The latest offer from officials in Italy will have you packing your bags and moving to Molise.
That’s because leaders are paying people more than $27,000 to settle in one of its 106 underpopulated villages in an effort to prevent their communities from dying.
Molise is a beautiful and mountainous region that’s often overlooked by Rome. Those of you brave enough to take the offer will receive 700 euros a month for up to three years to help them settle atop the mountains, as reported in CNN Travel.
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As with all things that seem too good to be true, there is a catch. Taking the offer means that you commit to starting a small business to help stimulate the local economy.
“I want my region to undergo a renaissance and avoid its authentic villages turning into ghost towns,” Antonio Tedeschi, a regional councilor who came up with the idea, told CNN Travel.“We need to safeguard our roots.”
Officials are encouraging young people and couples with children to apply for the campaign, which is set to begin on Sept. 16.
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“The goal is to breathe new life and revamp the local economy,” Tedeschi added. “Newcomers are free to kick-start anything they please in order to get our financial support: a small inn, restaurant, bar, B&B, a tiny rural farm, artisan boutique, library or shop selling local gourmet excellences.”
Many smaller communities in Italy are losing younger people to bigger cities and towns for better economic opportunities.
More than 10,000 people have left the region in the past decade, bringing its 2018 population down to approximately 308,000 residents.
When the small town of Candela proposed a similar plan in 2017, the region saw a marginal increase in its population by nearly 80 residents, according to CNN.