The lifestyle benefits compared with eking out a life in the big smoke, of course, are many and varied.

Housing is infinitely cheaper, long commutes to work don’t have to be fit into the daily routine and everything is close by – shops, schools, recreational facilities and a supportive, inclusive community.

We in the bush often share a feeling of not wanting everyone to know our great secret, that while we love to welcome people who move from the city we also don’t want to be flooded with them to the extent it takes away what we love about life in the country.

But there has long been considerable difficulties in being able to attract enough health professionals to provide essential medical support.

Specifically, it has been the dearth of doctors, especially in small communities but even at times in much larger centres such as Albury-Wodonga, that has presented enormous difficulties.

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The people who live in smaller centres know the reality, on a daily basis.

It’s when you simply cannot get an appointment with a GP because the only one around has moved on elsewhere, or simply retired.

It’s when there is a medical emergency that cannot be catered for locally, because even if there is a medico about they might not be qualified as a VMO – that is, able to handle emergencies through having visitor medical officer privileges.

These are the considerable, ongoing issues to beset many communities in the Border region.

A very clear, concerning example is the fact that Greater Hume residents had just one GP over the holiday period able to treat emergency cases in a hospital.

The issue is further exacerbated by the fact that many of the overseas-qualified GPs providing excellent service to their rural communities are disadvantaged by not having had the benefit of this training as part of their undergraduate studies.

It is clearly a significant problem that needs to be given far more attention by government and medical training bodies, for what we have now is woefully inadequate.