traded in a fast-paced metropolitan lifestyle in Brisbane for a more rural one in Julia Creek, back in 2022. But he doesn’t regret it.
“The money is plenty. It is,” Dr. Adam Louws told AP. “One of the things that I think people don’t necessarily consider enough about this job is the other things that this town has to offer.”
Louws said during his time as the town’s doctor, he embraced his solo life by learning medical skills he didn’t previously have. He also learned how to milk dairy cows. That’s a win-win right there.
Before Louws, the last time the town had a permanent doctor was 15 years ago.
To further sell a potential doctor on relocating to Julia Creek, the mayor said in a campaign: “We actually have a very, very good lifestyle and a very safe lifestyle.”
“Yes, there is distance to travel at times, but how many people do you hear now wanting to escape from that and go off-grid?” the mayor continued in her sales pitch.
The reason for wanting to replace Dr. Louws is because his two-year contract ended and he wants to return to his family and practice in Brisbane.
Like many things in life, everything is temporary. “You don’t have to stay forever. Just give it a shot,” pleaded the mayor.
Recruiting people to work in a remote town isn’t a new concept.
Last year, a rural part of Spain — three hours outside of Madrid — offered workers $16,000 to relocate and conduct business there.
Australia and Spain are just two of many countries looking to attract workers from all over.
“This phenomenon is going to change where people live, and it’s going to change the spatial distribution of talent,” Prithwiraj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School in Boston, told Fox News Digital.
