A woman was paid $10,000 to move from her home in Austin, Texas, to a quaint town in Arkansas.
Alisha McDarris, travel and outdoor journalist at Business Insidershared how she and her husband packed their bags and moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas, a 55.8-square-mile city with a population of just over 103,000 residents.
McDarris said an incentive program offered by the Northwest Arkansas Council, an economic development agency, enticed them to uproot their lives in a bustling city.
The couple applied for the agency position. ‘Life Works Here’ Initiative offering $10,000 in bitcoin or cash and a mountain bike to 100 lucky remote workers around the world.
After being elected, McDarris and her husband traveled to the state in July 2022 and lived there for 15 months.
Along with her husband, McDarris saw drastic differences between the bustling Texas city and the quaint city of just over 95,000 residents. (pictured: Aerial view of Fayetteville)
During their time, the couple discovered that they enjoyed where they lived, but didn’t quite “love” it.
While in the Bear State, the journalist and her husband became fond of the many outdoor activities that surrounded them.
He noted that they loved staying active in their new community while participating in mountain biking, backpacking, camping and trail maintenance.
McDarris added that they had the pleasure of accessing trails ‘minutes’ from where they lived to go on backpacking trips and camp wherever they wanted without reservation.
Another part they enjoyed about living in the small town was meeting other people, including small business owners.
“We found it easier to connect with fellow creatives and made friends with small business owners who were as interested in their communities as their own success, which isn’t always the case in big cities,” McDarris said.
McDarris and her husband also found that the cost of living in Arkansas is significantly cheaper than living in Texas.
McDarris found that the cost of living in Arkansas compared to Texas was significantly cheaper. (pictured: the skyline of Austin, Texas)
According US NewsArkansas is the number one state in the country to live in based on its cost of living and housing affordability, while Texas ranked 28th.
Although the couple found a cheaper apartment than the one they previously lived in, the location of their house was not ideal.
McDarris explained that his new home was just a highway exit away from Arkansas Razorback Stadium. The stadium has been the home of the University of Arkansas Razorback football team since 1938.
“Living there became a headache that lasted until late summer and fall, when fans filled the streets and honked angrily at anyone not wearing the team’s signature red,” he said.
The couple were “immediately disenchanted” when they arrived during what she said was an apparent “housing crisis.”
“I was also confused as to why they had tempted us to move if there weren’t enough places to live here,” McDarris said, adding that it caused them to panic.
She and her husband were “immediately disenchanted” when they arrived during what she said was an apparent “housing crisis.” (pictured: Fayetteville, Arkansas)
After trading city life for a simple, outdoorsy life, McDarris and her husband decided to pack their bags and move near the Wasatch Mountains in Utah.
“After six months, we knew Arkansas wasn’t going to be our forever home,” McDarris said.
He admitted that the spontaneous movement helped them realize what they wanted in their life.
“I don’t regret anything about our transition period at Arkansas,” McDarris said. “Our time there was a necessary stepping stone to cross the river of life, a leap that made the next one seem attainable.”
Business Insider travel and outdoor journalist Alisha McDarris was paid $10,000 to move from her home in Austin, Texas, to the small town of Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The ‘Life Works Here’ initiative was first launched in November 2020 by the agency which is supported by the Walton Family Foundation ‘to attract top talent to the region’.
In addition to receiving a monetary and mountain bike incentive, the agency also allows participants to choose an annual membership to the region’s major cultural and arts institutions, according to the website.
“This program is not only a benefit to our region’s recipients and emerging talent, but also contributes to the vitality of our existing and growing market and our local economy,” said Council President and CEO Nelson Peacock. of Northwest Arkansas.