In an effort to help return its population to where it once was, the great state of West Virginia is prepared to offer residents $25,000 if they return to the Mountain State.
The money would come to former residents in the form of tax credits, being that they move back to the state for work, and the state’s GOP-led Senate approved the proposal for the offer on Monday in a unanimous vote, ABC News reported.
The state’s House of Delegates has since received the measure, but it is expected to pass it.
However, before every former resident of West Virginia flicks on John Denver and packs up their belongings, there are stipulations as to who is eligible for the $25,000.
West Virginia ex-pats who would be eligible for the money must have been born in the state or lived and worked there for at least 10 years before leaving for at least 10 consecutive years.
The move comes as the population of the state, which is currently 1.8 million, has declined by approximately 3.2% since 2010, census figures show.
The dip in population makes West Virginia the most fled state in the country. Even worse, it now has fewer residents than it did in 1950.
This also isn’t the first time the state has offered serious cash to get residents to return. The West Virginia Department of Tourism offered $12,000 in cash and free outdoor activities to attract out-of-state remote workers to move to parts of the state in 2021.
Still, statistics show that West Virginia is among the most impoverished states in the country, as census officials shared that it sits as the fourth most. On top of that, 17% of residents live below the poverty line.
The state also lacks diversity, as approximately 93% of West Virginians identify as white, census statistics show.
However, the incentive is sure to encourage countless former residents and natives of the state to make their inevitable return on those country roads to the place they belong.
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