When my wife Karla and I decided to leave our old life behind and move to Playa del Carmen, none of this existed. No programs. No grants. No cities throwing cash at us to show up. We figured it out the hard way, on our own terms, and we’d do it all over again in a heartbeat.

But if these options had been on the table back then? We would have sprinted.

Cities and countries are now literally competing for remote workers and entrepreneurs. We’re not talking gift cards and a welcome basket. We’re talking $10,000 cash. $20,000 toward a home. Monthly stipends for three years. A free bike. In some cases, up to six figures just to show up and live there.

Here’s what’s actually on the table right now.

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United States

Cumberland, Maryland – Up to $20,000

This is one of the biggest packages in the US right now. You get $10,000 in relocation cash upfront, plus a dollar-for-dollar match of up to $10,000 for home renovations or a down payment on a new build. It’s located in the Appalachian Mountains about 130 miles from Washington D.C., which means you get outdoor access and proximity to a major metro without paying major metro prices.

The catch: you have to buy a home (minimum $150K) and commit to living there for five years. If you leave early, you pay it back. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.

Best for: Remote workers who want to buy a home, get out of a high cost-of-living city, and plant real roots somewhere.

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Noblesville, Indiana – Up to $15,000

This one stacks up nicely. You get cash plus a $500 health and wellness stipend, coworking membership, restaurant gift cards, concert access, golf passes, museum membership, and Chamber of Commerce access. For the golfer or the person who just wants a full life in an affordable city, this package has real everyday value.

You need to earn $80K+, be a US citizen currently living outside Indiana, and commit to moving your primary residence within six months.

We have family in Indiana. Honestly? The family angle alone makes a place like this worth a second look before you write it off.

Best for: Remote workers with roots in the Midwest, or anyone who wants the full package beyond just the cash.

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Topeka, Kansas – Up to $15,000

Up to $15,000 if you buy, $5,000 if you rent. The cost of living index here sits around 80, meaning you’re living well below the national average. That’s not a small thing. The cash incentive is the headline but the real math is what your salary actually buys you here versus where you’re living now.

Best for: Budget-conscious remote workers who want to maximize purchasing power fast.

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West Virginia (Ascend WV) – Up to $12,000

Twelve thousand dollars cash plus a full year of free outdoor recreation. Hiking, skiing, kayaking. If you’re the type of person who chose remote work partly to have a life outside of work, this one was built for you.

Best for: Outdoor-first remote workers who want mountains without the mountain town price tag.

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Tulsa, Oklahoma (Tulsa Remote) – $10,000

This is the one that started it all. Tulsa Remote launched in 2018, well before this was a trend, and it’s the most proven program on this list. Flat $10,000 grant, coworking access, networking events, and a community of over 3,400 remote workers who’ve already made the move. The program has generated over $600 million in local economic impact and has a 95% retention rate. People move there and stay.

Best for: Anyone who wants to move to a proven remote worker community with built-in social infrastructure.

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Muskegon and Jackson, Michigan – Up to $25,000

One of the largest packages anywhere in the US. The focus is on down payment assistance, making this a serious homebuyer play. Great Lakes access, rebounding from decades of Rust Belt decline, and a genuinely low cost base. Michigan has multiple programs running across the state targeting both remote workers and entrepreneurs.

Best for: Remote workers ready to buy a home and want the most financial leverage possible.

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Northwest Arkansas / Bentonville – $10,000 + a bike

Worth mentioning even though the formal program has ended, because it set the template and the region is still one of the best-kept secrets in the US for remote workers. Home of Crystal Bridges Museum, 162 miles of paved trails, 332 miles of mountain biking, and a surprisingly vibrant food and arts scene. The program received over 66,000 applications from 115 countries when it launched. That tells you everything about the demand.

Best for: Cyclists, outdoor enthusiasts, and people who want a creative community without a coastal price tag.

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Also Worth Knowing About

Vermont reimburses up to $7,500 in relocation costs. Iowa offers free land plus cash in rural western towns. Kentucky has over ten different programs with packages up to $8,800. Wisconsin allocated $5 million in its 2025 budget for talent attraction programs. The options keep growing.

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International

Italy – The Options Are Stacking Up

You’ve probably seen the YouTube videos about €1 homes in Sicily. Italy has been running variations of this playbook for years, and the programs have only gotten more generous.

Calabria — Up to €28,000 (~$30K) Nine villages with under 2,000 residents offering monthly stipends of up to €1,000 for two to three years. You have to be under 40, relocate within 90 days of approval, and start or run a small business in the community. Seaside and mountain villages. Stunning location at the tip of Italy’s boot.

Molise — Up to €27,000 (~$29K) €700 a month for three years to move to a village under 2,000 people and open any kind of small business. No age restriction unlike Calabria. Medieval fortresses, olive groves, green pastures. One of Italy’s most untouched regions.

Tuscany Mountain Villages — Up to €30,000 (~$32K) Grants for relocating to mountain towns under 5,000 people. Funds go toward buying or renting. Multiple programs running simultaneously across the region.

Trentino — Up to €100,000

Yes. Six figures. Up to €80,000 for purchasing and renovating a property plus a €20,000 bonus for settling outside historic centers. Located in the Dolomites in northern Italy. Targeted at under-45s. This one is in a category of its own.

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Portugal – Digital Nomad Visa + Relocation Grants + Tax Breaks

Portugal might be the most complete remote worker destination on this entire list. The country has been actively building for this audience for years and it shows.

Relocation grants of up to €4,800 for moving to rural and inland areas. A Digital Nomad Visa that’s still active and relatively straightforward to obtain. The Non-Habitual Residency tax program that offers significant savings for qualifying foreign income. And a cost of living, a culture, and a food scene that make it genuinely hard to leave.

Lisbon gets all the attention but the interior of the country is where the real value is. The programs are incentivizing people to move there specifically, and for good reason.

Best for: Remote workers who want Europe, warm weather, world-famous wine, and a government that’s actually trying to attract them.

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Greece – 50% Tax Break + Housing Subsidies

Greece’s Digital Nomad Visa comes with a 50% income tax reduction for the first seven years. Seven years. Plus housing subsidies in specific towns and a minimum income requirement of around €3,500 a month. Mediterranean lifestyle, low cost of living outside of Athens, and a culture that has been perfecting the art of enjoying life for a few thousand years.

Best for: Higher earners who want to dramatically reduce their tax burden while living somewhere most people only visit on vacation.

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Also Worth Knowing About Internationally

Cabo Verde exempts remote workers from income tax entirely. Thailand offers a 10-year Long-Term Resident visa with significant tax incentives for professionals and investors. Portugal’s D7 visa has become one of the simplest routes to EU permanent residency after five years if that’s on your radar.

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The Real Math Nobody’s Talking About

The cash incentive is the headline. But that’s not actually the point.

Stack the grant on top of a cost of living that’s 20 to 40 percent lower than where most remote workers currently live, and you’re looking at a lifestyle upgrade that pays for itself inside of a year. Your salary doesn’t change. What it buys you does. Dramatically.

The cities get tax base and new energy. You get a soft financial landing, more space, a better daily life, and in some cases a check on arrival.

So What’s the Excuse?

I spent years at Amazon. I genuinely loved the work and the scale of what I was part of. But I hated being an employee. Being a number. Locked to one location. Only free on weekends, and even then the trails were packed with a million other people doing the exact same thing on the exact same two days they were allowed to have a life.

I felt trapped. Like there was no escape route.

Here’s what’s different now. You can build a business faster than ever. AI means you don’t have to hire a full team on day one. Outsourcing is more accessible and affordable than it’s ever been. And now cities and countries are literally paying you to show up and live there, in a lower cost of living, with a better quality of life.

What are we doing? The excuses are running out.

My wife Karla and I made our move to Playa del Carmen before any of this existed, figuring it out entirely on our own. You’ve got a much better runway than we did. If you want to talk through what making a move like this actually looks like in practice, reach out to us directly. We’re happy to share what we know.

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* Alex Booth is the co-founder of Rich & Remote and the owner of GetCSM and Huckleberry Consulting. He lives and works remotely from Playa del Carmen, Mexico.*