Alex Carson
Relocating
When a person relocates to another state, there is usually a good reason. Some people move for a new job opportunity, some move to follow a loved one whose job transferred them, and some people move just because they want a fresh start. Finally, some people move for a bizarre reason. People are moving to certain towns for cash benefits. These places in America actually pay people to relocate there.
Tribune, Kansas
In hopes of luring more youthful residents to the town, Turbine runs a program called, The Rural Opportunity Zone. The town is willing to repay $15,000 of a new resident’s student loans for five years. This is a total of $75,000 off their student loan debt. There are actually people moving there to get this benefit because since it was introduced, 25 of the 55 new residents of Greeley County are part of the program.
Marne, Iowa
The small town of Marne, Iowa, is offering an incentive program to get people to put down roots there. They are giving away free land to anyone who is willing to build a house on it. The home must be at least 1,200 square feet, which is the only rule. Omaha, Nebraska is about 45 minutes from Marne, so it is a pretty attractive offer. Curtis, Nebraska, has an incentive similar to Marne’s.
Baltimore, Maryland and New Haven, Connecticut
Baltimore and New Haven desperately want new residents, so they are offering some pretty impressive incentive programs. And he will pay you $5,000 for the purchase of a new home. If you choose a foreclosed or deserted home, you can get $10,000. In New Haven, they will pay you $10,000 if you buy your first home there. To refurbish a home, you can get $30,000. They are even offering $40,000 toward schooling.
Alaska and Colorado
Alaska offers so many incentive programs to people moving there that there are too many to list. One significant one is a good chunk of your money back if you build an energy-efficient home. Alaska may be beautiful, but with the bitterly cold winters, most people don’t want to live there. To bring in residents, they are willing to pay. The program is called the Permanent Fund Dividend, and the state pays every permanent resident around $2,072 each year.
Harmony, Minnesota
Harmony, Minnesota’s slogan is, “Nice place to visit, even better place to live.” To entice people to move to their “little big town,” the government has made an offer. If you build a home in Harmony, and it’s market value is over $250,000, you can get a cash rebate of $12,000. There is no age, income level, or residency restrictions on this incentive. As long as you build an above market value home, you get cashback.
Vermont
Vermont made headlines last year when they announced that they were offering $10,000 to remote workers who were planning to move to the state. For many remote workers, this was a dream come true. Their jobs allow them to work anywhere where there is an internet connection, and $10,000 is a nice chunk of change to start over.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
When Tulsa heard about the offer made by Vermont for remote workers to move there, they decided to get in on the action. A new program will pay remote workers to move to Tulsa; the only catch is they have to live there for at least a year. To sweeten the deal a bit, they are offering other incentives such as a membership worth $1,8.0 to the 36 Degrees North co-working space. They are also offering up to three months discounted rent on a furnished apartment in Tulsa’s Arts District. With everything they are offering, it is impossible to turn it down.
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is trying to bring young “geeks” to their city. Recently, they were named, GigCity, because they are the first city in the Western Hemisphere to have gigabit per second fiber internet access to the entire city grid. To some, this may not sound like too much. For computer geeks and game and computer developers, this is a huge incentive to move there.
Is It Worth It?
Many people hear about these incentives and wonder if it is really worth the money. Most people don’t want to leave their family and friends behind to move across the country. Sure, there is money and potential homeownership involved, but leaving everything behind isn’t easy, and it might not be worth it in the long run. If a person already has family and friends nearby, it is definitely worth it. If you are a loner and love new adventures, one of these opportunities might be great for you as well.
