TULSA, Okla. — In 2018, Tulsa Remote offered 100 people $10,000 to move to Tulsa and work remotely. The offer attracted well over 10,000 applicants from every state, and all over the world.
Now it's back, and after two days, thousands have already applied.
Conner Snedden is a Tulsa Remote participant, who moved with his wife and two kids. After just five months, he plans on staying long-term.
"We bought a house, we have our kids in school; this is a long-term plan for us," Snedden said. "It was just stars aligning saying this is a perfect opportunity for us to be in a place that we raise our kids, can get involved in a community, and actually have an impact."
Snedden immediately saw why so many people applied in the program's first year.
"I don't know if I've been to another city, big or small, that I've seen more city flags than American flags," Snedden said. "The amount of pride the people have in this place is palpable and it's contagious."
Last year, Tulsa Remote got to 10,000 applicants before they had to cut off the application process. This year looks even busier. 1,500 people applied on Tuesday, the first day of the Tulsa Remote 2020 application process.
Aaron Bolzle is the executive director of Tulsa Remote. He says program directors learned valuable lessons from last year's wave of applicants, and are already looking through this year's applications. The catch? Applicants must be passionate about immediately immersing themselves in the community.
"I think Tulsa has fought a lack of perception," Bolzle said, "and I think we're helping evolve the perception into something that more resembles what Tulsa is."
Last year, people from every state and more than 150 countries applied. This year, 250 participants will be accepted more than doubling last year's 100.
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