If you’ve ever wanted pulling a Thoreau, and living a less complicated life covered with nature, now may very well be the time! Vermont governor Phil Scott is incentivizing remote workers to safely move to Vermont offering them $10,000 over couple of years to pay moving and business expenses. While he’s not suggesting you progress to some secluded cabin using a lake — although that could be a possibility if there’s a solid WiFi signal — the governor is intending to modify exactly how Vermont is perceived: from a backwoods state to your hub of entrepreneurialism, education, and diet and weight loss.
Many rural states happen to be trying different tactics to fill empty jobs. Some have offered incentives like student-loan paybacks, payments on houses, free land, or homes as cheap as one dollar. South Dakota has implemented a course created to get expatriated South Dakotans to go home, while Maine has built affordable housing on many of its coastal islands to attract new residents.
Vermont’s approach is somewhat different. In lieu of looking to fill empty jobs into their state, their focus is on attracting remote workers utilizing states. In 2019, Gallup found out that 43 percent of yankee workers spent time working remotely, so there’s certainly no lack of remote workers to become enticed.
As former president (and Vermonter) Calvin Coolidge said: “I really enjoy Vermont owing to her hills and valleys, her scenery and invigorating climate, but most coming from all as a consequence of her indomitable people.” Now, you may be one!
