I used to think that it would be the Hyperloop that would let us work in one city and live in another but in actuality it may wind up being COVID-19. With lots of companies letting employees work from home (in some cases permanently) there’s never been a better time to consider escaping the hustle and bustle (and sky high rents) associated with a big city and relocating to a new locale. A quieter, less populated, more aesthetically appealing and soul pleasing locale. In fact, some cities will even pay you to move there!
As Fast Company puts it:
“If the lower cost of living, more affordable housing, and less traffic weren’t enough of an incentive, remote workers can receive cold hard cash for bringing their talents (and salaries) to more rural destinations.
Many of these programs aren’t new. In 2018, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma launched an incentive program that offered 250 remote workers $10,000 to relocate there. Last year Vermont, The Shoals region of Alabama, and Topeka, Kansas all launched similar programs, offering workers between $5,000 and $15,000.
But now, amid the coronavirus pandemic, more employees are working remotely—and more destinations are offering cash to these workers to relocate. Cities and towns have long offered companies financial rewards for bringing jobs and tax revenues to their region, but now many are turning their attention, and incentives, toward these individual mobile workers.
In recent weeks Savannah, Georgia, announced a $2,000 remote worker incentive program of its own. ‘If a technology company opens a small office in Savannah, I’ve always been able to give that company relocation fees of up to $2,000 per person,’ explains Jennifer Bonnett, the vice president of innovation and entrepreneurship for the Savannah Economic Development Authority. ‘All we really did was disconnect the need for the company to move here.'”
So, if you’ve ever thought about moving now would be the perfect time to act on that impulse. Just be careful to pick a place that won’t be affected by Climate Change when you do move…
The time may have come to finally relocate.
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