HASTINGS COUNTY 4 REASONS ENTREPRENEURS LEAVE THE CITY FOR BETTER WORK-LIFE BALANCE A major benefit of running an online business is your ability to work from anywhere. Crafting your own schedule and workflow means you can also build in your personal priorities. Perhaps it’s time to start looking at how to cut costs and carve out more time for yourself and the people/things you truly value. One option is to leave the city behind in order to find better work-life balance. By selecting a more rural location to call home, you’re close to nature and outdoor activities, but you’re also saving a ton of money and time while your business is just starting out.

1 | Housing Costs Are Dramatically Lower in Hastings County The cost of living in large urban centres, like , continues to rise. While the city is often a hub of entrepreneurial energy and innovation, it requires a substantial real estate investment when purchasing a home or condo. Even when commuting from a suburb of Toronto, house prices are quickly catching up. The average selling price of homes within Toronto and the surrounding area are: • ●$832,703 in Toronto1 • $790,675 in Richmond Hill2 • $553,639 in Oakville and Milton3 • $604,938 in Oshawa and Whitby4 In contrast, the average selling price of homes within Hastings County are: • $264,668 in Maynooth and Bancroft5 • $367,267 in Tweed, , and Madoc (which is higher due to being calculated with )6

You could effectively cut your current housing budget down by as much as ⅔ when you decide to leave the city and move to Hastings County. This dramatic decrease in cost of living can give entrepreneurs like you the freedom to take bigger risks or reinvest into new tech or personnel to move your company forward. Investments to outsource or scale could also help you to spend more time on your own leisure or hobbies.

1 http://creastats.crea.ca/treb/ 2 https://richmond-hill.listing.ca/real-estate-price-history.htm 3 http://creastats.crea.ca/oakv/ 4 http://creastats.crea.ca/osha/ 5 http://creastats.crea.ca/banc/ 6 hhttp://creastats.crea.ca/quin/

#WildlyAuthentic Hastings.ca 2 | Save Time and Money To Improve Your Work-Life Balance On top of housing savings, you won’t have to sit in traffic commuting to an office, dropping your kids off at school, or trying to get to a meeting on time. When you do need to run out for an errand, there isn’t traffic or rush hour to contend with. You simply don’t waste time in city congestion anymore. The money and time that you save on services, housing and no commuting can now be spent on the things that matter most to you. The harmony between work and life is much more easily achieved in Hastings County. In addition, outdoor leisure and adventuring are literally right at your doorstep when you leave the city, meaning you can find time during your work day to go for a bike ride, hike in the woods, snowshoe or even swim in the summer months. You have to plan a weekend away from the city, but when you live in Hastings County, you can find work-life balance in every day.

3 | Lower Daycare Cost when Leaving the City There are seven childcare centres in Hastings County, within the following townships: • Bancroft • Marmora and Lake • Madoc • Tweed • Stirling • Frankford • Sidney Ward In comparison, Toronto has over 1000 Licensed Childcare Centres. While access and proximity to childcare may be better in the city, the cost is much higher than what is offered in Hastings County. Costs for licensed centre-based child care in Hastings County: • For infants $70/day $18,200/year • For toddlers $52/day $13,520/year • For preschool $46/day $11,960/year • For JK-SK $42/day $10,500/year Comparable Toronto Costs7 • For infants $96.20/day $25,012/year • For toddlers $89.95/day $23,387/year • For preschool $68.25/day $17,745/year • For JK-SK $51.05/day $13,273/year

7 https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/children-parenting/children-programs-activities/licensed-child-care/toronto-early-learning-and-child-care-services/early-learning-child- care-centres/

#WildlyAuthentic Hastings.ca You will save thousands of dollars per year on childcare when you leave the city. Add these savings to the money you’ve saved on housing, and you suddenly have more money to invest either in your hobbies or back into your business.

4 | Improved Access to Broadband and Business Building Support One of your chief concerns when you leave the city is access to broadband so that you can effectively run your business from your new home in Hastings County. Over the last 10 years, a huge effort has been made to expand access to broadband in rural eastern so that now 90% of all homes and businesses have access to DSL or fixed internet wireless services with speeds of at least 10Mbps.8 All remaining homes and businesses have access to speeds of 6 - 10Mbps. The Regional Network (EORN) has now proposed a $312 million project to close gaps in cell coverage and capacity across the region. While many entrepreneurs and business already have adequate internet to power their enterprises, the public-private partnership will continue to improve mobile broadband access in eastern Ontario over the next 10 years.9 Formal funding commitments from the provincial and federal governments are now in place, and the work will start in 2020.10 Hastings County is a supportive business community, where people go out of their way to help you succeed. There is even a Small Business Coordinator, Mark Hanley, who you can consult free of charge to help you start- up, expand or relocate your business in Hastings County. Give Mark a shout today to discuss your options at 613-391-0350 or [email protected]. GET SUPPORT TO LEAVE THE CITY AND FIND WORK-LIFE BALANCE Contact Hastings County to learn more about the business support services offered by their Economic Development Office and obtain any additional information you may need to make your decision. The daily work-life balance you’re looking for is just a couple hours east of the city.

8 EORN, Connecting Eastern Ontario to the World: Final Report 2014. 9 EORN, Connecting Eastern Ontario to the World: Final Report 2014. 10 https://www.intelligencer.ca/news/local-news/work-to-close-cell-service-gaps-may-start-in-2020

#WildlyAuthentic Hastings.ca HASTINGS COUNTY PROVIDES THE QUINTESSENTIAL SMALL TOWN VALUES. A | You know all of your neighbours and connect with people daily. Neighbourhoods are friendly and people want to help each other out If someone is stuck (in the snow for example), everyone is willing to help Connect with townspeople at school drop off, then at the grocery store, and later at the daycare Sense of community is strong and keeps everyone connected

B | People are down-to-earth/originals Many artisans, creators, and artists in the region that find inspiration in the surroundings to create from a place of authenticity The community is hard-working and honest People are free to be themselves (authenticity) without the pressure of big cities to have all the things and compare to other people

C | It’s a great place to raise a family In a tight knit smaller community, it feels safer, your kids can roam freer Kids can experience being a part of nature on a daily basis, enjoying the outdoors and playing freely, getting fresh air and exercise

Andrew Redden Mark Hanley Economic & Tourism Small Business Coordinator Development Manager 613.966.6712 x 4011 613.391.0350 [email protected] [email protected]

#WildlyAuthentic Hastings.ca