CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A program offering cash and free outdoor adventures to remote workers to move to West Virginia with the hope of offsetting population losses has welcomed 143 new residents, officials announced Tuesday.
The public-private program Ascend West Virginia said it has added a fourth destination where out-of-state workers can apply to live. Applications are being accepted immediately for the Elkins area in the northeastern part of the state
Elkins is on the western edge of the Monongahela National Forest and is within reasonable distance of skiing and golf resorts. The town of about 6,900 residents hosts the Mountain State Forest Festival every fall.
"You couldn't ask for a more small-town charm with amazing music and vibrancy and an incredible recreation scene," Brad Smith, the program's founder and current president of Marshall University, said at a news conference.
Applications also are being accepted to the three areas previously announced since the program launched in April 2021: the northern college town of Morgantown, the Greenbrier Valley in the southeastern corner of the state, and the Eastern Panhandle.
Under the program, successful applicants will receive $12,000 and free passes to indulge in whitewater rafting, golf, rock climbing, horseback riding, skiing and ziplining. The full relocation package is valued at more than $20,000.
West Virginia lost a greater percentage of its residents than any other state. From 2010 to 2020, the population dropped 3.2%, or about 59,000 people. In an effort to reverse the exodus, West Virginia is leveraging one of its most appealing assets, its "almost heaven" natural beauty, in direct appeals to outdoor enthusiasts whose jobs enable them to work from anywhere they choose.
The program has drawn more than 20,000 applicants since its launch. It has welcomed 87 new residents to Morgantown and 37 to the Greenbrier Valley. Others will relocate to the Eastern Panhandle early next year from 24 states and Canada.
Program participant Ben Frohman moved to Morgantown a year ago from Arlington, Va. He was a federal government employee and has since transitioned into the private sector with a national security advisory firm.
His biggest impression of the state was the kindness he encountered after his car had a flat tire at the start of a family trip. A young man and his girlfriend offered their help and went to an auto parts store to buy a tire repair kit while Frohman stayed with his young daughter in the car. The man refused to let Frohman pay for any of the repair items.
"People here help each other out as a matter of course," Frohman said. "It really left an impression on my family and me."
FILE - Eileen Lallone feels the mist from the waterfalls at the halfway point of the New Tygart Flyer scenic train ride on July 16, 2007, in Elkins, W.Va. A program offering cash and free outdoor adventures to remote workers to move to West Virginia with the hope of offsetting population losses has welcomed 143 new residents in the year since it launched, officials announced Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022. (AP Photo/Dale Sparks, File)