For those who are ready to say goodbye to rainy days, icy roads, and windswept hair-dos, we have good news: an Australian town with year-round sunshine is offering people £10,000 (€11,388, $12,433) to permanently move there.
The Aussie town Quilpie is about 590 miles away from the state’s capital, Brisbane, and has two supermarkets, a butcher, a baker, a news agency, a hairdresser, a hospital, a medical centre and a pharmacy. Plus, it has two schools and an early learning centre. If that isn't the very definition of quaint, we don't know what is.
However, this dreamy offer does come with some strings attached. Those who move over and want the money are expected to build on their own land and live in their new home for at least six months before they receive the cash injection.
The authorities in the little town of Quilpie, Queensland, are hoping to boost its population of 800 residents to 1,000 through this Home Owner Grant Scheme. Originally, they were offering £6,800, but the Quilpie Shire Council decided to boost the offer to match the town’s rise in land valuations.
Talking about the scheme, the CEO of Quilpie Shire said: ‘We were the first council in Outback Queensland to introduce such a policy, and it was a huge success. We had interest from all around Australia as well as globally from the US, India and Ireland.
‘Two years on, we continue to grow our population and have interest from people in moving to the Outback, especially as the cost of living on the coast and metro areas is really starting to hit hard this year.’
Quilpie isn’t the only town offering to pay people to move over. Recently, two Spanish towns, Ponga and Rubia, shared that they’re willing to pay those willing to relocate, too!
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