A regional mayor is calling for new people to set themselves up in her district, where there's cheap housing and plenty of work.

Statistics show a 40 percent increase of people on the job-seeker benefit from October last year.

But Grey District Mayor Tania Gibson told Mike Hosking people who want work should be open to a move to the West Coast. 

And there's a need for skilled workers, particularly in health and engineering.

Gibson says her region can also offer affordable housing and no rush hour traffic, empty beaches - and despite its reputation, the weather is not always bad.

“I think… we are attracting people… houses are starting to rise, our real estate agents are actually asking for listings... it is reasonably positive.”

“We have a lot of opportunities in the minerals and mining sector… we don’t want to live on government handouts, we’ve got hundreds of jobs that could be created very fast if had some changes in decision.”

She said average house prices are around $250,000.

“People are buying houses off the internet without even looking at them.”

 

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