West Virginia wants to pay remote workers to live there. I tried it out.

Over the last decade, the population has declined by 59,000 – or 3.2 per cent, Richard Hall writes

The view from an overlook at Coopers Rock State Forest just outside of Morgantown, West Virginia (Richard Hall / The Independent )

It’s just past 5pm when I jump in my car in the centre of Morgantown and head for the highway. A winding road takes me up a steep hill and out of this West Virginia mountain town, onto a road heading northeast. In less than 25 minutes I’m driving underneath a thick canopy of trees that opens to a clearing in a spacious car park. A few minutes more and I’m gazing out across a stunning forest-covered valley with a river running through it and eagles flying overhead.

From a desk to heaven in under half an hour — this is what West Virginia’s tourist board hopes will entice you to move to the state. And once you’re here, they want you to stay.

As part of a new scheme to reverse a dramatic population decline and boost the struggling economy, the Mountain State is offering an eye-watering sweetheart deal to lure a generation of remote workers.

Successful applicants will get $12,000 in cash just to start them off. Then there is the complimentary co-working space, free access to state parks and free hire of recreational gear like kayaks and bikes, and even “social programming” to find you a social life. The full package is valued at $20,000.

“We don’t just want them to spend their two years and leave. We really want this to fall in love with West Virginia,” says Chelsea Ruby, the state’s tourism commissioner.

“We’re inviting folks to take a permanent vacation here in the mountains of West Virginia,” Ruby says.

A total of 50 will be picked for the first round in Morgantown from more than 6,700 applications.

Behind the marketing materials filled with images of happy kayakers, though, the programme is taking aim at something more serious. People are leaving West Virginia at an unsustainable rate: the most recent census data showed that the state lost a higher percentage of its residents than any other state. Over the last decade, the population has declined by 59,000 – or 3.2 per cent.

The centre of Morgantown, a West Virginia mountain town that is the first location for the new remote worker programme (Richard Hall / The Independent)

Those numbers will come as no surprise to the people who live here. West Virginia has suffered severe economic decline since the early 2000s as the economy has moved away from coal and towards cleaner energy. As the second-largest coal producer, the industry provided tens of thousands of well-paying jobs for decades. The introduction of environmental regulations and a shifting economy saw the state lose 56 per cent of its mining jobs since 2009.

That swift downturn coincided with a crippling opioid epidemic. West Virginia has the highest drug overdose death rate in the country, and last year suffered a new record of 1,291 fatal overdoses.

Morgantown, the location of the Ascend programme’s first batch of applicants, has managed to escape much of that decline. It is home to West Virginia University and some 20,000 students. It’s lively, filled with bars and restaurants and more than one brewery — usually a sign that things are on the up. A historic hotel has just reopened in downtown after millions of dollars investment.

The scheme was launched with a $25million donation from Brad Smith, former CEO of the company behind TurboTax and a native of the state. It aims to boost the economy at the same time as showing off West Virginia’s hitherto underappreciated — at least by outsiders — natural beauty. The state recently opened America’s newest national park in the New River Gorge.

The programme has received applications from all 50 states and 69 countries. Most of the applicants are from Pennsylvania, Florida, California, Virginia and Texas, in that order, and predominantly from the tech and financial industries.

“We’re looking for folks who want the opportunity to escape the big city. They’re going to find that work-life balance that they’ve always dreamed up in West Virginia. There’s no crowded places or a long commute. There’s just plenty of places to put down roots and explore the great outdoors. You can actually go out and hike on your lunch break and come back in. You could go kayak after work and still make it home on time,” says Ruby.

In the interests of scientific inquiry, The Independent tested those claims with an evening drive to the closest state park from Morgantown. Coopers Rock State Forest is indeed reachable in less than half an hour — you can kayak, hike and everything in between and make it home before dark. I found out that you can also have the Ohio River to yourself in many places.

It takes less than 30 minutes to reach this road from the centre of Morgantown, West Virginia. Access to nature is a key slelling point of the state’s new remote worker programme. (Richard Hall / The Independent)

When the programme is up and running, the participants will be able to grab a kayak or a bike from the co-working space provided for them. Everything is geared towards getting people from the keyboard and into nature in the shortest time possible.

The Ascend programme has been in the works for a while, but it may have come along at just the right time. The pandemic has forced many Americans to recalculate their relationship with work — as remote work became the norm, millions moved away from cities in search of more space and access to nature.

“The pandemic taught a lot of us that you can do your job from anywhere. So many people are thinking about their work-life balance and their quality of life,” Ruby says.

“We’re looking at the trends. We believe we have a real opportunity to help people escape these crowded urban areas and find their new homes here.”

Kayaking on the Ohio River between West Virginia and Ohio. (Richard Hall / The Independent)

But not everyone is so sure that paying outsiders to move to West Virginia is the best way to help. The state has one of the highest poverty rates in the country — some 16 per cent of its residents live in poverty. More than 20 per cent also don’t have access to broadband. Some have suggested that money might be better spent addressing the problem in a more direct way.

“West Virginia is a beautiful state that has a lot to offer, especially for people with a passion for the outdoors,” says Jeremy Groghan, a Morgantown resident for the past 20 years.

“The biggest problem I see with this plan is that West Virginia is near the bottom when it comes to broadband access. While I think it’s good to try and grow and diversify the economy, I can’t see how this would be viable when 30 per cent of the state’s residents don’t have access to reliable broadband internet,” he says.

He adds that Morgantown is small but has “a solid arts, music, and restaurant scene.”

The first 50 successful applicants will take up residence in Morgantown this year. Next year, the programme will start in two more cities, Shepherdstown and Lewisburg.