NEIL McLennan moved to Tamworth just shy of two years ago.
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Within months he was able to buy his first home outright.
It's something which would have remained a dream for many, many years if Mr McLennan remained in Sydney.
"It would have been $800,000 at least in Sydney and you just don't get value for money there," he told the Leader.
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Mr McLennan has become the face and voice of the Evocities regional relocation program in Sydney with a multimedia advertising campaign launched in Sydney spruiking the benefit of moving to an inland city.
The young man, who works in aged care, said moving to Tamworth had exceeded expectations.
"I'm actually getting more out of life, I've got so much more time to do other fun things," he said.
"You've just got more time to do things, you're not exhausted trying to get to and from and work all the time."
Tamworth Regional Council has backed the Evocities program for a further four years pledging $332,000 to the cause in November.
Mayor Col Murray said the investment was being returned.
"I think whilst different cities in the Evocities group have had different levels of success over time, I think, in my mind, it's directly relevant to the inputs," Cr Murray said.
"If they haven't advertised their jobs well and marketed their jobs well, I don't think their statistics are as strong."
The mayor said it was important to to learn what tree-changers found important when weighing up relocation and "getting those bits right".
Evocities would not divulge how much the advertising campaign cost, but it is understood it was a six figure spend.