1 Illinois Town is So Desperate They’ll Pay You Big to Move There

Perhaps desperation is the wrong word to use to describe what one Illinois town will do to motivate you to move there and work. There's no mistaking the fact that they're offering a lot to whoever is willing to call their part of the Land of Lincoln home.

There's an interesting new article by Developers for Hire about the best states to remote work in. It ranks Illinois as the 4th best state to work remote meaning when you want to do that job from your residence. That's not what caught my eye though.

As part of the "Illinois is a great place to remote work" article, they pointed out a program offered by Mattoon, Illinois. Get a load of this. It's called "Move to Mattoon" where they say "Mattoon is in motion. Come move with us". To Mattoon's credit, they're putting their dollars where their mouth is. Here's what they say you can get for moving to Mattoon, Illinois:

• $5,000 cash for moving
• $2,555 in gift cards to local businesses
• $500 in restaurant vouchers

They say the total value they're offering those that relocate to Mattoon, Illinois is a whopping $11,703. Is that before or after taxes? (Asking for a friend)

There are all kinds of free memberships to local Mattoon, Illinois places that are a part of this "move to Mattoon" campaign.

After seeing this huge prize package, I checked the crime rate in Mattoon according to City Data and it's below the national average which is good. I'll add my own "go Mattoon" comment. The city is situated in a very convenient place if you like Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis.

Would I move there? Not really my cup of tea, but it looks like a great deal for someone who wants to remote work and already thinks Illinois is an OK place already.