High-speed internet. Private beach homes for $400,000. Why wouldn't you want to live there
Sick of Australian politics? The people of Arranmore, a remote Irish island in the Atlantic Ocean with a population of 469, are calling you.
Last month the island, off the north-west coast of Donegal, got broadband internet for the first time as recipient's of Ireland’s first offshore digital hub.
In an open letter to the people of Australia, the island’s business community - which includes graphic designers, games and app developers, photographers, artisan craftspeople and even a tech company called Caped Koala Studios - is calling on Australians to take advantage of their high-speed internet "as good as any office in Sydney or Melbourne."
"Over the last 150 years, since the famine first hit Ireland, hundreds of our natives
have made their way Down Under, in search of new opportunities," the letter says.
"Swap brown snakes and great whites for acres of open (and safe!) space. Fed up of overpacked beaches? On Arranmore you’ll have secluded beaches all to yourself. The little pubs here don’t have schooners, but they do have Guinness on tap that will blow them out of the water."
"The ambition is to stimulate employment and reverse over a century of emigration that has seen the island’s population drop to just 469 people," says Adrian Begley of Arranmore Island Community Council, inviting urban Australians to swap the "hustle and bustle of the city for the calm and beauty of Arranmore."
It's far from Silicon Valley-by-the sea, but Neil Gallagher, CEO of Caped Koala Studios and an Arranmore native, said there are many benefits to island life.
“Moving home has always been a dream but the fundamentals of connectivity for my line of work just made it impossible. The digital hub means people working for tech companies like mine can now work on Arranmore. The set-up is as good as any city in the world, but the view is so much better,” he said.
While not your standard sea change, the island offers affordable housing (homes range from one bedrooms for $129,000 to $400,000 for a three-bedroom thatched cottage with Atlantic Ocean views and your own private beach) and public schools where students can learn Gaelic.
The Irish Naturalisation and Immigration Service (INIS) - free from Brexit woes - is open to applicants. Especially Australians with European passports.