As the cost-of-living crisis continues to spiral and many Brits struggle to keep up with rent, bills and other financial commitments, some idyllic European towns are offering to pay you just to move there.
Untold numbers of towns and villages in rural areas across the continent are at risk of depopulation due to ageing populations and younger people moving to urban areas for work.
But the advent of remote work and exponential growth in the number of people willing to work abroad has helped tourist boards and local councils alike hatch plans to revitalise their dwindling populations and economies.
On the local level, some towns and municipalities are offering grants worth tens of thousands of pounds to foreigners willing to buy a home there, while on a national level, many European countries have launched ‘digital nomad’ visas to allow foreigners to live and work there for companies registered elsewhere.
Here, MailOnline takes a look at some of the most beautiful European towns offering outrageous benefits to those willing to pack up their lives in Britain and plump for a different style of life.
Aerial view of the village and the famous luxury marina of Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy
Presicce, Italy
In 2022, it was reported that the ancient town of Presicce in the Puglia region is offering families willing to move there £25,000 in the hope that new life will be breathed into its dilapidated community.
What makes the proposal even more enticing is that Presicce is just a 15-minute drive from the pristine beaches of Italy’s south-east shoreline, including Santa Maria di Leuca.
According to a local councillor, the money can be used towards both the purchase of a home and renovating it, with homes on sale there from just over £21,000.
‘We will be offering up to 30,000 euros to people willing to move here and buy one of these abandoned dwellings,’ Alfredo Palese told CNN.
‘The total funding will be split in two: It will go partly into buying an old home and partly into restyling it, if needed.’
The ancient town is surrounded by greenery and has its own post office, bank and supermarkets.
Known during the Renaissance period for its vast olive groves and premium olive oil, Presicce is filled with evidence of its history as the ‘city of green gold,’ as it used to be called.
Huge underground olive mills can still be found in tunnels and chambers under the town’s streets, as part of an expansive subterranean city popular with tourists.
Presicce is hundreds of years old and used to be known as the ‘city of green gold’ due to its expansive olive industry
An alleyway in the ancient town of Presicce in Puglia, Italy, where a cash incentive of £25,000 is on offer to potential house buyers
Presicce is located in south-east Italy on the ‘heel’ of the country. It is only a 15-minute drive from the country’s stunning coastline
Albinen, Switzerland
Albinen, located in the canton of Valais, is offering to pay families over £50,000 just to move to the stunning mountain village.
The beautiful area sits at 4,265 feet (1,300 metres) above sea level. Its traditional chalets look down over vast surroundings of snowy white peaks.
The small village has been threatened with extinction for some time as an increasing number of residents are moving out of the rural picturesque community in favour of surrounding cities.
At the end of 2020, there were just 243 residents in the village. But the scheme, originally launched in 2018, is hoping to buck that trend.
The scheme was launched five years ago to reverse the trend of people leaving the town.
The alluring village is located just over four miles (6.8km) from the spa town of Leukerbad and a 35-minute drive from both the Canton capital Sion and the industrial city of Visp.
Families of four will receive 25,000 Swiss Francs (£22,440) per adult and a further 10,000 Swiss Francs (£8,975) per child – but the scheme comes with some conditions.
To stop the town from emptying, Albinen is looking for people aged under 45 to take up residence – and you will also need to be a Swiss citizen with a permit C residence.
If you are citizen of an EU or European Free Trade Association country, or from the U.S. or Canada, you can obtain this after living in Switzerland for five years.
But for other countries, including us Brits, you would need to live in Switzerland continuously for a decade.
Albinen, located in the canton of Valais, is offering to pay people over £50,000 just to move to the stunning mountain valley village
The beautiful area sits on the mountain slope at 1,300 metres (4,265 feet) above sea level
Albinen’s traditional chalets look down over vast surroundings of snowy white peaks
Sardinia, Italy
This isn’t just a town – it’s a whole island!
The government of Sardinia is offering grants of up to €15,000 (£12,700) as an incentive for those considering a move to the stunning Mediterranean rock.
Officials last year ringfenced £38 million for the initiative which aims to bolster commerce in small towns by affording homebuyers considerable financial aid.
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean and has long been considered a natural gem with a rich cultural history with over 1,000 miles of sandy beaches, picturesque port towns and bronze-age ruins built as far back as 1,500 BC.
Sardinian President Christian Solinas said in a statement: ‘Thanks to these contributions to [homebuyers’] first houses, [Sardinia] becomes fertile ground for those who will move there or decide to build a family.
‘There can be no growth without a real enhancement of the territories, of the interior and most disadvantaged areas, which must pass through new policies for their repopulation.
‘We have created the conditions for young people to decide to stay and develop the economic fabric of the most fragile territories.’
Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean and has long been considered a natural gem with a rich cultural history (coastal town of Castelsardo is pictured)
Sardinia is popular with summer tourists but like other rural areas of Italy, the region is suffering from a dwindling population and shrinking economy as younger generations flock to large cities for work
The prospect of landing more than £12,000 to move to one of Europe’s most beautiful islands does however come with a few caveats according to Schengen Visa News.
First and foremost, the grant money can only be used to fund the purchase or renovation of a home in Sardinia.
The property in question must also be located in a municipality with a population of fewer than 3,000 people, as these are the towns most in need of an economic boost.
Although the government will hand over the maximum sum of €15,000 in some cases, the grant cannot surpass half of the total cost of the property or planned renovations – so homebuyers will still need to shell out considerably more from their own pocket.
Lastly, a buyer interested in taking Sardinia’s government up on their offer cannot do so unless they plan to live there full time.
The government stipulates that grant recipients must register for permanent residence in Sardinia within 18 months of their arrival to avoid wealthy individuals abusing the scheme to bag cushy holiday homes.
‘Digital nomad’ visas
Want to live and work abroad but not ready to move forever? More European countries than ever before are now offering so-called ‘digital nomad’ visas for people looking to move abroad for a definite period of time while working, according to euronews.
Croatia launched its digital nomad visa scheme two years ago, and offers a one-year visa to non-EU/EEA citizens working for companies registered abroad.
Successful applicants will even be able to skip out on paying income tax in Croatia – but must meet some requirements, including a base salary of more than €2,300 per month, to apply.
Cyprus also launched a similar scheme the same year, and last year said it would offer 500 people a digital nomad visa – though the base salary requirement is even higher at €3,500 per month.
Other countries offer similar visas with slightly different terms. Iceland for example only accepts high-flying nomads with monthly salaries above €7,000 for just six months, while Montenegro plans to allow people to stay for up to four years on their scheme.
Spain became the most recent European country to offer such a scheme, offering a one year visa with the possibility to extend for up to five years, and attractive tax breaks.
- An earlier version of this article followed up on reports in the Mirror that the Spanish town of Ponga has been offering 3,000 euros to couples that choose to resettle there. We have since been made aware that there is no such offer by the municipality, and while a suggestion was put to the local council in 2007 that aid should be paid to prospective residents, this was rejected by the audit office and never enacted.
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