ICONIC villages in Europe are offering a whopping £26,000 to anyone who wants to move there – but only if they’re the right age.
The sun-soaked Italian region of Calabria sits surrounded by beautiful beaches and could be a millennial’s dream.
Calabria is looking to rejuvenate the region by offering anyone under 40 £26,000 to move there permanentlyGetty
The beautiful set of islands are after new businesses or people willing to work to help bring a fresh feel to the Italian coastAlamy
In the south of the country, dubbed Italy’s “toe”, Calabria is the newest place paying for new residents to cope with a worrying decrease in its population.
The dream deal might sound like the ideal forever holiday but it isn’t quite as simple as just hopping on a plane and jetting off to Italy.
Unless you’re under 40 that is.
The pretty simple application process states anyone applying must be under 40 and be willing to move within just 90 days.
The final stipulation is that you need to have an idea to start a useful business in one of the villages or work in one of the jobs that desperately need filling fast.
The cash will be paid in either monthly instalments of up to £1,000 over three years, or as a one-off lump sum to help fund a new business.
Restaurants, shops and bed and breakfasts or hotels are the most wanted new start-ups by the regions councillors offering the deal.
Gianluca Gallo helped come up with the quirky concept and said the goal is to boost the local economy and breathe new life into small-scale communities.
He went on to say: “We want to make demand for jobs meet supply, that’s why we’ve asked villages to tell us what type of professionals they’re missing to attract specific workers.”
The project is called “active residency income” and applications are set to open in the coming weeks.
Around £620,000 has been set aside to fund the ambitious idea.
The hope is that the scheme will help to build dwindling communities back up and give them a much needed fresh look and feel.
The area of Italy most famous for its historic bronze statues of a pair of Greek warriors dating all the way back to the fifth century BC is in dire need of being revived and a new host of younger residents with new ideas might be what kick starts the new look Calabria.
Gallo admitted to CNN that it might just be the start of a much larger re-population project.
He continued: “We’re honing the technical details, the exact monthly amount and duration of the funds, and whether to include also slightly larger villages with up to 3,000 residents.
“We’ve had a huge interest from villages and hopefully, if this first scheme works, more are likely to follow in coming years.”
Over 75 per cent of Calabria towns – roughly 320 – currently have less than 5,000 residents.
This has led to fears that communities could start to die out completely in only a few years unless something drastic is done.
Earlier this year, beautiful Mauritius was offering anyone with a keen eye in the buisness world an opportunity of a lifetime.
The secluded island was willing to give people £350 per month to stay there so long as they had an original and profitable business idea.
In return they’ll give you the money and your very own buisness graduate to help with whatever you need to get your idea off the ground.
It comes as an idyllic Greek island is offering to pay a lucky applicant thousands to move there – and you’ll even be given land for your own dream villa.
Home to just 68 people, tiny Antikythera is desperate for new residents.
Last year another Italian town was offering cash for anyone who fancied a spot of sun.
Presicce was coaxing visitors in to try and welcome diversity and brand new faces by giving them £25,000 and enough money to buy a house in the village.
AlamyIf the scheme is a success many more islands could start offering money to people to become new residents[/caption]