Remote Workers Offered Relocation Bonuses in Small Town America Vote with Their Feet

The Work From Home Revolution

The Small Town Approach

During this transition, a number of small towns and cities across the U.S. have put forth initiatives to offer relocation bonuses for people to move in as remote workers. Most notably, these are places that are usually overshadowed by the more popular and more expensive large cities like New York and Los Angeles.

A couple of the most generous rewards that are valued at more than $20,000 are offered in West Virginia. Lewisburg, Morgantown, the Greenbier Valley, and the Eastern Panhandle are some of the places in the state that are putting up $12,000 in addition to access to complimentary outdoor gear rentals, co-working spaces, and social networking events in order to attract those who are working remotely and employed full-time outside of West Virgina.

This is a niche scene that has emerged among some small towns and cities in the country that have experienced a decline in recent decades and are seeking to reinvigorate their communal economies. For these alternative urban areas, this is a bet placed on the expectation that an injection of new faces and new talent will set them up for success further into the future. 

Benefits Beyond Economic Activity

New residents drawn from different parts of the country may not only spark economic activity, but also provide an opportunity for social renewal. Many of these programs include a social programming dimension. The West Virginia examples include benefits to enjoy outdoor activities and organized community gatherings. One offer in Greensburg, Indiana even offers ‘grandparents on-demand’ to match local senior citizens to babysit children in addition to passes to see plays at the local theater. 

For the more adventurous types in the white collar worker space, this presents an opportunity to explore places to live that are off the beaten path that have much lower costs of living, lower population densities, and large bonus sums in addition to the higher than average salaries associated with the types of jobs that have gone remote. The small towns and cities themselves may also experience noticeable changes depending on how successful and popular these programs end up becoming. Like in any migration wave, positive and productive outcomes will depend on how effective the newcomers integrate locally. 

The coastal cities that have traditionally attracted middle and higher income workers have become less attractive in recent years because of higher taxes, and social and political tensions. For now, it appears that the scale of these programs will allow for these small towns and cities to dip their toes into a new pool of people to contribute to their communities. Those who apply and take part in these programs are indicative of people voting with their feet, with the freedom to say no to the coastal norms and move where they will be treated better socially and economically.