Good to know George Washington is a videogame developer

Imagine getting a 150k income in an area where rent is 600 bucks a month. COL is so little you could literally rebuild a town

You can tell Jose has a strong loving family, wishing for them to have a bright future.

I still can't wrap my head around how expensive SF is now. It used to be the affordable city for hippy burnouts and young gay people who were disowned by their family.

I swear to my Mighty God, I've never seen an indie video game developer wearing a suit, let alone playing an 8bit game amd still wearing a suit.

Next story: "How small cities have become unaffordable for locals due to influx of tech workers."

Are we not gonna talk about how a guy is named Bob Ross?

I am glad to see these towns spending so wisely on growth. Every town spends on economic development, but they tend to all focus on big companies that demand abusive incentives or they settle on retail and hospitality that is a zero net -all their revenue is taken from other local businesses. These remote workers are 100% revenue adds, they are intrinsically diverse, and their infrastructure needs are nothing to add. $10k per job is a steal compared to what tesla and amazon are extorting per job. The only way the coasts are going to fix their housing problems is if they have to do it to retain people they need.

If I owned a company why would I want to pay for office space when the last year proved I could do it all remotely? I think the trend of remote work will continue into the foreseeable future

Very happy for the Portillos. They seem like a nice family.

A potential second problem with these programs is that these employees' jobs are often dependent on remote work. If they can find remote work, great; but if they lose their job and can't find another, then what?

Really? They are moving because now they are given $10k?. That's all they needed? She said it best. Moving to Arkansas is like moving to a different country.

I'd move to a cheaper small town if I could continue to work a good job remotely. I commute 2 hours each way every day and all my money goes to rent, utilities, and food. With COVID I've been able to work from home and prove my job (like so many others) can be done with a computer and Internet connection.

Many folks have moved to Florida (mostly New Yorkers), and have driven up real estate here. My own cousins came for a visit last month, and they ended up looking at real estate during their visit.

How can SF/the Bay Area still reign supreme in the tech world? For decades everyone's been talking about "New Silicon Valleys", such as Austin, TX; the Triangle of NC; Silicon Glen, Scotland, Malaga, Spain, Bangalore, Berlin, Singapore, Beijing, London, Tel Aviv, Kracow, Lvyv.

I am pretty well convinced that the main thing the internet / tech industry has done, has made some people very rich while making life increasingly unaffordable for most people and communities.

The thing is that tech companies have said they'll be adjusting salaries down cause those employees will not be living in expensive places like California or NY anymore. So, in the end, will be almost the same, but in a quieter area.

Most of theses people probably won’t stay. The level of infrastructure in small towns aren’t to what they had in the Bay Area. Also they may lose their jobs cause I don’t really see remote work as the future. There may be a hybrid but there won’t be fully remote work. Also companies will still maintain their workforce in the Bay Area. It’s much easier to acquire workers and bounces ideas off each other when everyone is close together.

They’re showing one small clip of Bentonville. Bentonville is actually one of the most expensive cities in AR to live in (still waaaaay cheaper than anywhere in CA though). It’s one of the biggest places for mountain biking in this region of the country, and there’s every store and restaurant you could want within just miles of where you live. Not to mention this is the town Walmart got started in, and the corporation has dumped money into outdoor trails, art museums, parks, etc.

Women only called me ugly until they find out how much money I make. Then they call me ugly and poor.

Not sure why 1 payment of $10k would make someone earning $100k a year in silicon valley move there. Seems like that would just attract people who don't have much money to start with.

One problem with these programs is that eventually, we will run out of affordable places for people to live. The tech folks move in and drive up prices, eventually leaving the locals without a home. It's great for the tech workers; but for those who can't get jobs in high-paying industries, all this does is eventually uproot them. That's why, frankly, I don't like the idea. I don't think it's fair to the locals. I was born in the panhandle of Florida, in an area where work has been hard to come by. I was shocked to find homes now selling for over $150k, maybe even beyond $300k in some cases. There are very few jobs in the area. There is no way long-time locals could afford a home in their own communities now. It's because of remote workers and retirees.

I moved from LA to Dallas and its cheap and all and I was finally able to buy a house. But lord i hate it. I used to be able to go to beach every weekend and now I have to drive 6 hrs to Galveston or 7 hours to Corpus Christi to see a gulf. And this is 4th biggest metro in the country we are talking about. Can’t imagine me living in middle of nowhere Arkansas. Though that place with its greenery did look prettier than plain and bland DFW.

Plot twist: they jacked up all the house costs by at least 10%.

Matt Haney is right yes the Bay Area is always going to be a thriving hub. But that doesn’t mean that other companies will spread their talent elsewhere to

In 2018 I moved to a small town in Kansas for a job opportunity. It was a good gig. I was there for only 3 months, despite that most items were cheap. I felt extremely lonely, I left family, friendships and so on, there was nothing to do. Only once I contemplated suicide. I packed up and I left Kansas, it works if you have a family and affordability is a must but if you are single. Oooffff. This program is not new similar programs have been doing it for almost 15 years in this central west states, but retention for this workers is very low. They stay in those states for about 5-6 years and they leave. There is a reason why this states are still loosing population specially these small town regions.

No reasonable person or company will move back to SAF with the taxes and expensive cost of living

“It’s hot. In To-PE-ka.”

There is NO way I as a Black woman would ever move to Arkansas.

Bob Ross really changed his career

Awesome, that should put down pressure on these overpriced housing markets.

Fayetteville is the home of the huge university. College towns are ALWAYS a wonderful place to live. Their charms are legion. The most intelligent, industrious, creative & most fascinating people on the planet are in major university towns. Can I go?

$10k is not enough to entice me to go live in BFE, sorry.

Employees: We will be remotely working from Kansas forever Companies: we are going to outsource your jobs to Kanpur!

A year in Arkansas? 10K isn't enough money.

By the year 2050 sitting in an office or cubicle will be a thing of the past. We have been slowly moving towards more remote working since the 2000's. The Coronavirus pandemic just sped the process up. There is really no longer any benefit for a company to lease an office when they can now have their workers do the same job from the comfort of their home. This not only saves companies more money, it saves employees more money on gasoline and no longer sitting through traffic or dealing with workplace drama among co-workers.

Great video. We're living in a time that's making history, and videos like this document it.

I this is good for some, but they will have a hard time competing with developing countries that have become magnets for remote workers. I'm moving to Cambodia next year where my rent will be like $250 a month and all and all I'll just need $1,000 a month to live like a king.

Most "remote jobs" will be sent to India or automated. A job that can be done on a computer can be done by a computer, save for the most technical ones. Moving away from high population major cities is great until layoffs come.

Darn, my plan is now popular. For real tho, as long as you have a high speed internet connection, you can live almost anywhere in the US.

Disagree...same thing said about Detroit. Only cars are made here because of intellectual capital. Tech can be developed anywhere, even more so than any other industry as its not a durable good. If the bay area wants to keep the crown they have to make it appealing post pandemic. Otherwise up and comers like Birmingham, Baltimore, and Austin (amongst others) will erode the bay area.

...until they found out they have to live next to the Milkovich family with their backyard gun range and ten foot rebel flag

I was just in the Ozarks this past weekend, you couldn’t pay me enough to live there for over a year

This is a wonderful opportunity for those cities to retain that talent with long term amenities

I am fully onboard with remote work with *small children*, because when they get to be 10+, the limited possibilities of small towns may come back to bite you. It's still a world of who do you know, unfortunately.

That’s California seeding it’s culture throughout the country... Colorado turned blue because of it...

I can’t imagine being a single person relocating to these podunk areas.

Funny, I was looking at jobs today and I saw many in Bentonville!

We love you from Iraq

Out of all the places..Arkansas

I've seen Get Out, no way I'm moving to those remote places as a minority

My brother used a relocation system to move to ND, he made mistake move to small town. He hates it, they are very conservative state so not a good place for a young gay man to live, he feels alienated. So make sure it fits your life style, do research.

Cash, incentives and mountain bikes. I saved you 7.21 min. 😎

Live where cities are good to you!

I always wondered how the future of remote work would affect things like taxes. Right now we have setups for ex-pats on assignment and digital nomads are typically contract/gig workers but it’s going to be interesting to see how big tech and tax legislation would handle an employee potentially working in different states or countries within a small number of years

As someone who's lived in the suburbs, small town, rural, and large city. I think suburbs are by far the best. Theres places to go, not too far from the cities, can get reasonable place to live, and qol is typically better.

I can do my job from pretty much anywhere but prefer living in large cities. If people want to move away, fine. More space for me.

I would move to the south pole if you give me $2M.

Headlines. All tech workers lose job due to outsourcing to emerginging markets. Side effect of internet evolution and lessons learnt from covid lockdown.

I cannot wait to get out of SF once our business lease ends in 2 years. It’s a beautiful place totally squandered by its policies.

if your job can be done remotely, it can be done anywhere and by anyone qualified. The next wave of outsourcing is coming. The 19th century saw the outsourcing of manufacturing and the usa is dramatically different and shifted greatly towards white collar jobs. But where will the people go when the white collar jobs can also be outsourced. For example, Medical billing and basic accounting can be done anywhere and require minimal skills. Why pay an american to do the job while they feel like they are underpaid when an indian or bangladeshi would be eternally greatful for half or a quarter of american wages. Won’t happen all at once, but give it a few years and companies will be forced to outsource remote jobs to trim the fat on labor costs or they won’t be able to compete with the companies that do.

I get to live in Arkansas? You can keep your money. You can double it and keep it.

Moving Arkansas then being fired does not make sense

There will be culture shock. I made the move from Northern California to South Eastern Missouri a few years ago. Trumpism, racism, idiotic small local government. While I don't want to go back to California, this isn't a good alternative.

This is a good thing for America. It stops the country from dividing into successful, expanding cities where prices are going up, and dying cities with lack of diversity and resentful politics. Moving young people to smaller cities will also alleviate rent pressure in major cities.

As someone from a small town in the PNW- we don't want the rich transplants. They drive up home prices, which raises property taxes and pushes locals out of their homes. They also complain about it being a small town. Yes our county has one movie theater if you wanted more amenities you should've stayed in your big city. We don't have good paying local jobs, so our people struggle to have enough to stay & can't make enough to move to a big city where they are more opportunities. You giving yourself more "play" money is hurting those who are already in a tough spot.

I wouldn't move there for 20k

These aren't the people you want in your town. These are the people who hate those kinds of towns.

But if it's remote they I don't understand why they don't just live in like Thailand or Colombia or somewhere abroad where you can live well for 2k a month

I felt relief after I watched this video

SF needs to get real, no body can afford to live there! Companies don’t even wanna live there, it’s astronomically expensive for very little reason. Sure, it will always be a hub for tech but the average joe employee for a tech company does not need to live there, they can work from home anywhere else and travel to SF when needed. And starts up can’t afford to move to SF either.

Northwest Arkansas is not small nor affordable. It is a metro area that has 500k+ people. Homelessness has been skyrocketing over the past decade and rent has doubled during that period too. To top all of this off, there are a ton of racist people. Also, the state legislature and governor are hyper-conservative and focus on culture-war issues instead of passing meaningful and helpful legislation.

Yeah and now these tech workers will raise rent and property prices so much that it'll be unaffordable for the locals

I get it... needing to support your family and all. But why would you ever agree to a 4 hour commute? Is any job worth that?

This is wonderful. I’m glad they’re doing this.

They sure don’t make men like Jose anymore. Family man, good wholesome values, wants parents close by to look after and be near. God bless this family. I wish are country was going more in this direction but nope. We’re going in the other one😣🥺😒

As long there happy am happy for them

Can apply if I live in London

Can't wait to see them bore their way into small town cabin fever. Thank you for making rent cheaper in big cities.

What happens when these remote workers lose their jobs in the small cities? My Spider-Man sense tells me they will be forced to move back to a large city to find another job.

That's right. That's so right. This is why the advance of technology and remote working is so important. Why people cant live in cheap, rural areas, still making good money and enjoy all benefits of life.

“Bigger” cities, i.e., NYC, Boston, SF, LA, have in a nut shell over played their hands. CA with up to 13.3% state taxes & up to 40% Federal taxes means to net $47,000, a minimum of $ 100,000. Salary Is needed ( I’m leaving out CA unemployment insurance & social security) . On the expense side, every $1.00 spent is subject to app 9% in CA state, county, local sales taxes. That’s the GOOD news. CA powers that be want to raise as many taxations ( work @ home taxes, energy taxes, fees, tolls, real estate taxes, transfer fees, etc., etc.,), as they can.

It's sad to see how NIMBYISM can slowly destroy one of the most important economic hubs in the US. Just imagine how much cheaper and how much shorter the Bay Area could be if it wasn't one sprawling mega suburb but a number of dense cities with good public transport connecting them.

I liked Bob Ross more as a painter

I hope people moving to Arkansas have done their homework on the state. If they loose their remote jobs, is the job market there any good? You have to be desperate to leave California for Arkansas. Texas I would understand.

Moving to Arkansas for 10K, I rather stay in Miami hahaha

This subject has been stated to be a bad thing for a few weeks now, but no one is actually stating how this is bad.

SF supervisor holding on to the old dream.

lol. the infrastructure in the city is the biggest question. from civil to networks.

In 21st for anyone to say any place is a hub is ridiculous and laughable especially for the digital workers.

The San Fransico supervisor has no clue what’s going on. Combination of ignorance and arrogance is the recipe of failure. I see both in him. And who is he working for ?

I like how these people don't feel entitled to stay where they are and making a move to somewhere more affordable. There are so many dumb people who complain about how they can't afford housing in the place where they were born and raised. Also, even if somewhere was cheaper, I wouldn't move there if it was full of racists and bigots.... but I appreciate some people would feel right at home.

Eventually other businesses and consumers buy from Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Nvidia, Microsoft so these are the stocks you want to own.

Arkansas should be pronounced “Ar-Kansas” or Kansas should be renamed “Kunsar”

So cool!

Yeah cities have become too dirty and un-liveable because of the prices

Well if he works for Facebook he doesn’t get to keep his silicon valley salary, Facebook said you can move but it will pay you a salary based on the cost of living of where you’re moving to

Colorado springs ..next rush is to here

I don’t know anything about Grants. I never personally applied for a Grant. I don’t know anything about Remote Working nor Arkansas.

Vermont also. Too cold for me