Freed from clutches of big city life.

The hustle and bustle of big city living was once a way of life for Jim Noble and his wife Linda.

These days, there isn't a skyscraper in sight of their home and office in sleepy Providence Bay, located on Manitoulin Island.

While the Nobles represent a growing trend of some big city residents making the switch to telecommuting from smaller urban areas, their transition didn't happen overnight.

Having worked for various Bay Street financial institutions, Noble decided the endless commutes and Toronto-area rush-hour traffic were becoming a bit too much to bear.

After taking the plunge and moving to the Belleville region in eastern Ontario in 2000, he eventually decided to seek semi-retirement in a quieter environment where he could pursue a slower lifestyle.

Noble's decision to move to Manitoulin Island was as much a result of his wife's heritage and roots on the Island as well as the area's province-leading doctor-per-capita ratio. However, the issue of Manitoulin's large degree of high-speed Internet connectivity certainly played a part in their decision to live there.

"Providence Bay fortunately has all the necessary technology to work from home," says Noble. "It's terrific being able to finish up my workday, turn around and walk outside on the beautiful sandy beaches here."

From his home office, Noble now acts as the regional coordinator for the Northern Ontario Enterprise Gatewa. It is a not-for-profit organization that provides education and information to entrepreneurs to prepare them for investors and to help support angel investor groups in Northern Ontario. In this role, his ability to be online in a heartbeat is all-important.

"I open up my laptop at about 8:30 in the morning and I'm off about five in the afternoon," says Noble. "High-speed Internet is absolutely critical for what I'm doing."

Despite being responsible for a coverage area that extends from North Bay to Thunder Bay, he finds that working from home is far less challenging than one might imagine.

"The Internet helps bridge that gap tremendously," he says. "Using technology like webcasts and teleconferences certainly means that you don't have to be physically present in those communities all the time."

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According to Mary Nelder, general manager of Lacloche Manitoulin Business Assistance Corporation (LAMBAC), increasingly larger numbers of people in older age brackets are using the Internet to allow themselves to make the move to smaller towns.

As urban sprawl, pollution levels and commuting continue to increase in larger urban centres, Nelder believes that existing trends show more people becoming attracted to smaller areas, and as technology increases to meet this need, that number will only grow.

"Overall, the demographics show that our national population is moving to the city and that's continuing to increase, but in our specified demographic of 45 to 65, there's a definite trend of moving out of the urban areas into small urban areas or more rural communities," says Nelder. "We're mainly talking about telecommuters. There's also active retirees or pre-retirees, who we define as people who still want to work and are looking to slow down the pace a little bit."

Regional business development initiatives have taken a much more intentional effort to attract this particular demographic.

Over the last few years, LAMBAC has worked with Manitoulin-area townships, along with several real estate agents, retailers and building contractors to create Manitoulin Living, an independent initiative specifically focused on attracting telecommuters and semi-retirees to the area.

While it may be difficult to quantify the exact number of individuals who have moved to Manitoulin Island from larger urban centres, Nelder says the population has been steadily growing in recent years, and that the region's estimated 80 per cent Internet connectivity has likely played a part.

"High-speed availability has probably ramped up the population boost and contributed to it in some way," she says. "It makes it an easier sell for us, along with the strong healthcare factor."

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business