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Italy Is Paying You Up To $33K To Relocate To Its Stunning Towns
By Ell Ko, 12 Jul 2021
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Located in the south of Italy, Calabria is planning to offer up to €28,000 (US$33,000) to those who are willing to brave change and move to a quiet town or village in the region.
An application is to be made by those who are no older than 40 years old, and who are prepared to relocate within 90 days of their acceptance. They are then eligible to receive funding from anywhere between €800—€1,000 (US$950—US$1,186) each month for two to three years, or one-time funding to help launch a new business or activity . These could include a bed and breakfast, restaurant, bar, rural farm, or a store, among others.
Gianluca Gallo, a regional councilor, tells CNN, “We want to make demand for jobs meet supply; that’s why we’ve asked villages to tell us what type of professionals they’re missing to attract specific workers.”
This project is called the ‘Active Residency Income’, and hopes to “breathe new life” into the communities in these sleepy areas. An upwards of 75% of towns in Calabria currently have less than 5,000 residents, so some communities run the risk of disappearing completely in a few years’ time.
Towns that are already part of the project and wish to reverse the effects of a declining population include Bova, Caccuri, Samo and Precacore, and Sant’Agata del Bianco, among many others. They join a growing number of Italian vicinities hoping to increase their populations with homes that cost close to nothing.
“Hopefully, if this first scheme works, more are likely to follow in coming years,” Gallo adds. So if you can’t make it for this round of the applications, fret not—perhaps the next could be your chance, with the potential expansion of this scheme.
[via CNN, cover image via Shutterstock]
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