State’s ‘easy to navigate’ city offers workers $15,000 to move there and get a taste of the ‘nice Midwest’

A CITY with easy navigation and a vibrant local arts scene is offering workers up to $15,000 to move there.

The Midwestern paradise is one of several US cities announcing cash incentives to boost their working population.

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Since 2019, Choose Topeka has offered a relocation incentive to anyone interested in moving to Topeka, the capital of Kansas.

More than 6,000 people have signed up for the program and so far, 150 have received payment provided through employer matching funding.

Anyone who receives the incentive must remain in the city for at least a year, but nearly 95% of recipients have decided to stay for the foreseeable future, according to Robert Ross, Go Topeka’s senior vice president of marketing and communications.

“People love how accessible and friendly our community is,” he said CNN.

“With about 175,000 residents in Topeka, the city is very easy to navigate and recipients quickly learn that ‘Midwestern pleasant’ is a way of life here.”

Choose Topeka is offering the opportunity to remote workers, transitioning veterans or people who recently left the military.

Native Topeka residents who left the city can earn up to $5,000 if they return to a job that pays at least $50,000.

“Topeka is small enough to be shaped by big dreams, but big enough to have everything you need for a dream life,” says the Choose Topeka website.

“This exciting program partners with Shawnee County employers to select talented professionals like you to relocate to Topeka and the Shawnee County community.”

Topeka residents are known for scoring high on emotional well-being surveys.

The city is also more affordable than cities like Chicago, Denver and Houston and the cost of living is cheaper than the national average, according to real estate website Movoto.

There is a strong religious history in Topeka and many consider it the birthplace of Christian Pentecostalism.

Sports fans can stop by Landon Arena to watch the city’s Tier II Junior A ice hockey team, the Kansas Koyotes.

And Kansas City, Missouri, is just an hour away for any NFL fan looking to catch a Chiefs game.

OTHER INCENTIVES FOR CHANGE

Topeka isn’t the only city offering free money to people who want to move.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, remote workers and entrepreneurs can earn up to $10,000 if they are chosen for the Tulsa Remote program.

Since 2018, 2,900 people have been accepted and are still accepting applications.

“We also saw a strong multiplier effect of friends and family joining members in Tulsa, with the city gaining three residents for every two participants in the Tulsa Remote program,” said Justin Harlan, managing director of Tulsa Remote.

Ascend West Virginia is another program that offers payments to those looking to move to the Appalachian state.

Remote workers can earn up to $12,000 if accepted into the program.

And many more moving incentives can be found on the recruitment website Make my move.