Italy eyes offering 28,000 euros for people willing to relocate to villages

The region of Calabria in Italy plans to offer up to 28,000 euros ($33,000) over a maximum of three years to people willing to relocate to sleepy villages with barely 2,000 inhabitants in the hope of reversing years of population decline, Report informs referring to CNN.

These include locations near the sea, or on mountainsides, or both.

To get the funds, new residents must also commit to kickstarting a small business, either from scratch or by taking up preexisting offers of specific professionals wanted by the towns.

Applicants must take up residency and be a maximum of 40 years old. They must be ready to relocate to Calabria within 90 days from their successful application.

It’s hoped the offer will attract proactive young people and millennials eager to work.

The “active residency income” project - and application process - are expected to be launched online in the next few weeks. The region has been working on it for months and has already earmarked more than 700,000 euros for the project.