A number of villages in Italy are offering to pay millennials up to €28,000 (£24,000) to move in.
Calabria, the southern region of Italy located in the country’s “toe”, will pay people to relocate to villages with 2,000 residents or fewer that are suffering from depopulation.
However, there are strings attached to this dream deal.
Applicants must be aged 40 or under and take up residency in Calabria within 90 days of being accepted.
In order to receive the payment, they must also commit to starting a business or take on a specific job that’s needed by the village.
It’s likely that the money will be paid in either monthly instalments of €800-€1,000 over the course of three years, or as a one-off lump sum to fund a new business, such as a restaurant, shop or B&B.
Gianluca Gallo, a regional councillor, told CNN: “We’re honing the technical details, the exact monthly amount and duration of the funds, and whether to include also slightly larger villages with up to 3,000 residents.
“We’ve had a huge interest from villages and hopefully, if this first scheme works, more are likely to follow in coming years.”
The hope is that the scheme will invigorate dwindling communities by attracting young residents with fresh ideas for enterprises that can enrich local life.
Mr Gallo says: “The goal is to boost the local economy and breathe new life into small-scale communities.
“We want to make demand for jobs meet supply, that’s why we’ve asked villages to tell us what type of professionals they’re missing to attract specific workers.”
The project is called “active residency income” and applications are set to open in the coming weeks, with €700,000 set aside to fund it.
Other villages across Italy are already offering similar incentives for new residents.
The medieval village of Santa Fiora in Tuscany and ancient city of Rieti in Lazio are both offering remote workers willing to relocate and rent a house there up to €200 or 50 per cent off the total rent for long-term stays of between two and six months.
With local rents averaging around €300-€500 per month, new arrivals could end up paying as little as €100 per month.
