More Scenic Towns Are Giving People Free Money to Move There

With a housing shortage and prices that are only now starting to stabilize after years of unfettered growth, many people are looking for nonstandard solutions to housing.

Many states are loosening the laws for tiny homes and accessory dwelling units while one cruise company recently advertised that spending a year sailing the world would cost less than renting a one-bedroom apartment in LA or New York City.

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Another popular solution has, increasingly, been to move to tap into the grants offered by various "land development" programs. Often launched by rural places with dropping populations, they offer different types of financial incentives to newcomers willing to come and invest in local economies.

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This type of program has become particularly popular amid the rise of remote work — in the last year, states including Vermont, Kansas, West Virginia and Oklahoma have all offered financial incentives for incoming residents.

Outside the U.S., the Italian town of Maenza has been giving away homes for €1 to residents willing to renovate them since at least 2011, while Scotland's Isle of Skye has been seeing a steady stream of newcomers from all over the world after launching a similar financial incentive.

The Republic of Ireland became the latest country to launch a similar program for luring in new residents. As part of the development plan for more than two dozen remote islands off the country's coast, the Irish government is offering those who come to settle there grants of up to 84,000 Euros (approximately $91,920 USD).

These include Coney Island, Dursey and Bere as well as the three isles making up the Aran Islands — the green hills and rocky shores of Inis More were recently popularized by the 2022 film "Banshees of Inisherin."

The total amount one will get depend on the island one picks as well as what one plans to do there — the highest grants will go toward those committing to renovating a local property in a state of strong decay.

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This Is What You're Getting Into When You Buy an Old House Far Away

For Americans and anyone else who comes from a country outside the European Union, immigration issues are the biggest roadblock preventing someone from moving there on a whim — although Ireland has a special "investor visa" for those interested in putting money into the country.

Other factors to consider include just how much of a lifetime change moving to such a place requires (to be eligible for the grants, one needs to spend at least several years living there). While some who move to remote places are able to achieve their lifelong dream of "being with themselves," many others eventually find living so far away from a larger city alienating as well as underestimating the costs that constantly need to pour in to keep an older property in livable condition.

"Island communities generally have a higher than average age profile, as many young adults leave the islands to avail of further education or employment opportunities elsewhere," the Irish government's plan reads.

Those interested in the grant also need to purchase the house and prove that they are owners later — the application form asks for proof that one indeed owns the home for which one is seeking funding.

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