Locales across the United States are using relocation packages to siphon talent from larger cities. The deals include everything from free rent to cash allowances and home appliances. The trend can mean notable government contracts for co-working spaces, multifamily and single-family housing providers. Each program is different, but many share common threads. Their marketing messages often aim to attract newcomers from cities where significant portions of income are directed towards housing. Several locales appeal to professionals in technology and science-based fields. One program has gained significant attention in recent weeks. Your New Home: Tulsa, Oklahoma The George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) is currently accepting applications for its remote employee relocation program, Tulsa Remote. The Foundation is offering $10,000 cash, a rent-free furnished apartment, and a desk at 36 Degrees North, a local coworking space. In exchange, recipients must live in Tulsa full-time for at least one year. Recipients are also encouraged to participate in community events. Many of these social opportunities are created especially for program participants. Tulsa Remote recipients are invited to exclusive wine tastings, group outings, and neighborhood panel discussions. The hope, says GKFF’s executive director Ken Levitt, is that the transplants will establish a local community and decide to stay beyond the required year. In theory, the remote employees will not only bring cash into Tulsa. They will show local young professionals that they don’t have to leave their small-town home to be successful, suggests Sara Sutton, the CEO of FlexJobs, a remote job search engine. Tulsa Remote and similar programs remove the stigma from telecommuting, which some believe is not a “legitimate thing.” But telecommuting is quite a legitimate thing. A 2017 Gallup poll revealed that 43 percent of employed Americans have worked remotely in some capacity. The figure is...

Americans are not moving and no one can pinpoint why. Without a clear cause, the trend is difficult to reverse, as are its effects on the economy and workplace productivity. United States Census Bureau data reveals that only 21.7 percent of renters relocated in 2017. That’s a new historic low. Homeowners moved at a rate of 5.5 percent, a smidgen higher than last year but not enough for analysts to breathe a sigh of relief. Reports from the last three decades depict a decline in relocation for renters and owners. As to be expected, sharp drops occur during economic recessions, yet moving rates have not recuperated since The Great Recession. An article in the New York Times dives into a few reasons why Americans are staying put, caused by—or a result of—an unfavorable employment environment. Every age group, every educational level, and every industry has experienced severe declines in job turnover and employee mobility reports the Federal Reserve Board. In 2017, The US Census Bureau documented that only 9 percent of families relocated due to a new job or job transfer. That’s a sharp decline from 19.4 percent cited in 2013. While analyst Betsey Stevenson of the University of Michigan proposed that people aren’t moving or changing jobs because “they’ve all found jobs that are great for them and they’re happy,” it’s more likely, she admits, that “people stay in jobs that aren’t as good for them because they’re terrified of changing, and that’s bad for the overall economy.” Workers are staying with the same employers and climbing the ladder more slowly than before. Worker fluidity decreased from 10 percent to 15 percent between 1980 and 2013. Those figures are conservative. Some studies place the modern percentage closer to 25 percent. States such as...