These Italian Villages Will Pay You $33,000 to Move In
You *just* have to move across the globe and start your own small business.
If you haven't already quit your job and ditched your responsibilities for a $1 house in Italy, or taken advantage of the free vacays some Italian villages are dishing out, now's your chance. Some villages are stepping up their game by offering travelers $33,000 (€28,000).
Nope, that isn't a typo. According to CNN, the Italian region of Calabria is giving away serious cash to folks willing to uproot their lives and move there, offering to pay the money over a maximum of three years. The towns in question, which reportedly all have just 2,000 inhabitants following a population decline, are looking to liven up their sleepy villages, which are located both by the ocean and in the mountains. That's where you come in.
To get the money, there are a few stipulations—beyond the commitment of picking up your life and moving to a small Italian village. New residents must also start up a small business. So, you know, this isn't just an all-expenses-paid vacation. New residents must also be younger than 40, and willing to relocate within 90 days of their application being approved.
"We're honing the technical details, the exact monthly amount and duration of the funds, and whether to include also slightly larger villages with up to 3,000 residents," regional councilor Gianluca Gallo told CNN. "We've had so far a huge interest from villages and hopefully, if this first scheme works, more are likely to follow in coming years."
And while it might sound like a lot more work than those one euro houses, the mayor of Altomonte Gianpietro Coppola explains that this on purpose—the program aims to revitalize the communities in more ways than just filling up homes.
"We want this to be an experiment of social inclusion. Draw people to live in the region, enjoy the settings, spruce up unused town locations such as conference halls and convents with high-speed internet. Uncertain tourism and the one euro houses are not the best ways to revamp Italy's south," Coppola told the outlet.
Many villages across the Calabria region are taking part in this initative—just head over to their site directly to explore your options, and submit an application if your'e feeling spontaneous enough to move halfway across the world!