Los Angeles native Shanelle Sherlin always wanted to live close to nature in a place where, as a triathlete, she could run, bike and swim away from ci

The 'Zoom towns' luring remote workers to rural enclaves - BBC Worklife

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2021-06-12 22:00:03

Los Angeles native Shanelle Sherlin always wanted to live close to nature in a place where, as a triathlete, she could run, bike and swim away from city noise. So, when her job as a digital marketing manager for an entertainment company went fully remote, the 30-year-old made a dramatic move that would have been unimaginable before the pandemic: she traded the Hollywood Hills for the rolling Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas.

Sherlin was one of 30,000 applicants from 50 states and 115 countries who applied for the Life Works Here talent initiative, which was launched in November 2020 with a $1.5 million investment from the Walmart heirs (the big-box retailer has its headquarters in Northwest Arkansas). Successful candidates – there are currently 35 out of what will be a total of 100 by year’s end – receive $10,000 (£7,090) if they relocate for a minimum of one year, plus outdoor perks such as a free bike to enjoy the area’s 400 miles (644km) of hard and soft-surface trails.

“One thing that really impacted me right away was that it’s such a cycling-friendly community,” says Sherlin, who lives in Fayetteville, a small city of about 85,000 residents, by the 37-mile Razorback Regional Greenway. She bikes it and other trails three times a week, sometimes with a group of fellow cyclists. The newly remote worker also found a social club with a co-working space, which she says “is a great place to interact with likeminded, career-driven individuals”.

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