The main street is the heart of a country town and it can often give you a quick picture of how the place is faring.

Across regional Australia, communities are working out how to keep that heart beating and turn interest into investment – especially as new data shows about one in three metropolitan Australians would consider a move to the regions.

The same data suggests that half of 18 to 29-year-olds are contemplating a move to the regions.

So how can country towns harness this push by younger Australians to go bush and breathe new life into their communities?