This rural area is paying people $16,000 to move there to work remotely in a beautiful location

A rural region in Spain is paying remote workers $16,000 to relocate and conduct business in a green valley just under three hours from Madrid.

And it’s not the only country offering workers and entrepreneurs money to move – the list of countries looking for “digital nomads” is growing.

Last month, the Regional Government of Extremadura, an autonomous community located in the central-western Iberian Peninsula, announced its new “Live in Ambroz” program, designed to attract remote workers by offering about $16,620 in grants if they commit to live and work there. for at least two years.

“This phenomenon will change where people live and it will change the spatial distribution of talent,” Prithwiraj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School in Boston, told Fox News Digital.

Choudhury has studied innovation, remote work and the concept of “working from anywhere” for more than a decade.

“Many economists thought that talent would all be concentrated in megacities and that megacities were the future of the world,” Choudhury said.

“I think that is changing to some extent now. So, of course, megacities will remain important, but some people will live in communities outside of cities, especially if they can work remotely. There will be a diverse range of places for talent to be found.”

People with that talent—plus the ability to work remotely and the desire to see the world—are called digital nomads.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, they have created a kind of symbiotic relationship with countries around the world, trading the consumption of goods and services for a lower cost of living in a new and often beautiful environment.

Surrounded by mountains, the Ambrose Valley consists of lush green pasture lands, charming villages with various accommodations and local artisanal cuisine.

But its largest village, Hervas, has a population of only 3,907 and some municipalities have less than 200 inhabitants.

It is an issue known as “Empty Spain” that “Live in Ambroz” aims to combat.

The main objective is to prevent depopulation in rural areas and the Ambrose Valley is one of the areas that is suffering from a continuous loss of population and services, according to a press release from the Regional Government of Extremadura.

“The obvious benefits to the community are that when digital nomads come and spend time in that community, they spend consumption dollars,” Choudhury said.

“They go to restaurants, stay in hotels or [an] Airbnb. But I think the much bigger benefit could be facilitating connections between locals and nomads in a way that the community can gain knowledge and even entrepreneurial opportunities.”

Digital nomads are getting their fair share, be it financial or experiential, Choudhury added.

“Some people are just looking for a place to move to and live that is cheaper than where they are [currently] live,” he said.

“You can move to a cheaper place, and if you’re allowed to work remotely, then you can have the same income, but spend a lot less on housing and other things, and then you have more savings. “

Others are in it to see the world, he said.

“There are a lot of people who like to make connections in different communities, gain experiences, life experiences from different places,” Choudhury said.

“In terms of culture, you can create a portfolio of different connections and experiences.”

For Dave Williams, an entrepreneur from Atlanta, it’s a little bit of both, he said.

“It’s not that far to get here from the US, it’s a good time zone, the weather is great and it’s very affordable,” Williams told Fox News Digital about living in Portugal.

“But it’s also about this concept of geo-arbitrage, the idea is that you can take your wealth or your income and live in a place where it’s much less expensive. For example, health insurance policies can cost as little as $1,000 per year, while in the US they can be $1,000 per month. The cost of living is about half or less than half of the US.”

He and his wife moved to Portugal in 2017 and now run a business called NomadX, which works with local governments to build communities for remote workers while boosting economies.

Choudhury said that before the pandemic, there were only two countries, Estonia and Barbados, that offered specific visas for remote workers.

Since the pandemic, that number has grown to more than 60, which Choudhury highlighted in an article for the Harvard Business Review.

The Ambrose Valley program will award up to 200 digital nomad grants, which can be used for “available housing, arable land and everything needed to expedite their arrival,” according to the press release.

Candidates must first obtain Spain’s digital nomad visa and official residency before applying to the Live in Ambroz program.

Applications will go live this month and can be submitted online through Extremadura’s General Electronic Access Point.

A host of other countries, such as Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and Chile, offer financial incentives to workers looking to make a global move and even start a company.

“Chile has had a program for more than a decade called Start-Up Chile,” Choudhury said.

“It wasn’t announced as a digital nomad program because it’s much newer, but what Chile offered and still offers is a one-year visa for foreign entrepreneurs to come and start their companies there. Chile also offers $20,000 in equity-free equity to each of these foreign entrepreneurs.”

Choudhury pointed to Williams’ program in Madeira, Portugal, as one of the success stories.

“They’ve even created a digital nomad village,” Choudhury said.

“Increasing geographic mobility of remote workers is reshaping communities and leading to potential brain drain change in countries that may have lost talent for decades.”

Williams said the experience of being a digital nomad has been life-changing.

“When we moved here to Portugal — or any time I went through a life transition or a move — it really helped me innovate and break through to the next level,” Williams said.

“I think it’s easy to be comfortable and stay in the same place and live where your work is or live where your family is. While governments may not always be able to get along, it seems that people are generally able to get along with each other and are very supportive. It really gives you a lot of faith in humanity,” he added.