Why Pay for Swiss Trip When You Can Get Paid to Move There?

Tiny village in Switzerland may pay families tens of thousands of dollars to relocate there
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 24, 2017 6:54 PM CST
Swiss Village May Pay You Over $25K to Move There
The Swiss mountain village of Albinen may offer tens of thousands of dollars to families willing to relocate there.   (Wikimedia Commons/Xenos)

A tiny village in Switzerland just asked the Italian town of Bormida to hold its beer. Earlier this year, Bormida was offering $2,175 to people willing to move there in an effort to stave off its extinction. Facing the prospect of a similar future, little Albinen may soon significantly up the ante. The Local reports the village of 240 people that overlooks the Rhone valley from an altitude of 4,200 feet will vote Nov. 30 on whether or not to pay more than $25,500 per adult and $10,200 per child to families willing to relocate there. With a lack of jobs, residents—especially young families—have been leaving Albinen, according to Euronews. In fact, the village's school was forced to close recently when three families moved away and took their eight children with them.

Should Albinen residents approve the proposal, the money would come with some stipulations: new residents must be under the age of 45, they must agree to live in Albinen for 10 years (or repay the money), they must buy or build property worth at least $204,000, and the property must be their primary residence. The community newsletter calls it "an investment in the village's future." Albinen authorities believe the proposal will make them money in the long run through new taxpayers, new construction, and increased shopping. And while there aren't many jobs in Albinen, there are a few villages nearby. Plus, as Curbed notes, it's on the "sunny side" of the Rhone valley. And Travel and Leisure adds that Albinen "is quite beautiful, clean, and there’s even a nice spa nearby." (More Switzerland stories.)

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