Meet The People Getting Paid $10,000 For Moving To West Virginia

- Dolly Sods Wilderness encompasses over 17,000 acres of land within the Monongahela National Forest. A prime location for an extended hiking trip. Elevations range from 2,500 - 4,700 ft above sea level making it a great place for vistas. Encounter a famous WVa landmark; Lion’s Head Rock.https://wvtourism.com/things-to-do/outdoor-adventures/hiking/
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- Washington Post, Oct. 14, 2021. - Ed.

A remote-work program hopes people come for a year and stay forever.

“Try before you buy” is a classic sales maneuver.. And West Virginia wants you to come live in the Mountain State and see if you want to stay forever. That’s the mission of Ascend West Virginia, a program that pays full-time remote workers $10,000 to move to the state. They will also get $2,500 worth of outdoor recreation experiences and access to a co-working space, and other perks. If they stay a second year, they get $2,000 more. - Move here, get paid: Small communities use incentives to beckon workers. - When WVa.'s program was announced in April, about 7,500 people from 74 countries applied to move to Morgantown, which is home to West Virginia University.



- New River Gorge National River.


According to the Ascend website, the city has 1,400 climbing routes, 200 mountain-bike trails, 100 paddling runs and access to seven different ski areas. 50 people were chosen, and about 10 have made the move, including Samantha Fagan, a web designer and WordPress developer who was living in Berlin when she applied. Fagan is used to the digital-nomad lifestyle. She has done programs for weeks at a time with Hacker Paradise in South America. During her year dedicated to traveling the world, she moved to Berlin on a freelance-artist visa while spending a year on the road. Then the pandemic hit.

“I’ve always gravitated towards big cities,” Fagan said. “And then after being trapped in the city essentially for a year & a half because of the pandemic, I decided that the last thing I ever want is to be trapped in another city.”

Fagan found the financial incentive and the social elements appealing. After living in a handful of places & travelling alone, she knew that with potentially 50 strangers moving with her, there would be people in the same position, friends. Program organizers & the WVa. tourism assn. think life in the state will sell itself once program participants get there. Brad Smith, a native who donated $25 million to fund Ascend WVa. & the university’s Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, said he believes the state has been challenged by a negative reputation for years, hindering it from becoming a major tourism destination or home for remote workers.

"Many people’s perception of WVa. has been shaped by thinking of coal mines or thinking of reality TV shows where you have people that are just not representative at all of WVa.” said Smith, who is the executive chairman of Intuit.

Instead, he wants WVa. to be known for being 16% cheaper than the national average of cost of living, or for its natural attractions. The outdoor beauty caught the eye of Chicago's Quintina Mengyan who read an article about Ascend WV. The program requirements seemed attainable, so she applied, hoping to swap her fast-paced lifestyle with one that has opportunities to go whitewater rafting & camping.
.. Programs such as Ascend are not unique to WVa.. With rent prices climbing again as people return to cities, several states & cities across the country are hoping to attract a new generation of remote workers with incentives & cheaper costs of living.

Tulsa Remote was a pioneer in the concept, offering remote workers & entrepreneurs $10,000 to move there for a year. More opportunities exist in Alabama, Michigan, Vermont & Arkansas, where they’ll even throw in a bicycle...

-Read More, https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2021/10/14/west-virginia-ascend-remote-work/
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- West Virginia Dept. of Tourism,
https://wvtourism.com/fall-map/



- Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.