The ex-Sydney couple were planning a family and Charles having trouble finding a PE teaching job when they decided on a change four years ago.

Mr Bickersteth’s job applications had led to offers in Tamworth and Dalby – Tamworth won because it was closer to Sydney and family, among other reasons.

“We were offered both, so we drove up here quickly. We’d never heard of Tamworth besides country music,” Mrs Bickersteth said.

“We got to Tamworth and thought, ‘I think this is a bit big’ … then we flew to Dalby the next day and thought, ‘Hmm, this is too small and just so far away’ whereas Tamworth, we thought our family could come here for the weekend.”

The couple shared their story after it was announced the Evocities consortium had won $300,000 for a marketing campaign to target residents of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

“We are big advocates for moving to the country,” Mrs Bickersteth said.

Mr Bickersteth now teaches at Carinya Christian School and Mrs Bickersteth has done a vet nursing qualification, office work and full-time parenting.

“We’d both grown up in big houses with gardens and knew we’d never be able to afford that [in Sydney],” Mrs Bickersteth said.

“I was working in the city, in Bondi, so we had trains and travelling, we were renting a tiny apartment paying a lot of rent.”

The couple say they “knew no one” when they first moved but had made some great friends through work, sport, church and – after daughter Colette came along just over 12 months ago – parenthood.

The Bickersteths now also have a rescue dog, a cat, chickens, and a horse on a friend’s property.

If they had stayed in Sydney, they believe they would have been a lot more stressed and “it would have made the decision to have a child … quite difficult,” Mrs Bickersteth said.

“[We would be] probably madly working, both of us, lots of travel, daycare – or we may have had family help with [Colette], but probably she would have had to go to daycare,” Mrs Bickersteth said.

“And we probably would have been living in a small flat, which isn’t ideal for her. It’s great that she can run outside and do stuff outside,” Mr Bickersteth.

He said he had “peace of mind” knowing they could have one stay-at-home parent.

“For me it’s really nice knowing we can survive on one income, comfortably.”

Mrs Bickersteth said: “We just think it’s a great decision that we made, and that we can see in our friends and family it would benefit them,” she said.

“I think financially, emotionally, we’ll be much better off in five, 10 years than other people who are renting.

“It’s just a bit more secure and [I like] the fact I have the option to stay at home and do a bit of casual work or whatever works out, rather than having to be working full time.”

Sydney friends and family are “very jealous of especially Colette’s lifestyle – she spends a lot of time outside”.

They’ve been talking up the benefits of living in Tamworth and Mrs Bickersteth said her mum was considering moving after retirement.