More cities and towns will open up to remote workers by offering benefits and grants in the coming months
Digital Nomads can now visit exotic locations, explore rural towns, access municipal facilities and also take home the remote worker cash grant.
In 2018, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma launched an incentive program that offered 250 remote workers with $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.
Since a large number of employees are working remotely, it seems like many more cities are expected to come up with these benefits to attract remote workers to their cities.
As some cities and towns are experiencing a population decline, or have seen the closure of a major employer, welcoming remote workers would be a huge benefit to their local economy.
As a remote worker, would you move to a city that offers cash incentives? What’s your take on this?
Here's what our users had to say:
Karthik Sridharan said "Great point Anna, totally agree. Remote work, even before COVID, was slowly getting recognition from various states in the US. In fact, mid last year (when Olympics was still slated for 2020), even Japan was trying to convince people to work from home during the Olympics period. Here is an article about it: Article link."
Ashley Thomas said "Travelling and exploring new places is my favourite pastime. But, most of the locations offering grants are present only in the US. I think that international cities should start welcoming remote workers as well. In 2018, the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma launched an incentive program that offered 250 remote workers with $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."
Alda Lima said "I agree - I love to travel and explore and feel comfortable spending less time in one single place and moving around often instead. So as an answer to Anna’s post, yes, I would move to one of those cities, but I don’t know if they’ll be open to international workers - especially now with COVID. It would be awesome, though, and being able to experience different places is one of the biggest perks of going remote :)"
Anna Rogers said "That is right! Just came across a piece of news by @hrishikesh. Barbados is now offering 12-month remote-work stay incentive to attract visitors. Do check it out."
Hrishikesh Pardeshi said "Just when we have an ongoing discussion, this news pops up - Barbados offering 12-month remote-work stay incentive to attract visitors. The article also mentions that Cyprus, Italy & Greece are also taking steps towards attracting more visitors. You will surely have a ton of choices for your next travel destination, Alda ;-)"
Alda Lima said "Oh, wow, thank you so much for that! I was actually thinking of going to Greece next year, so that article came in very handy :) Thanks for sharing, and great news!"
Hrishikesh Pardeshi said "Super cool! Most welcome Alda :-)"
Anna Rogers said "This is amazing! Remote workers are now spoilt for choices :P"
Anna Rogers said "Totally Agree! Travelling and experiencing new places is what drives many people to take up remote working. Is there any city you have on your mind?"
Alda Lima said "I don’t know yet, but in Greece, I would love to go back to Thessaloniki. But I’d love to be in a new city too, especially if it had easy access to nearby cities so I could easily get to know other places on “days off”. Italy would not be bad at all :) So much to see! Do you have any cities in your radar?"
Anna Rogers said "Just looked up about Thessaloniki and it looks pretty amazing! I don’t have any cities on my radar as of now. But, Barbados definitely looks very inviting ;)"
Alda Lima said "Yes, it’s a very cool city, I’m not sure if it has changed since I went as a kid. And indeed Barbados and its beaches look like a dream, especially after being on lockdown :)"
alexandre eisenchteter said "I wonder how these US initiatives would work with foreign citizens. Especially nowadays with the current US administration! I can’t imagine the immigration officer to be very open to you if you come for 12 months to “work remotely” in the US ;-)"