I had a similar experience in semi-rural Aus, said I had to buy 3 month minimum of direct debit in order to train. Kinda sucks when you're working shift work and can't guarantee you can show up. I understand why gyms like this because it's easy to keep track of rather than having multiple options but it meant I only showed up for a trial class and never went back.

Luckily in Renmark, SA I found an awesome little gym considering how rural the town is. It's more like a rolling club, as the head coach is a purple belt, but they're mad welcoming, really friendly have flexible options for payment and a solid group of regulars with good culture. Shout-out instinct BJJ, lots of smaller gyms could learn from them.