Joe Viets was living in a big city in Colorado, working as a nurse, when he decided it was time for a change.
鈥淚t was kind of a shock to everybody when I came to work and said, 鈥極K, I made the decision, I鈥檓 moving to Vermont.鈥� Then, of course, everybody鈥檚 like, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 in Vermont?鈥欌��
His fianc茅e, Alison, grew up in Montpelier and had always wanted to move back to the state. They were excited about living in a quieter area, with fewer lines.
His friends at work didn鈥檛 get it though. They started Googling reasons to move to Vermont. Somebody found an article about places that will pay you to move there, and Vermont was on the list.
The state program gives working people grants of up to $7,500 to move to the state.
Viets didn鈥檛 think about it again until he had already bought a house in Bethel, in Orange County, and started working at a nearby hospital.
When he looked into it though, he realized he qualified. So he submitted an application and some follow up paperwork. A couple weeks later, he got a check in the mail 鈥� for over $7,000.
Viets said the money helped pay for work on the house. But it had no impact on his choice to move here.
鈥淣o one has ever said that $5,000 or $10,000 is the sole reason people move. But it is a reason. And it is an attraction to them to consider Vermont.鈥�Sen. Michael Sirotkin
About half of the grant recipients said the incentive program was not an important part of their decision to relocate. That鈥檚 according to a , which surveyed more than 80 people who received relocation grants in 2019 and 2020.
The state auditor has also in the past, saying at best it鈥檚 a minor incentive, and at worst a gift to someone .
Proponents are well aware of this criticism.
鈥淣o one has ever said that $5,000 or $10,000 is the sole reason people move,鈥� said state Sen. Michael Sirotkin. 鈥淏ut it is a reason. And it is an attraction to them to consider Vermont.鈥�
Sirotkin has supported the incentive program since its early days. He said that regardless of how much the money factors into someone鈥檚 decision to relocate here, if it helps at all, it鈥檚 worth it.
That鈥檚 because Vermont is desperate for workers. There鈥檚 something like for , according to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That鈥檚 even with who .
鈥淲e're a long way from ever closing the door on anybody here,鈥� said Sirotkin.
For , Vermont has been trying to attract people to the state. There was a short-lived, largely to here in the late 1800s.
Then, in the 1940s, the state launched called Vermont Life, essentially to promote itself.
鈥淭he idea was to put Vermont鈥檚 best foot forward and try to attract visitors and, if possible, residents to the state,鈥� said Tom Slayton, who was an editor there for more than 20 years.
During his tenure, Slayton was a state employee, as was the rest of the staff. He said the magazine did well. At its peak, the state printed nearly 100,000 copies an issue.
鈥淚t was not a hard sell,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he belief was that Vermont is a pretty nice place. And all you have to do is let people know about it, and they鈥檒l be attracted to it.鈥�
Vermont Life after years of declining circulation. That was the same year lawmakers approved the state鈥檚 relocation grant program 鈥� a marketing campaign with some of the same goals.
At the time though, the program was pretty left-field. There wasn't buy-in right away.
鈥淚t was so, so hard,鈥� said Joan Goldstein, the Commissioner of Economic Development. 鈥淥ur department had historically only worked with businesses. We don鈥檛 usually work with individuals, so that was a huge departure. This was like, OK, how do we do this?鈥�
At the time, there were hardly any other states or municipalities in the country offering cash as an incentive for people to relocate.
Once the governor signed the bill though, interest in the program sort of blew up. It got publicity all over the world.
鈥淲e had a billion impressions,鈥� Goldstein said. 鈥淲hen they tracked all the marketing. And it was like, 鈥楢 billion? We don't get a billion anything.鈥欌��
"The belief was that Vermont is a pretty nice place. And all you have to do is let people know about it, and they鈥檒l be attracted to it.鈥�Tom Slayton, former editor of Vermont Life magazine
, of paying people to relocate.
It鈥檚 still early days to gauge whether these programs result in more people moving and what retention is like, according to Kenan Fikri. He鈥檚 the research director at the Economic Innovation Group in Washington D.C. and studies these incentive programs.
鈥淭hey represent a new frontier in local economic development, and a transition from chasing companies to trying to attract the workforce that you need to thrive in the modern economy,鈥� he said.
So far, in Vermont, just over 400 new residents and their families have received grants to move to the state.
Every year, the program is oversubscribed 鈥� by a lot, said Goldstein. The state gives out grants until they run out of money. That .
This week, the governor signed legislation to with just over $3 million.
鈥淭hat $7,500 for the relocating worker grant was significant. It was enough for me to focus on Vermont.鈥�Matthew Kapitan, Tinmouth
While it鈥檚 not addressing big issues like the state鈥檚 housing stock or lack of child care, supporters say for a relatively small investment, the grants can make a difference.
That was true for Matthew Kapitan. He works in I.T. and was looking to relocate from Wisconsin.
鈥淭hat $7,500 for the relocating worker grant was significant,鈥� Kapitan said. 鈥淚t was enough for me to focus on Vermont.鈥�
He ended up moving to Tinmouth in Rutland County this year. It鈥檚 a small community of about 600 people 鈥� and the same town where he grew up.
Above all though, Kapitan said his decision to move back came down to finding a home.
While he was visiting Tinmouth last year, he ran into some childhood friends who were selling their house. They asked if he wanted to buy it.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure I would have jumped at this opportunity with or without this program,鈥� he said.
In the process of moving, he learned his house would have high-speed internet 鈥� he thinks some of the fastest in the country.
鈥淚t really is amazing,鈥� Kapitan said. 鈥淚 think they should be broadcasting that, and advertising that, right alongside this program.鈥�
Lexi Krupp is a corps member for , a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and regions.
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