This town gives every new resident $10,000 as a welcome gift
Working from home can be more satisfying for Americans, at least in Tulsa in the United States. The town in Oklahoma wants to encourage Americans to move to smaller towns. And wants to give new residents even 10,000 dollars (about 9,000 euros) in return.
Since the credit crisis that arose in the summer of 2007 and only ended in the course of 2011, the larger American cities have only become more dominant. At that time, they already invested thousands of dollars to attract employees and, as a result, gradually reinvigorated the economy in the city. This technique ensured that wealthy seekers sought salvation in large cities and moved away from the smaller ones. Unemployment rate According to statistics, Tulsa has an unemployment rate of three percent, that figure is lower than the national average of 3.7 percent. Yet the town wants to make the community livelier and more diverse. Furthermore, it wants to stimulate economic development by attracting wealthy people.
They mainly focus on home workers who may work for a company located in a larger city, but hopefully they will spend the money they earn in Tulsa.
More than 6,000 applications
The project in Tulsa is being sponsored by the George Kaiser Family Foundation. The company set up a website and received more than 6,000 applications in one month. “I am surprised by the number of responses”, says Ken Levit, director of the GKFF company.
To qualify for the generous sum, GKFF states that new residents must be at least 18 years old and are employed by a company where they can work remotely. The total package of $10,000 also includes $2,500 moving costs, $500 to pay the monthly rent and some other benefits that can be taken advantage of. After having lived in the town for a year, the inhabitants get another $1,500.
Other cities also followed the example. In New Haven, Connecticut, new residents receive $10,000 in interest-free loans for the purchase of a house. In Ohio, recent graduates receive up to $5,000 if they move there and find a job there.
