Encore: Cities like Tulsa, Okla., are paying people to move there

Encore: Cities like Tulsa, Okla., are paying people to move there

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ECONOMY

Cities like Tulsa in Oklahoma are paying people to move there

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Many workers now have the ability to ditch the traditional office and work remotely. And cities across the country have been trying to attract these workers with cash and other perks². Zeninjor Enwemeka from NPR's Planet Money podcast reports on how one of those experiments is working out.

ZENINJOR ENWEMEKA, BYLINE³: Libryia Jones is big on going to new places. She even started her own travel company, though usually she's thinking about far-flung destinations - that is until a friend told her about a program in Tulsa, Okla., for remote workers. And it was offering money.

LIBRYIA JONES: You'll get $10,000 to come and live in the city. So, you know, that definitely piqued⁴ my interest.

ENWEMEKA: That $10,000 was a big incentive⁵. So she applied⁶ to the program, which is called Tulsa Remote, and a visit sealed the deal.

JONES: It just felt a lot like home. I just - it felt comfortable. It felt easy.

ENWEMEKA: So Jones left Atlanta and moved to Tulsa last summer. Cities across the country are trying to attract workers like her. They're also offering lots of money and other perks, like free workspace, gym memberships, babysitting services, even home-cooked meals. Many of these programs popped up during the pandemic as more people could work from, well, anywhere. And that's a game changer, according to Raj Choudhury. He's a professor at Harvard Business School who studies remote work.

RAJ CHOUDHURY: For decades, smaller towns in our country have lost talent to the large coastal⁷ cities. And now there's an opportunity for talent to flow back and rebuild these communities.

ENWEMEKA: Choudhury says for years, cities competed to attract companies. They'd offer up incentives⁸ - like, say, tax breaks - all in the hopes of getting some multibillion-dollar company to open up a headquarters or a factory and create lots of jobs. Choudhury says now cities are trying to compete for workers. But do the incentives work?

CHOUDHURY: Honestly, I think that initial incentive is just a headline. It grabs attention. What towns and communities need to do is invest in public infrastructure⁹ - in your parks, in your schools, in health care facilities in these communities. And I think if I were mayor of one of these towns, that would be my priority.

ENWEMEKA: Choudhury says when he studied the Tulsa program, he saw the city invested in developing green spaces, including a 66-acre park with lots of amenities¹⁰. Tulsa Remote also built up a community of 1,500 remote workers over the past four years, and Jones is a part of that.

So you got $10,000 to move to Tulsa. What did you spend that on?

JONES: I bought a house (laughter). I looked at that as an opportunity to get back into investing and to, you know, reinvest in homeownership.

ENWEMEKA: A recent report shows for every dollar spent relocating someone, the city got back $13 in new income, tax revenue and jobs - like Jones. She's hired four people.

JONES: So I hired a copywriter to kind of revamp all of my website and all that kind of stuff. I've hired an operations manager. I've also hired a social media marketing¹¹ person and a photographer. And they're all really great.

ENWEMEKA: People in the Tulsa program are supposed to stay for at least a year. Ninety percent stay longer. Jones isn't sure how long she'll stay, but she's in no rush.

Zeninjor Enwemeka, NPR News.

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1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 piqued   

v.伤害…的自尊心( pique的过去式和过去分词 )；激起（好奇心）

参考例句：

• Their curiosity piqued, they stopped writing. 他们的好奇心被挑起，停下了手中的笔。 来自辞典例句
• This phenomenon piqued Dr Morris' interest. 这一现象激起了莫里斯医生的兴趣。 来自辞典例句

5 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

6 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

7 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

8 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

10 amenities   

n.令人愉快的事物；礼仪；礼节；便利设施；礼仪( amenity的名词复数 )；便利设施；（环境等的）舒适；（性情等的）愉快

参考例句：

• The campsite is close to all local amenities. 营地紧靠当地所有的便利设施。
• Parks and a theatre are just some of the town's local amenities. 公园和戏院只是市镇娱乐设施的一部分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。