Self-employed remote workers should check out Italian negative rents

 
Italy has a load of problems - banking crises, unsustainable immigration, corrupt government - but one of its biggest is depopulation:

FOR ALL THE ANCIENT Italian hill towns and villages that delight the traveler — the San Gimignanos, Montepulcianos and Fiesoles — there are scores of others (many equally or more beautiful) where few venture and in which very few reside today. According to a 2016 Italian environmental association report, there are nearly 2,500 rural Italian villages that are perilously depopulated, some semi-abandoned and others virtual ghost towns.

One of these towns is Candela in Puglia - and the result is what amounts to negative rents with the town paying you to live there:

The mayor of Candela wants to reverse the declining fortunes of his town, once known as "Little Naples" for its crowded streets, which has seen its population plummet from more than 8,000 to just 2,700 today.

The town is offering €800 [£716] for singles, €1,200 [£1,075] for couples, €1,500 [£1,344] to €1,800 [£1,613] for three-member families, and over €2,000 for families of four to five people who are willing to up sticks and embrace la dolce vita, CNN Travel reports.

There are a few caveats (such as having at least €7,500 in annual income and a job) but it's clear that if you've a portable skill or can work remotely this is a great little offer. And it's Italy's south - so wine, weather and history in spades.

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