How did that go? Although the groups arent exactly comparable, the idea was that the differences between them provide decent estimates of how Tulsa Remote has affected those involved. It is intended for individuals who are already employed outside of Oklahoma and are able to keep their position when relocating to Tulsa. Tulsa Remote was estimated to add $62 million in new local earnings in 2021 $51.3 million directly attributable to relocated remote workers and $10.7 million from the employment boost . Video interviews are conducted with each finalist selected. What are some interview tips? By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Burlington, Vermont, rolled out a similar program in June and all Alaskans are eligible for payouts via the state's Permanent Reserve Fund. and our Over two years, about 500 people have moved to Tulsa under the program, Ben Stewart, the executive director, told me. Rent - $658 Tulsa vs. $1,184 Austin, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $917K SF, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $390K New York, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $546K LA, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $394K DC, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $484K Seattle, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $443K Boston, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $442K Denver, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $385K Portland, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $610K San Diego, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $242K Chicago, Median Home Price - $157K Tulsa vs. $296K Austin. No Right Clicks The idea is that some may eventually start their own businesses and permanently relocate to Tulsa, according to Ken Levit, executive director of the George Kaiser Family Foundation. With incredibly diverse cuisine, you can't find food this delicious, at prices this affordable, anywhere else. They believe that Tulsa Remotes selection process, which intentionally seeks out talent that is needed but otherwise lacking in the city, is what ultimately drives its success. While the Oklahoma state population has increased 14 percent since 2000, Tulsa's population growth has been sluggish, according to Census data. What was your final outcome? The Oklahoma city is the focal point of Tulsa Remote, a program offering a $10,000 grant and additional incentives to selected participants to move and work remotely from Tulsa for a year. We had about 1.5 months to prep for the move. Rent - $658 Tulsa vs. $2,449 LA, 2 BR Avg. Google AdSense It's not the first time cities and even states have offered cash to entice would-be residents. Today I have my interview with the Tulsa Remote Program which was one of my selling points for moving to Tulsa. Well, It happened during the second lockdown in Los Angeles in 2020. I prepared like it was a job interview at some corporation. Bee Law [Photo: courtesy of QuirkChat]Beyond the relocation stipend, the program also provides successful applicants with one year of free co-working space, workshops, networking events, and a range of other resources. The ideal candidate for Tulsa Remote is a fully-employed individual with the flexibility to work anywhere, who does not currently reside in Oklahoma or work for a company based in Oklahoma, and is looking for a community to call home. But it is likely less regressive than the all-too-common strategy of cutting taxes to lure corporations. No. We even offer a. The total drive time from LA to Tulsa straight shot is over 21 hours. , found that Tulsa Remoters have higher real incomes (after accounting for living costs) than they did before the move likely driven in large part by cheaper housing. , Prithwiraj Choudhury, a professor at Harvard Business School who. Bynum addresses attendees at an event tied to the Tulsa Remote program. In 2019, Tulsa Remote participants ages ranged from 22 to 64. Can I apply? We finally went in mid-March 2021 and spent six days in Tulsa to check out the city and to apartment hunt. It was one of the most widely publicized bids by a city to become a hub for remote work and so far, its succeeding, according to two recent studies of the program. ". From free coworking space to inspiring educational experiences, our program is designed to make you feel at home from your first day here. I work remotely for an Oklahoma-based company. Nationally-recognized restaurants meet local Tulsa flair. Much of what our program does is remove the barriers that cause difficulties in individuals settling into a new city quickly, said Bolzle. Thats the logic that leads EIGs models to estimate such a high payoff for Tulsa Remote. / CBS News. While there are many housing options available downtown, participants are free to live anywhere within the Tulsa city limits, including purchasing or renting single-family homes. All Rights Reserved. This blog highlights my insights and experience with TR and the city for you to consider before you apply. The application process for the 2020 program is now under way. And they estimate every dollar spent on the program creates $13 in economic activity. Nov 14-Notified of semi-finalist status, scheduled interview for Nov 26th via calendly. I should specify it is a remote interview since I'm still stuck in Iowa currently. We shouldnt underestimate how important the pure signaling alone is; thats certainly a big part of it, says Lettieri. So I turned to Sen and asked if he was down to move to Tulsa, OK, with me if we got in. Since its founding in 2018, Tulsa Remote has brought nearly 1,300 remote workers to town, and a new study suggests that the investment is paying off. Our current mission is to road trip and eat around the USA. "Anything they buy in the city, that's helping our economy and tax base," Perry said. Nervous about making the move? New Incentive Programs for Remote Workers in Bentonville, Tulsa and The city is also aiming to become one of the country's largest technology and business hubs. Has the arrival of remote workers benefitted the city as a whole? Tulsa Remote participants were more likely to say they intend to stay where they currently live than the candidates who were accepted but didnt end up moving. You are 18+ years old. Since the programs launch, and especially since the start of the pandemic, Stewart says hes fielded calls from every corner of the country, and beyond, with inquiries related to replicating the program elsewhere. Tulsa's remote work experiment a $62 million success - Fast Company Tulsa remote challenges the notion that remote and virtual must equal placeless. Tulsa has a great cost of living, and likely cheaper housing than where you currently live. Tulsa Remote does not offer employment of any kind. It was intriguing to see how Black entrepreneurs were building back up Tulsa, as a Black entrepreneur and founder myself, says Law, who was invited to be one of 842 members of Tulsa Remotes 2021 cohort. She visited with her husband and two young kids, met other program participants via Slack, and decided to go for it. According to a report published by the. Do you work remotely? This program could pay you $10,000 to do so - CNN The interview process in order to be considered for the grant is fairly standard . Oklahoma is one of the very few states whose cities rely entirely on sales tax for the government operating costs, said Perry. The participants report no decrease in productivity since moving. Perry spoke with CBS News in a telephone interview Wednesday. It doesnt have much in the way of a technology sector, and it has a smaller share of residents with a college degree than the U.S. as a whole. Do I still qualify? After the pandemic I knew I wasnt going to go back to California, so I was in limbo looking for that next place to call a home base, she says. They would recommend coming to Tulsa to visit and see if it's a good fit before accepting. Each grant is distributed over the course of a year to eligible remote workers or entrepreneurs living outside of Oklahoma. I was moving either way and was actually already under contract on a house. Tomm and her husband had decided their family needed a change after some personal tragedies. Multiple calls to a Tulsa spokesperson were not immediately returned. 2018 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. So we left the oversized items with both of our parents and donated a lot of our cloth. The standard answer is that knowledge-sector jobs that can be done remotely are high-paying and tend to have spillovers to the local community at least when housing costs dont rise enough to cancel out those benefits. How long did it take to find out they were interested, after applying? As long as the program continues to have a positive impact on the community, we will continue it.. Individuals from outside the U.S. are eligible to apply, so long as they are permanent residents who possess a green card. He said yes, I applied, and the rest was history. As part of the application process, you'll do a video interview. In Tulsa, an 8.517 percent sales tax, one of the highest in the nation, funds the city's operating budget, he explained. Along with the introduction of Tulsa Remote, 2018 has ushered in other community-related initiatives in Tulsa. People are really kind and genuinely interested in each other in Tulsa too. No. For more information, please see our (To its credit, GKFF has other programs focused on poverty alleviation, racial equity, and job creation in Tulsa.). Bee Law has called many corners of the United States home. Tulsa is seeking digital nomads to put their roots down here. Selected as part of the inaugural cohort of Endeavor's Heartland ScaleUp. What are my options? When selected applicants arrive in Tulsa, they get a warm welcome. Nervous about making the move? And two new studies suggest the program is working: the participants are experiencing a higher standard of living due to the citys low housing costs, and are engaged in the community. Tulsa Remote | Whittaker Associates It means that if you are open to making new friends or joining a new community of like-minded individuals then this is for you. You are 18+ years old. Were going to stay here for sure, she says. Remote workers tend to be well paid; theyre in white collar digital and professional occupations, generally speaking, and those tend to come with pretty high salaries, explains Kenan Fikri, EIGs research director. In my hometown in Wilkinsburg, [part of the Pittsburgh metro area], there were a lot of promises made that the recruitment of tech talent would impact other places besides the city [of Pittsburgh], he said in an interview. Here are some details of our move and our experience with the program and the city. Tulsa's current economic base is anchored on manufacturing and aerospace. Please enter valid email address to continue. I am moving to your city in the next couple weeks. Tulsa Remote Program? : r/tulsa - Reddit Full-time remote employment or self-employed outside of Oklahoma. a.appendChild(r); What types of incentives are program participants receiving? So when the 29-year-old entrepreneur was deciding where to launch her video-based social network for anime and geek fandom, QuirkChat, she had a lot of options to consider. "This is about getting people to move to Tulsa," said Matt Fabian, a partner at Massachusetts-based Municipal Market Analytic, in a telephone interview with CBS News on Wednesday. Theyre really big on what you are able to bring to the community. So we planned for a 7-day journey making multiple stops along the way like Zion National Park, Horseshoe Bend, Shiprock, New Mexico, etc. Aside from the $10,000 disbursed as a house down payment or over time Tulsa Remote members also get assistance with house hunting, access to co-working spaces and weekly social and . Tulsa Remote does not sell your data. There are even a few Tulsa Remote specials. At that point I had learned that they wanted me to live in Tulsa proper and our lifestyle is more suited to the suburbs. Amid these challenging times, were still safely welcoming new members to Tulsa. In the first cohort, 90% stayed past the first year. The Tulsa Remote program, however, is not necessarily the right program for all cities hoping to attract highly paid remote workers. Tulsa Remote is a unique recruitment initiative aimed at attracting talented individuals to Tulsa. This was our first time doing a road trip this long. Tulsa has unique neighborhoods, a nationally-recognized food scene, world-class music and theatre venues, and one of the best park systems in the country. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. Sen & I live in Downtown Tulsa, where we can walk to most places. This was a program that was right-sized and designed to fill a lot of those gaps, and then scaled in such a way as to have a significant impact on an economy of the size of the Tulsa metro.. Tomm now volunteers for a tutoring program called Reading Partners. There is no deadline at this point, but we might close the application at any time, so people should apply now, said Bolzle. I got an email from Tulsa Remote about a week later notifying me that I am a semifinalist and am advancing to the next step with a video interview that happened within the same week. Transcript. Of the nearly 800. It was definitely fun to see all the sights but very troublesome with all of our stuff in the car. With festivals, races and celebrations happening throughout the year, you'll struggle to find a weekend with nothing to do. Even so, the report is good news for Tulsa Remote, and Choudhury thinks theres a simple reason why the programs participants are more involved. Were most proud of the fact that weve retained more than 90%, says Stewart. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. In September 2022, EIG released another study of remote work, this one reporting which cities had the highest share of work done from home. In order to be eligible, applicants currently must reside outside of Oklahoma, be 18 years of age or older and can work and live in the United States. Lettieri explains that prior to Tulsa Remote, the city had a negative net migration of about 1,200 per year, and the majority of people leaving were college-educated. The initiative resulted in getting than 10,000 applications from over 150 countries. However, what really has made Tulsa "fantastic" for me, is how well . to the local community at least when housing costs dont rise enough to cancel out those benefits. Podcast - Managing the Future of Work - Harvard Business School In July, she and her husband bought a house. Yes. Well, this is when I tell you, you can't believe everything you read or watch on the internet. Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. The deal includes $2,500 toward relocation costs, a $500 monthly stipend and a $1,500 bonus at the completion of 12 months in the city, according to the program's website. During our consideration, we liked that Tulsa is in the middle of the country, and there are so many opportunities for road trips! Then the applicants would get thanks for trying or congrats emails. Just in case anyone is planning on applying: DO NOT TELL THEM YOU ARE OR HAVE PLANS TO MOVE TO TULSA. An award-winning team of journalists, designers, and videographers who tell brand stories through Fast Company's distinctive lens, The future of innovation and technology in government for the greater good, Fast Company's annual ranking of businesses that are making an outsize impact, Leaders who are shaping the future of business in creative ways, New workplaces, new food sources, new medicine--even an entirely new economic system. I was selected as a semifinalist for the Tulsa Remote program and my interview is next week. With hundreds of acres of wilderness areas, urban parks and greenspaces, Tulsa offers countless opportunities to get outside, get some fresh air and explore. A chance to 'establish roots' in the community - Fortune