The City of Indiana Offers New Residents a Substitute “Grandparents”

Greensburg, Indiana (AP) — A rural city in southeastern Indiana, after a substitute “grandparent” provided a child to a babysitter as part of an incentive program aimed at attracting remote workers. It has intrigued hundreds of families considering moving there. ..

Local couples, Tami and Dan Wenning, volunteered to serve as grandparents for the children of the first five families who agreed to move to Greensburg under the program. As more new residents move, other grandparents in the community are “ready” to intervene and help, Tami Wenning said.

Located 50 miles (80.47 km) southeast of Indianapolis, Greensburg will offer free babysitter services for the next 6-12 months as part of a program called “Grandparents on Demand.” Children are also guaranteed to bury grandma and grandpa on school grandparents day. This is a perk for those who travel far away from their families.

Evan Hock, co-founder of Indianapolis-based MakeMyMove, said more than 1,000 applications were deployed in just two weeks after the initiative began. Hock said his unique incentives have “significantly contributed” to the influx of interest, and studies are currently underway to expand the Greensburg program according to housing availability.

57-year-old Tami Wenning volunteered for an incentive program through her work as a board member of the Decatur County Community Foundation, saying she and her husband “absolutely love” to serve as grandparents for their children already. Said. They have also provided homes to more than 12 international students in recent years.

“I’ve lived here for the rest of my life. I’m excited to share what we have with people who want it because what we have is special,” she said. .. “We’re a great place for someone to raise a family. I can’t imagine being away and without a network of people who can rely on someone in a pinch. On.”

Five spots in Greensburg are expected to fill in the next 30 days, according to Hock, and new residents will help move into the city in the next few months.

The transfer package includes $ 5,000 in cash, an invitation to home cooking at a neighborhood home, a one-year membership in a local co-working space and YMCA, a free gift card to a seasonal farmer’s market, and local play. House.

The Remote Worker Relocation Package is designed to recruit new residents to the city as the transition to permanent remote work accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic progresses. This campaign is part of a national trend for workers to move to smaller communities at a more affordable cost of living.

According to Hock, 70% of applicants for the Greensburg program are remote workers, with “national” interest, including Texas, California and New York.

“I think our desire has grown much in the sense of a holy cow. All these people want to move. Now we really want to move, and for the right reason. I’m thinking about how to find the people I’m thinking of, “Hock said. “We want to find people who support economic diversification, have remote jobs they can bring, and plan to stay in the community for the long term.”

Located between Indianapolis and Cincinnati, Greensburg is home to approximately 13,000 Indiana residents. There are dozens of storefronts in the downtown square. The tree growing from the clock tower of Decatur County Hall gave Greensburg the nickname “Tree City”.

“Our goal is to make them feel welcome when they come here. We integrate them into the community in a way that makes them feel like they’re here for a long time. I hope it will be done, “said Joshua Marsh, Mayor of Greensburg. “We are trying to create an instant community for them when they arrive and make sure they succeed here.”

Twelve other Indiana communities also offer incentive programs to attract educated and higher-paying “knowledge workers,” Hock said.

This includes Daviess and Greene counties in southern Indiana. This gives residents $ 5,000 to travel within rural communities. Both college towns Bloomington and West Lafayette also offer college resources such as coworking spaces and networking opportunities to unlock new talent.

MakeMyMove has identified more than 40 other communities outside of Indiana. Many are small or rural and offer similar relocation incentives.

Augusta, Maine; Newton, Iowa; Morgantown, West Virginia offers $ 12,000 to $ 20,000. Rutherford County, Tennessee, home of Middle Tennessee State University, will repay a $ 10,000 student loan. Stillwater, Oklahoma, combines financial incentives with a year of free coffee and a month of free martial arts classes in exchange for a worker’s move.

Hock is fueled by a pandemic from metropolitan areas to places like Greensburg, given the freedom that millions of workers bring from new lifestyles and working from home. He said the outflow of remote workers was a “permanent trend.”

“This is a new tool they have, and they probably haven’t or considered it before,” Hock said.

The City of Indiana Offers New Residents a Substitute “Grandparents”

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