Cashed-up baby boomers in Sydney and Canberra have the means to sell up and live the good life in the Eurobodalla.

A larger population means more business for struggling CBDs in Batemans Bay, Moruya and Narooma.

It means those areas have a chance to fill vacant shop fronts that have stared dismally out at passersby for years and years.

It is also good news for tourist operators, who can expect visits from families and friends following baby boomer buyers into the area for holidays.

More visitors means more money for villages such as Mogo and our many seaside hideaways, where tourist operators must rush through busy summers and survive slow winters.

No-one would argue the tourist dependent Eurobodalla economy needs a boost.

The numbers of young people who leave each year because they have too few opportunities for full-time work in the shire are a reflection of that need.

However, given population projections for this area for coming decades, it would be wise, now, to take stock of what we love and what we are not prepared to lose.

We would like to lose high unemployment and a stagnant regional economy, but not the very lifestyle and scenic attractions that we love.

It is those very attractions that keep many here, drew many here and keep the visitors coming.

It would be timely to begin the conversation with each other – now – about how we would like the Eurobodalla to look and feel in 20 years.

Perhaps we could begin by each listing the 10 things we love most about our shire.

Then we could consider what the consequences of a larger population would be on those things – both negative and positive.

This is not a plea for nothing to change – that is impossible.

The smart move is to accept that change is inevitable – the forces that drive population growth and housing prices are determined a long way from the Eurobodalla.

However, we can plan for those effects.

First we have to decide what we care about.

What’s on your top 10?