Meet the people getting paid $10,000 for moving to West Virginia

[brooklynite]

Washington Post

“Try before you buy” is a classic sales maneuver: Car dealerships want you to test drive. Costco wants you to sample. Clothing stores want you to hit the dressing room. 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, along with other perks. If they stay a second year, they get $2,000 more.

When West Virginia’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. 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

In the end, 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.

[TheRealNorth]

1. The irony of it

In one of the poorest states, they are giving people of means even more money to move there.

[Aviation Pro]

2. So, even with bribes

Very few want to move to that shithole state.

[48656c6c6f20]

9. Is that comparable to your shithole state?

[2naSalit]

14. Which states are making such offers?

Other than a state with bad water and lots of coal dust and pollution and no real political power even if the voters vote is offering a reward for moving there?

[48656c6c6f20]

20. I don't know

I was asking the other person. Are you also from a shithole state?

[2naSalit]

21. I live in a state...

A natural treasure that is and has been for a couple decades becoming a major shithole thanks to tourism and greed.

[48656c6c6f20]

22. Good for you

I lived in West Virginia for many years. Had great water, no coal dust and the only pollution we got was from the populated cities when the winds were right. Even had a few hundred thousand die hard democrats and considerable amount of union families. I don't think it's a shithole state. I think it's a state that has lost its way. It's salvageable but not from calling it a shithole state.

[2naSalit]

24. Montana deserves all the flack it gets.

And it's rapidly becoming a shithole due to political cheating and too many billionaires and millionaires ruing it for the rest of us who have been here for it's natural beauty and wild nature.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

37. West Virgina is gorgeous in the area I visited.

[msfiddlestix]

30. i read a while back Ohio was offering $, I feel like the $ amt was higher than WV

I don't recall the dollar amount, but I do recall it was in the past year, a few months back.

Had a conversation with my daughter about it.

But that was a very short conversation.

[2naSalit]

31. Wasn't it Cleveland or...

Somewhere near there?

[msfiddlestix]

32. Wait. I think a particular region was actually mentioned, but not Cleveland, I don't think.

I'm pretty sure I'd remember Cleveland cuz of a personal connection.

But now you tickled my memory a little bit, and I do think it was a region not as populated.

but hell, obviously I didn't commit to memory., which is a challenge enough these for me!

[2naSalit]

33. I know which one you're thinking of...

I think I read it here in the past week or so. Could have been longer ago, but I remember seeing it. And that's all I can remember.

[msfiddlestix]

34. gotta have a good old fashion belly laugh...every now and again

[Mary in S. Carolina]

3. Entrepreneurs literally

1. Built a town called Las Vegas for tourist to gamble
2. Built a town called Cancun for tourist to go for sun and fun
3. Built a town called Hilton Head and Myrtle Beach for tourist to golf

And one of the naturally prettiest states in the union can't get enough tourists to visit for outdoor activities, where is the push for tourism?

[2naSalit]

15. Tourism isn't all it's cracked up to be...

In fact, it's quickly becoming a major detriment to the places supposedly being celebrated. Tourism is out of control and if that isn't tamped down a lot, we will have invited the world to come trash our most vulnerable ecosystems as is happening in the west right now. Careful what you wish for.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

36. Yes popular tourist attractions are getting over run,

I suggested junkets from key cities, not all the cities and there is plenty of space to stretch out in Virginia, it does not have a huge attraction such as Zion or Yellowstone. It would be a great place for rock climbing, leasure trails, whitewater rafting, etc.

Anything is better than coal.

[OhZone]

4. Youd have to pay me a lot more than that!

[2naSalit]

16. Same here...

Along with a guarantee of a lifetime supply of clean, fresh water which I think is in very short supply in that state.

[cinematicdiversions]

5. West Virginia is a beautiful state with wonderful people

But it does not have a Costco... even Mississippi has a Costco.

Can't see myself moving to a state without a Costco.

[BlackSkimmer]

6. Lol, I've actually never even stepped foot inside a Costco.

[Wingus Dingus]

7. Me neither. I don't live near one.

Buying shit in bulk is low on my list of must-haves.

[cilla4progress]

8. It's not all bulk!

They have outdoor wear at outrageously low prices.

Booze - wine. Tires, travel, appliances, electronics, pharmacy, optical, pet food and supplies. Their co-founder, Jim Sinegal, spoke at the 2012 Dem convention and they pay their employees decent wages and benefits!

Great customer service, too!

[Wingus Dingus]

11. I'm sure it's great, I have heard good things--but again, I don't live near one.

It wouldn't be a factor for me, in where I'm planning to move to, as long as they have the usual necessary box stores nearby. It's funny though, I guess we all have our must-haves--you know what WOULD make or break a place for me? Target. I have to have a Target. No Target, no move.

[cilla4progress]

13. Haha

All the above said - I shop local whenever I can. In fact, I go out of my way to!

[2naSalit]

17. That's why there isn't one in WV!

They pay their employees a living wage.

[mainer]

10. I wish I had a Costco near me.

I hear it sells great roast chickens and pre-made lasagna.

One of the downsides of living in a small town in a beautiful place.

[2naSalit]

19. The lasagne is good,

Avoid the rotisserie chicken, usually not well cooked and are super greasy. I got one once and it grossed me out, fed it to the pets.

[cinematicdiversions]

28. I always give the rotisserie chicken and extra ten to fifteen minutes ion the taster oven.

It is great for chicken salad and sandwiches, but I agree it can be a greasy mess when first brought home.

[Earth-shine]

35. The quality of the cooked birds varies from Costco to Costco ...

and within a single store, it can vary based on the day, and perhaps by the hour.

The Costco nearest me never has good ones on the weekends, but during the week, I can get lucky.

The next Costco over does have good ones on weekends.

Sometimes, the chickens are so good. But, usually, I have to do some recooking.

Can't beat the price for it.

[Patterson]

40. As I call the ones at Walmart: 7/8 done.

[OhZone]

25. The beauty of NJ is that (despite some industrial areas near NYC) -

We HAVE Costcos, BJ's, and lots of great shopping, down south we have rural areas and farms - actually we have some not far from me, near Seaside too! We have some little mountains up in the corner of the state for skiing, and we are near NYC and Philly for shopping and shows and city stuff.

AND Beaches!

We have some great beaches! And fun boardwalks.

And lots more.

[DFW]

12. Not that they would want me, but.........

I wouldn't move to West Virginia for $10,000. I wouldn't move there if they added one zero, two zeroes, or three zeroes. Or thirty.

Diminishing the quality of my life is something that is not for sale, not for all the gold in Fort Knox.

[NightWatcher]

18. Offer me 100,000 and I'd still choose to stay in FLORIDUH

[Elessar Zappa]

23. It's a beautiful state but

I couldn’t live there due to the horrible politics.

[FakeNoose]

26. These immigrants will probably vote BLUE when they get the chance

Just sayin'

[roamer65]

27. Fuck that.

No thanks.

[Aristus]

29. It's a nice start.

But maybe West Virginia could put some of that effort into becoming the kind of state where people want to live.

I mean, you already know what your problems are, and that's half the battle. You are a sucktastic hellhole of stupidity, ignorance, provincialism, narrow-mindedness, stifling insularity, xenophobia, homophobia, and if all that weren't bad enough, crammed border-to-border with people who cheerfully, mindlessly vote against their own best interests, and then can't understand why their home has turned into a smoldering slag heap.

[Mary in S. Carolina]

38. Americans owe West Virginians are gratitude

Have you been to West Virginia? Do you know people from West Virginia?

Do we need to insult every group that is not like us? They are poor and coal is all they know.

By the way, they have voted for a Democrat Senator for years and split with Virginia to fight with the Union Army. In addition, the Apalachin soldiers fought so brutally that we won the Revolutionary War. The Apalachin soldiers were immigrants from Scottland and Ireland and had fought England for years in the "Mother Land", so they knew how to fight and win against England. Feel free to correct my understanding of history - I was not a history major.

In Summary:

They were smart enough to elect a Democrat, they were smart enough to split from Virginia during the Civil War, they were smart enough to kick the a** out of England during the Revolutionary War. We actually owe a lot to West Virginia and West Virginians should be proud of their heritage and contribution to America.

[TxGuitar]

39. They're probably spending the money on drugs

And hunting