FRANKFORT, Ky. (KT) – Four Eastern Kentucky counties have seen such success in recruiting remote workers to move there, that more counties are joining the effort, which has already brought in nearly $1 million in economic benefits.

Nearly a year ago, four counties started testing a new economic development tool that focuses on relocating people who can bring their remote jobs, families and significant economic value with them to work from anywhere in the world. The experiment went so well that 29 additional Eastern Kentucky counties have also started recruiting remote workers to the region.

Read more of the full article from the Kentucky Today article here.

Eastern Kentucky's successful remote worker recruitment program expands from 4 to 33 counties after bringing in nearly $1M in economic benefits, with incentives attracting 14 new households to the Appalachian region.

Eastern Ky. counties finding success with remote workers

Competitive housing markets, overcrowding, and a lack of community connection are just some of the reasons why remote workers are leaving large metro areas for a better quality of life in small towns across the U.S. Many of these rural communities are stepping up to attract digital nomads, offering a blend of lower-cost living, accessible amenities, award-winning school systems, and small-town charm.

Remote workers say that moving to a rural community comes with a unique set of considerations. Amenities that are commonplace in larger cities—like reliable high-speed internet and grocery stores—are not a given in small towns and need to be investigated. The criteria for selecting top rural communities evaluate the amenities that are most needed and appreciated by remote workers who are moving rural. Here's a look at 

 top picks for rural towns for remote workers, including five that pay you to move there.

Read more of the full article from the MSN.com article here.

Discover the top 18 rural communities for remote workers in the US. Explore small towns offering high-speed internet, quality schools and unique incentives. Perfect for digital nomads seeking a better quality of life away from big cities.

18 great rural communities for remote workers

FORT SMITH -- The city of Fort Smith is using an online listing site to incentivize new residency.

City officials are working with MakeMyMove, a company that helps move remote workers to grow smaller communities. The company partners with cities by listing relocation programs on its website. According to a news release from MakeMyMove, the company is recruiting people rather than companies to smaller areas to drive economic growth.

Cities can create listings for their relocation programs on the company's website where remote workers can apply. The website states not all applicants will be chosen and applicants must keep their remote job in the process of moving to economically impact their new city.

Read more of the full article from the River Valley Democrat-Gazette here.

City officials in Fort Smith are using MakeMyMove's online platform to incentive remote workers to relocate to the community. 

Program focusing on recruiting remote workers to Fort Smith uses online listing website MakeMyMove

, during the 20th century mirrored much of the rest of the US’s industrial midwest: booming growth powered by manufacturing in the early decades – then a steep decline that left its streets empty and economy in practical ruins.

Since its heyday as an industrial powerhouse in the 1960s, Evansville’s population has fallen by 18%.

But today, following decades of urban decay, downtown life in this city of 115,000 people is changing.

It boasts hundreds of new apartments, a host of breweries, a 

“It’s a more vibrant space. You’ve got more residents downtown, which means more businesses, more hotels [and] a new medical campus,” the mayor of Evansville, Stephanie Terry, said recently of the current downtown compared to a decade ago.

Read more of the full article from The Guardian here.

Discover how small Midwest cities like Evansville, Indiana are experiencing a downtown revival, attracting new residents with affordable housing, vibrant cultural scenes, and economic opportunities in the post-industrial era.

Small cities in US Rust belt are leading an urban transformation charge

If you’re looking for a Midwest move or a Southern fresh start, dozens of states and cities across the United States are offering cash incentives, grants and other free benefits to encourage 

Read the full story from U.S. News & World Report here.

Cities across America offer cash incentives and perks to attract new residents. Discover how remote workers can benefit from relocation programs and explore opportunities in various U.S. locations.

These U.S. Cities Will Pay You To Live There

West Memphis is paying people to move there.

West Memphis, Ark., is partnering with MakeMyMove

 to find remote workers to move there. MakeMyMove is a "marketplace product that connects remote workers and other work-from-anywhere talent with communities that are attracting new residents." They are paying people $5,000 to 10,000 to move to West Memphis within six months.

Here is what to know about the incentive.

Read the full article from Yahoo News here.

West Memphis offers remote workers $5,000-$10,000 to relocate. Learn about eligibility requirements, application process, and city attractions for this unique opportunity to move to Arkansas.

West Memphis wants to pay you thousands to move there. See if you qualify for the program

The flexibility to work outside of your company’s home base means you can explore more affordable areas that might not have ever been on your radar. Plus, there are many places across the country ready to welcome you with open arms and some money, too.

As of August 2024, the following cities and states are offering a financial incentive to move there, with one paying as much as $20,000.

Discover U.S. cities offering financial incentives up to $20,000 for remote workers to relocate. Explore affordable living options beyond major metropolises as companies continue to embrace flexible work arrangements in 2024.

7 places across the U.S. that will pay you thousands of dollars to move there

"The $5,000 cash was nice, Mariah said, but what was really appealing to her was Hamilton County’s top ranking as a place to raise a family — they have a 3-year-old daughter — and a suite of freebies connecting them to the community and leaders." 

Read the full article from The LA Times here.

Rural towns lure California’s remote workers with cash, child care and other relocation perks.

Rural towns lure California’s remote workers with cash, child care and other relocation perks

More than two dozen Indiana cities have tapped into new funding pools created to help them recruit out-of-state remote workers to Indiana. Those efforts will bring more than 500 new Hoosiers and more than $40 million in annual economic impact to the state, according to MakeMyMove, a talent recruitment company working with the communities and the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC).

New Haven is the first Indiana city to tap into each of three available funding channels for remote worker recruitment. City and state officials involved celebrated the launch of the Allen County city’s remote worker recruitment program today.

“We’re all-in on using this support to recruit new city residents and support continued investment into these efforts statewide,” said New Haven Mayor Steven McMichael, who expects to add 18 new households to his population base by working with Indianapolis-based MakeMyMove using state and local funding.

“The rise in remote work has created a once-in-a-generation opportunity for communities to address their talent needs,” said MakeMyMove COO Evan Hock, crediting New Haven with working creatively to access investment funds. “Other cities grappling with population loss or talent needs can learn a lot from New Haven in terms of creative ways to invest as well as ways to incent remote workers to join them. This public-private collaboration is a model for other states to follow.”

Indiana’s remote worker recruitment program is a novel approach to economic development and one made even more important as experts estimate that the global human talent shortage will reach 

. In Indiana, workforce shortages are caused in part by population declines, retirements within the Baby Boomer generation – disproportionately larger than any other generation of Americans – and fewer young workers available to replace them. MakeMyMove is the only marketplace that matches remote workers to communities across the country offering relocation incentives and was instrumental in pushing the state to help support the effort. 

are expected to be fully remote in the next five years.

Indiana lawmakers in April 2022 passed and Governor Eric Holcomb enacted a new state law - 

 – that allows city leaders to secure funding for talent attraction and retention activities through local tax increment financing dollars. The IEDC provided $1.5 million in matching funds for Indiana mayors and economic development corporations to use to bolster their talent recruitment and retention initiatives. The program proved so popular, the IEDC added another $1 million to the matching fund element.

“As the state focuses on growing our population and bolstering our communities, the IEDC is excited to support initiatives like MakeMyMove, which has already proven successful in attracting talent to Indiana, impacting both metropolitan and rural areas,” said Tony Denhart, EVP of Workforce and Talent for the IEDC. We look forward to continuing to partner on programs like this that will help build our workforce of the future.”

Mayor McMichael seeded his program with $50,000 made available through the new legislation. The IEDC tripled that to give the city a total recruitment budget of $200,000. About half of the budget will be distributed as incentives to the remote workers. The other half funds marketing expenses and services provided by MakeMyMove that include locating and recruiting the new citizens.

New Haven’s incentive package will continue to grow and include more elements that highlight the many amenities of the city. The current package includes $5,000 for relocation, pool passes, free coffee, a Chamber membership and 

New Haven is just one of the more than two dozen Hoosier communities working with MakeMyMove to recruit remote workers, 22 of which are also leveraging IEDC dollars to boost their efforts.

Henry County, for example, in east central Indiana is the main setting of the novel Raintree County by Ross Lockridge Jr. Its $11,000 incentive package for remote workers includes $5,000 in cash for relocation along with free co-working space for a year, free Internet for a year in some locations, a free gym membership, passes to local recreational/entertainment venues and youth sports registration, among other local access passes. Icing on the cake? $

Crawfordsville, just 50 miles west of Indianapolis, also offers $5,000 cash and local amenities but sweetens its nearly $8,000 relocation package with a year of

, dinner with the mayor and a podcast interview with him, a seat on a local non-profit board of directors and season tickets to Wabash College football games.

“As Hoosiers ourselves, we’re thrilled to help the state grow,” Hock said. “The best part of our job is when these wonderful communities see themselves with fresh eyes, and we can tell their unique stories to the millions of people thinking of making a move. It’s like an updated and supercharged welcome wagon, and it’s already yielded hundreds of new residents.”

More than two dozen Indiana cities have tapped into new funding pools created to help them recruit out-of-state remote workers to Indiana. 

Two dozen Indiana cities leveraged public & private dollars to launch efforts to recruit remote workers in 2022; New Haven latest to launch

'LA is the glitz and glamour, but when you take that aside, are you actually enjoying your life?' - Vanessa Hughes

After 22 years in Los Angeles, Vanessa Hughes, 44, picked up and moved to West Lafayette, Indiana this fall.

Relocating to the Midwestern city of 45,000 people, home to Purdue University and located about 68 miles northwest of Indianapolis, has saved Hughes and her husband about $3,210 a month.

Learn more about the Greater Lafayette remote worker community.

Remote workers save an average of $20,000 per year when they relocate to a MakeMyMove community. Here's how one woman relocated from L.A. to West Lafayette, Indiana as told in Business Insider.

A 44-year-old who moved from California to Indiana saves $3,210 a month and thinks more people should consider living in the Midwest

A growing number of U.S. cities and towns are handing out cash grants and other perks aimed at drawing skilled employees of faraway companies to live there and work remotely. Such programs gained traction during the pandemic and have really taken off in just the past year or so. There were at least 24 such programs in the U.S. back in October. Today there are 71, highlighting MakeMyMove's continued work contracting cities and towns to set up such programs.

Incentives are drawing high-paid tech workers, and challenging how we think about local economic development. 

71 Cities and Towns Are Paying Tech Workers to Abandon Silicon Valley. It’s Working.

From Topeka to Bemidji, MN, localities try to boost populations with offers of cash, free coffee and grandparent stand-ins. The Wall Street Journal examines how cities and small towns across the country are luring remote workers with incentives, highlighting MakeMyMove's efforts to help remote workers do what they love in a place that they love.

Remote workers can live anywhere. Cities and small towns across the country are stepping up to the plate to lure them with perks and incentives.

These Cities (and Small Towns) Are Luring Remote Workers With Perks

PCMag's second edition of Best Work-From-Home Cities incorporates suggestions from our own remote staff and new data partners with details like which cities now offer incentives for remote workers. MakeMyMove co-founder Evan Hock explains why incentives that emphasize the “importance of belonging” and plug new residents into a community are so impactful.

The work-from-home revolution continues. Have you found yourself working remotely for good? These cities offer an ideal mix of affordability, livability, and connectivity.

The Best Work-From-Home Cities for 2022

Cities across the U.S. are offering financial incentives to attract new residents. MakeMyMove co-founder Evan Hock explains why on this segment of Good Morning America. June 2021.

US cities paying people to relocate and work remotely

1. Get $1,000 a year to chill in Alaska's natural beauty.

It doesn’t matter where in Alaska you move; if you settle down for a full year, you’ll be eligible for an annual $1,000 incentive thanks to the 

 (PFD). Alaska may be a wild place to live — hello bears, icebergs, and wild snowstorms — but it’s also incredibly beautiful. Where else in the US can you watch the Northern Lights from a kayak or witness a whale breaching from your porch?

And just so you know, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Alaska is 

2. Start your business in Ireland and get up to $208,000 in support.

If you’ve been working on plans for a startup that has an international focus and the potential to employ at least 10 people and bring in over a million dollars, you might want to consider starting your business in Ireland (it can be in Dublin or any other city). The country’s 

 program is willing to offer up some serious money to successful applicants; in 2018, 

startups received over 174,000 euros (over $208,000)

 in support on average — in addition to mentorship, office support, and business plan assistance.

3. If you're dreaming of taking on a serious home renovation project, a home in Buffalo, New York, only costs $1.

 in Buffalo is still offering up open lots and homes in need of renovation for just $1 (

 calculates an incentive value of $2,500). That means, if you qualify, you could end up owning a home for less than the price of a Sausage McMuffin. Really.

Just keep in mind that if you buy one of these homes, you’ll need to pay for and complete repairs within 18 months (which can be 

). And if you’re interested in buying a vacant lot and building your own home, you’ll have to finish building within 12 months. Either way, you’re required to call Buffalo home for at least three years, which shouldn’t be too hard once you discover the uber-hip Misuta Chow's, find the waterfront, and figure out Niagara Falls is just 25 minutes away.

BuzzFeed Contributor Evie Carrick highlights some of the places that are paying remote workers to relocate and directs readers to their offers at MakeMyMove.com.

15 Places That Will Actually Pay You To Move There In 2021

Evan Hock, co-founder of MakeMyMove, talks about the top cities offering incentives for remote workers and what to look out for before moving. Watch the full interview at 

MakeMyMove co-founder Evan Hock talks with Cheddar's Hena Doba about the places that are offering remote workers incentives to relocate.

MakeMyMove Is Connecting Remote Workers to Cities Offering Relocation Benefits

Over the past several years, a handful of states and smaller cities have tried to get members of the remote workforce to give up their big-city lives (and rents) to move to their town—luring them in with everything from cash, to land, to bicycles. While those offers may have been tempting before, a lot of office-based workers didn’t have the option of relocating to a new city and keeping their job.

But now, more than a year into companies realizing that their employees aren’t children who won’t get anything done unless the boss is in the room, the idea of packing up and starting over in Tulsa, Northwest Arkansas, or Vermont isn’t just appealing—for more people than ever, it’s a possibility. And now, shopping for a new hometown that’s vying for your residency has gotten easier, courtesy of a new website that puts all the information you need in one spot.

, and it operates like an online marketplace. Communities looking breathe new life into what were (likely) once-bustling cities and towns can create listings, letting remote workers know they’re looking for transplants and are willing to shell out some perks. On the other side of things, people interested in moving somewhere else can peruse their options.

The website is called MakeMyMove.com, and it operates like an online marketplace. Communities looking breathe new life into what were (likely) once-bustling cities and towns can create listings, letting remote workers know they’re looking for transplants and are willing to shell out some perks. On the other side of things, people interested in moving somewhere else can peruse their options.

Use This Website to Find All the U.S. Cities That'll Pay You to Relocate There

More than ever before, small towns are eager to attract new residents, targeting the unprecedented number of remote workers who are no longer tied to big industry hubs like NYC, LA, and Chicago. To incentivize people to relocate, some cities have begun offering cash rewards to those who decide to up and move there, and 

 has popped up as a useful digital directory with information on every US city that'll pay people to officially become residents.

Currently, there are 37 cities listed on MakeMyMove.com that are each offering some form of compensation for new residents. Financial incentives range from values as little as $1 (not worth it) to rewards as great as $16,000 (absolutely worth it), and payouts come in the form of home rebates, tax breaks, and straight-up cash.

More than ever before, small towns are eager to attract new residents, targeting the unprecedented number of remote workers who are no longer tied to big industry hubs like NYC, LA, and Chicago. To incentivize people to relocate, some cities have begun offering cash rewards to those who decide to up and move there, and MakeMyMove.com has popped up as a useful digital directory with information on every US city that'll pay people to officially become residents.

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