Cities paying you to move? It’s real and MakeMyMove is making waves in Indiana
Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
Desiree Riley was clicking around on YouTube a year ago when a creator she watched talked about communities that would pay for people to move there.
Enticed and looking to move, Riley checked out the MakeMyMove website. She was living in Philadelphia at the time with her family and had started working remotely. The Noblesville listing caught her eye because she has a daughter named Noble, so she thought, “Let’s see how this goes,” and applied.
Riley and her family are now settling into their new home in the Hamilton County city after moving in mid-May. She said it was a community that was affordable, safe and consisting of people who wanted her — one that would grant $15,000 worth of memberships, experiences and cash.
The company inspiring Riley’s relocation is called MakeMyMove, a growing changemaker in Indiana communities. The business is a marketplace where local leaders can build offers to persuade families to pick up and move to their town or city. Many say this is part of a solution to boost the local economy, enhance the workforce with talent and build up smaller communities.
Programs offered through MakeMyMove are targeted toward remote workers and often require applicants to be from out-of-state. Interested movers must apply through the platform before potentially being selected to call a new Hoosier city home.
“Indiana really has become a nationwide leader in this effort,” said Evan Hock, MakeMyMove co-founder and chief operating officer. “We think we can expand these programs and really pipeline a lot of people to the state over the next three to five years.”
Moving is often known for the burden of stress its causes, but Riley said MakeMyMove was easy, and the longest part was waiting to be accepted. They have moved often before, but she saw their move to the Indiana city as a fresh start — an opportunity.
“The fact that it was a community that wanted us, no one else ever offered us an opportunity like that,” Riley said. “It was important that we take full advantage of it and be able to reciprocate and try to make the most out of the opportunity.”
Riley talks about moving to Noblesville through the program, her experience and what she likes about her new community.
Hock said his company’s mission, which has led to hundreds finding a new home as Hoosiers, started in late 2020 as a response to the pandemic enabling many to work remotely, and therefore, not be bound to living in a specific area. Those workers are flocking out of big cities and away from paycheck-consuming rent toward small and mid-sized cities.
Indianapolis-based MakeMyMove looks to capitalize on this migration and capture many of those workers in Indiana, where they have around 25 community programs. According to the company, it has moved 450 people to the state with 200 more in the works.
Hock talks about how MakeMyMove is boosting local development and pioneering an industry.
“It’s a form of economic development,” Hock said. “Rather than recruit businesses to relocate, they can recruit those individual workers.”
He calls it “retail economic development.” Through incentivizing workers to move, they bring their families and their spending. The Indiana Economic Development Corp. has provided matching funds for communities to support this endeavor. From that investment, the company has produced $13.7 million in annual economic impact in local spending, tax income and the creation of new jobs locally, Hock said, a number calculated by the IU Public Policy Institute.
Similar organizations are popping up across the country; one very successful example is Tulsa Remote, which has moved 2,400 people to the Oklahoma city in exchange for $10,000 and a greater sense of community. The company estimated its members generates $2.5 million in sales tax revenue, which it says is a larger investment than the payout sums that brought the new residents there.
MakeMyMove works with local government offices, the IEDC, and regional economic development organizations to launch programs based on the movers they want to attract and the attributes the community has to offer.
“They’re resourceful, they’re problem solvers, and they’re just trying to help their communities grow,” Hock said of local leaders. “We’re really proud to be a small partner in that.”
Tony Denhart, IEDC executive vice president of workforce and talent, said in an email to IIB that MakeMyMove a great tool to attract a talented workforce and growth communities in the state.
“Indiana is securing record economic momentum, and we’re focused on building a strong workforce pipeline to support those high-tech, future-focused investments now and years into the future,” he wrote.
Hock said they’ve been very pleased with the early results. It’s part of a “relocation revolution,” he said, and his perspective is MakeMyMove has a high ceiling, especially compared to the growth of Tulsa Remote since its inception in 2018.
“It’s a brand new way of thinking about economic development,” he said.
The state has fielded a large push to grow quality of life amenities around the state through various large-scale grants and legislation. It’s a common talking point of Gov. Eric Holcomb as the state looks to continue landing investments, transform its economy and attract remote workers.
The average income of a person moved through a MakeMyMove program is $109,000. The median salary in the state is $55,500, which falls below the national average of $57,600.
MakeMyMove will continue working to “matchmake” interested movers with communities that fit their needs, Hock said, while the state thinks about its long-term investments. The most popular programs in Indiana are Muncie, southwest Indiana, Noblesville and Evansville.
While the economic impact is calculable and showing promise, Hock said the program also injects new people into these communities where they could bring new culture, skills and ideas. That benefit is also significantly valuable when leaders think about what launching a MakeMyMove program can bring to their area, he said.
Many people are looking for ways to feel involved and get to know other locals, he said, so they are confident in their retention rates. Movers typically must live in an area for at least a year, and Hock believes many will stay even longer after the connections they’ve established.
Riley and her family are growing into their new community. She is a member of the Noblesville Chamber of Commerce and takes advantage of her comped COHatch social and coworking spaces, which are part of her MakeMyMove package. Her son is enjoying his experience at the high school they say feels safe and is wholesome. They’ve started to get to know their neighbors in the community and are enjoying Janet Jackson and TLC concerts at the Ruoff Music Center.
Riley said the company is a pioneer and she knows it has and will continue to make difference in local communities because she’s seen it herself. She’s excited to see it expand across the nation and says it will change many people’s lives.
“It’s really making such an impact on the community that the program itself is so popular within Indiana,” she said. “I feel proud to be a part of that our family is a part of the program.”