8 ms·

U.S. cities and towns are paying remote workers up to $20k to move there

44 points by thesecretceo 4y ago

bediger4000 4y ago
I'd like to see 2 follow ups to these stories: how many remote workers take them up on it and how many stay 6 months more after the contract period.
- stop50 4y ago
  Depending on the town maybe longer.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
stevenjgarner 4y ago
Not included: Tulsa, OK [0] Ketchikan, Alaska [1] [0] https://tulsaremote.com/ https://tulsaremote.com/ [1] https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ketchikan-alaska https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ketchikan-alaska EDIT : Many others - https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/
- brundolf 4y ago
  It doesn't even have to be a high-paying tech job; I have a friend whose fiancé works remotely on a social work help-line, and they qualified for Tulsa's program. They moved there from Austin because the lower housing costs + the $10k meant they could buy a house
cyanydeez 4y ago
poulsbohemian 4y ago
I've been to a few of these places, and it would take a whole lot more than $20K to get me to go back to some of them, let alone move there. At least two places on that list are practically ghost towns, just counting down the days until everyone dies (I'm not exaggerating). Rochester, NY was a really pleasant surprise the one time I was there. A couple weeks ago here on HN there was an article about how for every one high paying tech worker there is a network effect of jobs created around them. Would seem like that's the angle being played here, but given the "requirements" it really isn't clear that these programs will have a meaning impact.
- bediger4000 4y ago
  That's not the point of these articles. The point is to make sure that CxOs of nontech companies know that those whiny, pencilneck developers could go live in Tulsa, or wherever "in the Midwest" so nobody needs a cost of living raise, SV salaries are way too high any way, and that tech talent is all interchangeable.
- mattbrewsbytes 4y ago
  The risk with any of these places is if your remote job becomes in person or the current market conditions change where employers can demand things like in person then you’re in a small market city with not very many tech jobs. The article didn’t comment on length of residence requirements. Rochester area is a good place to raise a family. The toy museum has/had? a live arcade with tokens, at least years ago. Property taxes can be enormous though, like around $6-10k per year depending on the suburb, house size, etc. It can have brutal winters, like temps in single digits Fahrenheit as the high, without adding wind chill.
  - tomcam 4y ago
    I would love property taxes that low (but my state of WA has no income tax). I pay $16,000/year.
    - poulsbohemian 4y ago
      I agree that WA has high property taxes and an overall regressive system, but what kind of spread do you have where you are paying $16k in property taxes? Acreage? Significant square footage? Waterfront?
      - tomcam 4y ago
        House on 1 acre. Not waterfront.
- Melting_Harps 4y ago
  > A couple weeks ago here on HN there was an article about how for every one high paying tech worker there is a network effect of jobs created around them. Would seem like that's the angle being played here, but given the "requirements" it really isn't clear that these programs will have a meaning impact. The reality is less opportune, and you need only look at what has happened in Portugal and how the locals haven't had much of a benefit whereas, the investor-real estate holding class have benefited immensely. Rising rents and gentrification have not yielded much for the locals, whose local businesses are less frequented than anticipated. It's a paradox, because one could argue that their are less measurable metrics: culture exchange, integration etc... but it's the crux of this program or any other DN project. It's about bringing in some much needed capital from high net-worth workers into the country to offset dwindling population and a lower tax base.

44 points by thesecretceo 4y ago

I'd like to see 2 follow ups to these stories: how many remote workers take them up on it and how many stay 6 months more after the contract period.

stop50 4y ago
Depending on the town maybe longer.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

stevenjgarner 4y ago

Not included: Tulsa, OK [0] Ketchikan, Alaska [1] [0] https://tulsaremote.com/ https://tulsaremote.com/ [1] https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ketchikan-alaska https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ketchikan-alaska EDIT : Many others - https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/ https://www.makemymove.com/get-paid/

brundolf 4y ago
It doesn't even have to be a high-paying tech job; I have a friend whose fiancé works remotely on a social work help-line, and they qualified for Tulsa's program. They moved there from Austin because the lower housing costs + the $10k meant they could buy a house

cyanydeez 4y ago

poulsbohemian 4y ago

I've been to a few of these places, and it would take a whole lot more than $20K to get me to go back to some of them, let alone move there. At least two places on that list are practically ghost towns, just counting down the days until everyone dies (I'm not exaggerating). Rochester, NY was a really pleasant surprise the one time I was there. A couple weeks ago here on HN there was an article about how for every one high paying tech worker there is a network effect of jobs created around them. Would seem like that's the angle being played here, but given the "requirements" it really isn't clear that these programs will have a meaning impact.

bediger4000 4y ago
That's not the point of these articles. The point is to make sure that CxOs of nontech companies know that those whiny, pencilneck developers could go live in Tulsa, or wherever "in the Midwest" so nobody needs a cost of living raise, SV salaries are way too high any way, and that tech talent is all interchangeable.
mattbrewsbytes 4y ago
The risk with any of these places is if your remote job becomes in person or the current market conditions change where employers can demand things like in person then you’re in a small market city with not very many tech jobs. The article didn’t comment on length of residence requirements. Rochester area is a good place to raise a family. The toy museum has/had? a live arcade with tokens, at least years ago. Property taxes can be enormous though, like around $6-10k per year depending on the suburb, house size, etc. It can have brutal winters, like temps in single digits Fahrenheit as the high, without adding wind chill.
- tomcam 4y ago
  I would love property taxes that low (but my state of WA has no income tax). I pay $16,000/year.
  - poulsbohemian 4y ago
    I agree that WA has high property taxes and an overall regressive system, but what kind of spread do you have where you are paying $16k in property taxes? Acreage? Significant square footage? Waterfront?
    - tomcam 4y ago
      House on 1 acre. Not waterfront.
Melting_Harps 4y ago
> A couple weeks ago here on HN there was an article about how for every one high paying tech worker there is a network effect of jobs created around them. Would seem like that's the angle being played here, but given the "requirements" it really isn't clear that these programs will have a meaning impact. The reality is less opportune, and you need only look at what has happened in Portugal and how the locals haven't had much of a benefit whereas, the investor-real estate holding class have benefited immensely. Rising rents and gentrification have not yielded much for the locals, whose local businesses are less frequented than anticipated. It's a paradox, because one could argue that their are less measurable metrics: culture exchange, integration etc... but it's the crux of this program or any other DN project. It's about bringing in some much needed capital from high net-worth workers into the country to offset dwindling population and a lower tax base.