Slashdot Mirror
Vermont Will Give You $10K If You Move There and Work Remotely (fastcompany.com)
If you've been dreaming of moonlight in Vermont -- and getting a re-location subsidy -- "the time has come to make your maple-syrup-coated dreams a reality," reports Fast Company:
[F]or those who relocate this year and can prove that they have full-time remote jobs, it's possible to get paid back for moving expenses, internet bills, or membership in a coworking space... The program offers up to $5,000 a year for two years.
For the state, the program is one way to try to address its shrinking population. "We're the second-to-smallest state in the nation, and we're also getting older, so we really need to make sure there's more of a workforce here," says Joan Goldstein, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic Development, which is running the Remote Worker Grant Program. The entire state has a population of a little more than 600,000, roughly the size of Louisville, Kentucky.
Vermont also recognized that a growing number of Americans work remotely -- nearly two-thirds of companies today have remote workers, and one recent survey found that hiring managers think it will continue to become even more common -- and that many city dwellers elsewhere are struggling with rent on increasingly overpriced apartments... The median home value in Brattleboro, roughly two hours from Boston, is less than $200,000; a one-bedroom apartment a short walk from the local co-op (and a small coworking space) goes for $850 a month.
The budget for 2019 is $125,000, and will be given out "on a first come, first served basis."
Vermont also recognized that a growing number of Americans work remotely -- nearly two-thirds of companies today have remote workers, and one recent survey found that hiring managers think it will continue to become even more common -- and that many city dwellers elsewhere are struggling with rent on increasingly overpriced apartments... The median home value in Brattleboro, roughly two hours from Boston, is less than $200,000; a one-bedroom apartment a short walk from the local co-op (and a small coworking space) goes for $850 a month.
The budget for 2019 is $125,000, and will be given out "on a first come, first served basis."
I have a few questions:
1) is there surfing in Vermont?
2) will I have to wear socks when I go outside in December?
3) is pot legal?
If you can't answer "yes" to all three of these questions, it's going to take more than $10k to get me to go there.
You are welcome on my lawn.
that extra 25 people every two years is really going to make a difference.
If I recall, the Free State Project was trying to get people to move to New Hampshire, not Vermont. I don't think they were offering to pay anyone to move either.
Don't be silly. It's for 25 people, since the grant is $5000/year, renewable for one additional year. It's twice as newsworthy as you thought.
Not often I get to see Vermont in the news. Yay. I'm a multi-generational native (yes, my family makes maple syrup).
In the hopes of dispelling some myths and inaccurate stereotypes, I'm happy to answer questions. I happen to live in a tiny ( under 4000) rural town, and on top of that, on the outskirts of it. Despite that I have 50/25 Mbit DSL. If I lived in the center of town I'd have the option for 100Mbit, 500Mbit, or even 1GBit FttH. So being rural doesn't necessarily mean junk internet... although it can, so check before you move.
In under an hour I can be in Vermont's largest "city" (Burlington). If I need a proper city experience, in just about 2.5 hours I can be in Montreal which honestly I enjoy a lot more than our next-closest big city, Boston. The border isn't an issue, since living near the border makes it easy to get a NEXUS card, which is basically fast-lane across the border for $50/5y and includes PSA pre-check at airports and Global Entry.
Yes, we have farms and cows and cheese and maple syrup and all that. We also have kick-ass skiing and lots of other great outdoor activities. Oh, and if you're not used to it: NO BILLBOARDS. It can be quite the pleasant shock for those new to the area... and jarring for us natives when we travel outside of the state.
The communities can be quite tight which is a nice thing... you really get to know the people in your area, and feel less anonymous than living in a city. People are quite generous and helpful with all sorts of things. Towns love to put on gatherings and events that bring everyone out for some reason or another. There's amazing food, and the proliferation of farms provides no shortage of fresh, high-quality produce and meat if you like to cook (or even if you don't, the better restaurants will use the local farms. Some BnB's even have their own gardens). People really care about the environment here... organic farming, trees, conservation, recycling, renewable energy, etc. Heck, even my house produces more solar power than I consume. You can find many die-hards who are truly "off the grid", self-sufficient and doing the whole homesteading thing. There's even a yearly festival/event/gathering called Solar Fest (not just about solar) if you're really into that.
Older crowd can be a bit conservative (not all, plenty of ex-hippies and all that... we're the source of Ben & Jerry's, Bernie Sanders, Bill McKibben, et al) but the younger generations lean strongly liberal. We currently have a republican governor but oh well... our Lieutenant Governor is progressive/democrat so he keeps him in line.
Home prices are all over the place, depending on where you live. You can get a sub-$100K home all the way up to multi-million dollar mansions (I know of a $10M one specifically). Places like Shelburne, Charlotte, and a few others with properties on Lake Champlain are popular with rich active/retired doctors, lawyers, and 2nd vacation homes for crazy rich people elsewhere.
So yes, worth considering. Questions? Ask and I can try to help.
What's "wrong" with Vermont is that they'd like to have more jobs attracting people there. Rather than trying to attract more companies, they've decided to try to attract people like me, who can take our jobs with us wherever we want to go.
That's an interesting idea because they don't have to provide infrastructure for the company headquarters, but they get us spending our money in Vermont. Essentially they would be exporting tech work to the rest of the country. It's an interesting idea. We'll see how it turns out.
Even if true, $10K is not nearly enough to get me to uproot myself and my spouse, pay _more_ for housing than I do now, and put up with harsher winters. Two orders of magnitude more would be a _start_.
I'd move to Verrrrrrrmont (it's cold!) rather than commute from San Jose to Palo Alto.