Many of us daydream about just backing up our lives an moving abroad.
There is something exhilarating (and slightly terrifying) about just packing up and heading overseas. Not only is the uncertainty scary, but also the cost. However. the World Economic Forum has listed some of the places in the world that will actually pay you to move there.
Now there are a lot of caveats here and some of the areas of pretty stringent conditions on the payments. But still there are some tantalising prospects.
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USA
The state of Vermont has a Worker Relocation Incentive Program which will offer you up to $7,500 to cover relocation expenses. The north-eastern US state is offering it to two types of people - those who have been offered a job in the state and those who are planning to work remotely from the state.
The scheme is currently over-subscribed, but is remaining open while all the applications are processed.
Several other states offer similar schemes. For example, Tulsa, Oklahoma, is offering remote workers a grant of up to $10,000 to live and work in the city. Through Tulsa Remote, new residents can access working space and access to networking events.
Italy
In southern Italy, the Municipality of Santo Stefano di Sessanio, a mediaeval village with 115 residents, launched a relocation scheme in 2020, including grants of up to €8,000 a year for three years.
The World Economic Forum reported that the offer included a house for a “symbolic rent” and a non-repayable grant of up to €20,000 for an entrepreneurial start-up. The municipality wanted to fight the “depopulation and desertification” of rural areas, it said. Of Santo Stefano di Sessanio’s 115 residents, 41 were over 65 and only 13 were under the age of 20, the municipality added.
Portugal
In 2020, Portugal launched a rural grant scheme called Emprego Interior MAIS (Inland Employment PLUS). Workers moving to rural areas can apply for up to €4,827 funding. In most Portuguese villages, this would be enough to cover the annual rent on a small house, says the Financial Times. Applicants need to stay for at least a year.
Direct financial support for those moving to the interior will be €2,633, plus a 20% increase for each member of the household (up to a limit of €1,316). There will also be support for the cost of moving, up to a limit of €878.
Greece
Greece is forecast to have a falling population until 2050. To combat this decline, one island in Greece is offering an incentive to encourage newcomers.
Expatriate Group reported that on Antikythera, an island south of mainland Greece and northwest of Crete, the Greek Orthodox Church on the island has introduced a plan to pay families to move there. New residents will receive a home and a piece of land and will be paid €500 every month for the first three years they live there.
Spain
Expatriate Group also reported that Spain is taking similar steps to counter its aging population. Ponga, a small village with around 500 residents in the mountain region of northern Spain. Ponga is offering young couples €3,000 to move there for five years. If you move with children or have children whilst you are living in Ponga, you’ll receive an additional €3,000 per child.
A Xesta is a small village with less than 100 residents in northwest Spain. It has around 125 vacant properties that it’s looking to fill, so is offering newcomers the opportunity to pay only €100 in rent.
Griegos, in eastern Spain, has 130 residents. This village is offering jobs and three months’ free rent to newcomers. After that, rent will only be €225 per month and residents will receive an extra €50 for every child aged between four and 18.
Ireland
In Ireland, the government unveiled a plan last year to attract workers to rural towns and villages as part of its Rural Future policy. This reportedly involves relocation grants and tax incentives for workers moving to rural areas. This scheme does not seem to be taking applications yet.
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