Several countries are offering rural relocation incentives as the Covid-19 pandemic has made remote working more possible, the World Economic Forum reports.
However, other countries such as Portugal, Ireland and Australia are now offering similar incentives to get people to move out of the hustle and bustle of the city, and bring their business and money to the countryside.Workers moving to rural areas can apply for up to €4,827 funding. In most Portuguese villages, this would be enough to cover the annual rent on a small house, says the Financial Times. Applicants need to stay for at least a year.
The offer included a house for a “symbolic rent” and a non-repayable grant of up to €20,000 for an entrepreneurial start-up. . Its schemes include the New Remote Worker Grant, for workers working remotely for an employer from a home office or co-working space in Vermont.. Other places that have offered cash incentives to relocate there include Spain, Greece, Switzerland and Croatia.While South Africa does not currently have any formal paid incentive schemes to get people to move to the countryside, government is working on a new ‘remote working visa’ which will encourage more people to work remotely from the country.