An Australian entrepreneur has revealed why he’s turned his back on life in Sydney for good – and doesn’t regret a thing.

Matt Cameron, 46, has traded the sky-high rents, crippling taxes and government ‘overreach’ for a luxury Balinese villa with staff on call around the clock.

Growing up in Sydney’s exclusive eastern suburbs and attending elite private school Cranbrook before making his fortune in property and founding a successful health retail chain, Matt’s privileged life is far from the poverty line.

But he makes no apologies for his wealth or success – in fact, he revels in it, sharing glimpses of his life, achievements and opinions with his 47,000 Instagram followers every day. 

However, it was 18 months ago that he and his partner Felicity, 34, packed up their swanky home and moved to Canggu, Bali, where they now live with her two children and a baby on the way.

They have a mansion, three full-time housekeepers, two chefs, security and more, for tens of thousands less than simply ‘surviving’ in Australia.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail about his decision, Matt insisted it wasn’t about hating Australia but about survival as a father and business owner.

‘It feels like the government tends to try and test things on the rich to get everyone’s support,’ he said.

‘Once everyone’s been conditioned that [it’s] now a law, they then try and pass it down to anyone they can,’ he continued, referencing the taxation laws imposed on the wealthy in Australia.

Matt also insisted that he does still ‘love Australia,’ but left because he felt the country ‘doesn’t support success.’

‘From the infamous tall poppy syndrome, right the way through to government overreach and Australia being in the top 10 highest taxed nations, it’s very, very hard to be able to get ahead unless you’re incredibly successful,’ he said.

The high-flying developer hasn’t shied away from sharing his views online either.

His Instagram feed is filled with frank – and often very controversial – videos about why he believes Australia has become too expensive and restrictive.

In a recent clip, which was one of his more restrained, he compared today’s economy to his father’s generation.

‘My father was easily able to support a family of four on a single income, half a mortgage back in his day,’ he argued.

‘I’ve felt like I love Australia, but it wasn’t the nation that it had now become.’

The final straw

For Matt, it wasn’t just money that drove him away. He said the combination of skyrocketing property prices, controlling schools, and new social policies left him feeling trapped.

‘We were really struggling with how controlling the schools and the government have been since Covid,’ he explained.

‘It really felt like you do well in Australia, you make a lot of money in Australia, and they will just continue to hit you harder.’

However, he added that other countries were far more welcoming.

‘When we started looking at other markets, like Singapore, Dubai, Indonesia – we were like, these guys are really supporting us like business partners.

‘We can literally double the available cash by just moving to another market.’

But, why Bali?

The couple set their sights on Bali, where Cameron says the numbers simply stacked up.

‘Bali made a lot of sense because tourism was going up by 10 per cent a year,’ he said.

‘The Bali market is [also] a cash market, which means most developments are funded with actual money that’s not from the banks, so if interest rates continue to go up, it doesn’t affect the market significantly.’

He also noted that Australians now make up almost a third of foreign property buyers in Bali, which gave him more peace of mind.

A five-star luxury lifestyle for less

The most dramatic change, Matt said, was how much further his money went overseas.

In Sydney, he was paying around $150,000 a year to rent a spacious four-bedroom home in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, which included a full-time chef and a cleaner.

‘For $130,000 a year [in Bali], we have a five-bedroom house twice the size, we have three housekeepers, a full-time chef and chef’s assistant cooking three meals a day, a security guard, a full-time driver, and a personal assistant,’ he said.

‘Our standard of living has gone significantly up, while our cost of living has come significantly down.

‘And the beauty of it is we’re putting people in jobs. They’re our mates, we love them, we treat them like family. The Balinese people are such beautiful people.’

When it comes to schooling, Matt added there are six international schools within four kilometres of their residence in Canggu that are run by either Australian, US, or UK teams.

‘You’ve got one teacher per 12 students,’ he raved.

The trade-offs

Still, there are things Matt misses about home – like ‘sidewalks and a good footpath,’ he joked.

‘And I do miss the quality of the shopping malls and Sydney Harbour – undoubtedly the best harbour in the world. And, of course, we miss our friends.’

However, he added that friends and family frequently visit as ‘it’s like a holiday for them’.

When asked if he’d ever move back to Australia, Matt insisted he wouldn’t return unless major government changes are made.

‘Yes, when they are more supportive of our investments,’ he admitted.

‘I would for the lifestyle – Australia is a beautiful place, but I wouldn’t be moving back from a business or monetary perspective. It’s just too restrictive.’

Until then, Bali remains his (very luxurious) home.