Many people want to change their place of residence. However, it is difficult: the question arises of knowledge of the language, mentality and traditions, selection of housing, and, of course, costs. SMAPSE can probably help some of you - SMAPSE specialists have compiled a selection of countries and regions in which the authorities pay residents. Yes, this is not a joke: move and get paid
Italy, Molise region
The Italian National Institute of Statistics has calculated that the Molise region has a record decline in the number of inhabitants:
- For 5 years the population decreased by 9000 people
- In 2018, the decline was 2,800 people
- In 9 cities of the region, not a single baby was born during this entire period
- Today the population of the entire region reaches 305,000 people.
All this spurred the authorities to take radical measures: the Molise administration is ready to pay anyone (Italian or foreign) who moved here 700 € a month for 3 years. True, it cannot do without conditions:
- The selected settlement must have no more than 2000 inhabitants
- You have to start your own business, but the industry is not limited by any boundaries.
Donato Toma, head of the Molise region, aims to increase the population, breathe life into deserted cities and attract investment - this will help to re-launch infrastructure, industry, trade and the social sector. Each town with less than 2,000 residents will receive a subsidy of 10,000 € every month.
By the way, in Italy the problem of population decline is, alas, a fairly widespread problem. While tourists are looking forward to their flights to wonderful Italy, many citizens of the country (especially young ones) leave for other countries in search of a better life. In the south of Sicily, in Mussomeli, empty houses were sold literally for a song - for a 1 $ or 2 $ (if you were ready to make good repairs within a year). In the north-west of Italy (Bormida) in 2017, only 394 people lived, so all Italians were offered to move here for a subsidy of 2,000 €, and foreign people were rented out housing for 12-15 € per week, which is practically free for Italy.
USA: relocation from megacities to rural areas
Over the past 100 years, the picture of the population in the United States has changed significantly: at the beginning of the 20th century, almost 50% of citizens lived in rural areas, but from 2010 to 2017, 81 and 87.5% of citizens became city dwellers, respectively: young people (and not only) strove to megalopolises, and the gap between the city and agglomerations, villages and hamlets became critical. That is why “population resettlement” programs are very common here - having left the big city, you can cancel the loan for your studies, get a house and land for free and very, very cheaply.
- New York State, Niagara Falls (as the name implies, in the North of America, near Niagara Falls) invites university graduates. "Work with us for 2 years, and this time we will pay off your loans for education" - says the appeal (7,000 $).
- The state of Minnesota, the city of Harmony, gives everyone 5,000-12,000 $ to compensate for the costs of moving, buying or building a house - no matter how old you are, what nationality you are and how much you earn.
- State of Connecticut, city of New Haven. By moving here, you will receive up to 80,000 $ for the purchase or rental of housing + an interest-free loan for 5 years (and even 20% of its size will be written off every year). Such a loan can be paid as an advance for the purchase of a house (10,000 $), spent on fashionable energy-efficient renovations (30,000 $), pay for college tuition if you are an excellent student and study in high school (10,000 $ per year for 4 years). And civil servants, military, firefighters and teachers can increase their loans by another 2,500 $ on the same conditions.
USA: homeless resettlement program
In New York alone, according to The Guardian-2017, there will be 500,000 homeless people. The US administration is actively fighting this, but in very loyal ways - they send homeless people to their home cities and countries (including immigrants). True, it is forbidden to return them in the event of such a "deportation". The authorities pay for tickets for buses, trains, planes, asking friends and relatives at the destination if they are ready to accept the wanderers. Many former homeless people, finding themselves on the street by coincidence of sad circumstances, but not dropping down, say afterwards that this program became an opportunity for them to return to normal life: friends and relatives gave temporary shelter, helped with documents and temporary work, and the person became an ordinary full-fledged person - a member of society without a shameful label.
Japan, Mishima settlement
3 small Japanese islands, 400 people (mostly retired) - and critically few young people. “Are you under 55? Come to Mishima and we will give you a cow! " - proclaim the local authorities, and this is not a joke! New arrivals are paid a one-time 900 $, for 3 years - 760 $ (single) or 896 $ (family) + 90 $ for each child. The promised cow can be "exchanged" for 4,500 $, and as a pleasant bonus, take part in the dating and matchmaking program - the authorities even help single individuals arrange their personal lives. If you are under 55 years old, hardworking and respect traditional family values - think about it: maybe it's time to learn Japanese and choose your cow?
New Zealand, Kaitangata
The campaign to attract the population to Kaitangatu began in 2016 with the filing of Mayor Brian Cadogan: 800 people seemed to him not enough to cover all the infrastructure and work needs of the city. There was a lot of good housing and land for construction, there were not enough hands on dairy farms and a factory for frozen semi-finished products.
Almost immediately, about 9,000 applications were submitted for the program - of course, because the authorities promised as much as 160,000 $ for the move! However, it turned out that no one would give money to all greedy travelers on suitcases just like that - this amount could be spent on a house with a land plot. However, on the whole, the idea turned out to be quite successful: in spite of the fact that the program had to be completed only for 2 years, many of those who moved here stayed to live and work, opened their own business, and eventually found happiness.
