Ascend WV offers remote workers $12,000 and great perks to move to Morgantown.
The Ascend WV remote worker incentive program there’s been buzz about came into greater focus with its launch on April 12.
Ascend WV invites people across the country and around the world who can work online and live anywhere to bring their jobs here and live in West Virginia—with Morgantown as the initial site. The program offers an incentive package of $12,000 and free co-working space and social and recreational programming for two years, according to the announcement by the WVU Brad & Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative and the state of West Virginia.
Similar programs have cropped up in cities and states around the country following the successful example of Tulsa Remote launched in 2018. But Ascend WV leverages data showing that communities in West Virginia sit close to as many outdoor recreational opportunities as more recognized outdoors meccas across the nation. And with paddling, climbing, and hiking and biking all quickly accessible to most of the state, our communities sit closer to a greater variety than most—a quality that makes West Virginia an exciting place to live.
Selected applicants are expected to be invited by mid-summer and to begin moving to Morgantown soon after.
How will Ascend WV work? How many applicants will be chosen? What does it mean for our little city? The Summer issue of Morgantown magazine will have the details—subscribe to get it in your mailbox in early May.