I got paid $5,000 to move from Portland to a place I’d never heard of
When Brianna Beyrouti looks back on her former life in Portland, Oregon, she says she was financially "drowning".
Brianna Beyrouti, a single parent in Portland, Oregon, turned to a $5,000 relocation incentive to move her two children 2,000 miles east to Muncie, Indiana. The small city, home to 65,000 people and the University of Indiana, offers a lower cost of living compared to Portland's metropolitan area of 2.5 million residents. With her remote job, Brianna's $107,000 salary remains unchanged, but she can now afford a home and save $600 per month.
Indiana's lower state income tax and reduced car insurance and energy bills contribute to her financial relief. Brianna's experience is not unique; similar relocation schemes have helped around 1,000 families through the MakeMyMove program, with 100 families moving to Muncie alone. Other small towns, like Jacksonville, Illinois, also offer incentives to boost population growth.
Both Brianna and Elena Chrysostomou, a scientist who moved to the town for a $5,000 cash bonus and $4,000 quality of life package, have embraced their new lives, citing increased financial stability, homeownership, and more time with their children.
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