A Silicon Valley startup offers qualified applicants a temporary $ 10,000 incentive to leave.
The San Jose-based company, MainStreet, was started by three former Google employees with the goal of creating jobs and opportunities in suburban and rural communities in America.
"The $ 10,000 to leave the Bay Area was made by asking us: What is a fun, interesting way to draw attention to a serious and sobering mission?" MainStreet CEO Doug Ludlow wrote in an email to CNN. "Our mission is to create jobs in suburban and rural communities, and our goal is to create 1,000,000 new jobs over the next decade."
However, there is a catch: Qualified applicants who accept the offer must remain in their position for a full year before receiving the payout, and Ludlow said the company will only offer the $ 1
So if you want, you only have a little more than two weeks to shop. [19659002]
The housing crisis
MainStreet hopes to expand the number of companies that allow remote work, which can fulfill the goal of creating jobs in suburban and rural communities while helping to address the housing crisis in the Bay Area.
It's no secret that the San Francisco Bay Area housing crisis is a major problem, as affordable housing has slowed, thanks to the mass of technology companies and well-paid workers squeezing out low-income and middle-class workers. [19659002] Apple recently announced a $ 2.5 billion financial package to help solve the California housing crisis.
Google has pledged $ 1 billion to rebuild company-owned affordable housing plots, while also developing a fund to encourage developers to build affordable housing in the region.
"The high cost of living is a huge problem in the San Francisco Bay Area," Ludlow said. "As a result, families who have lived in the area for decades are being priced out of their homes. This is not a sustainable way to grow and sustain a community, and it is a huge problem."
The work of the future?
Companies partner with MainStreet to recruit and train employees interested in moving out of the Bay area and working remotely. These employees will be trained by MainStreet on tools such as video conferencing for easier communication, and will work out of satellite offices that Ludlow calls "the MainStreet community."
These offices will allow workers to work with other external workers, some of whom may be from different companies, as it may reduce the isolation many remote workers may feel.
While these remote workers will be employed by that company, MainStreet will handle logistics and training to make them work remotely. [19659002] Ludlow believes that external workers will play a key role in "the work of the future," and said the company is building "a sophisticated set of technological tools and services that will help make effective remote work a reality for suburban and rural communities." [19659009] This foundation will pay you $ 10,000 to move to Tulsa ” data-src-mini=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-small-169.jpg” data-src-xsmall=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-medium-plus-169.jpg” data-src-small=”http://cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-large-169.jpg” data-src-medium=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-exlarge-169.jpg” data-src-large=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-super-169.jpg” data-src-full16x9=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-full-169.jpg” data-src-mini1x1=”//cdn.cnn.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/191029150342-tulsa-oklahoma—stock-small-11.jpg” data-demand-load=”not-loaded” data-eq-pts=”mini: 0, xsmall: 221, small: 308, medium: 461, large: 781″ src=”data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhEAAJAJEAAAAAAP///////wAAACH5BAEAAAIALAAAAAAQAAkAAAIKlI+py+0Po5yUFQA7″/>