A DREAMY island is offering £13,000 to anyone who moves there and additional cash to those who set up a business or have a baby.
Sardinia is the latest Italian region to be hit by a declining population – forcing government officials to take action.
In a bid to repopulate the area, officials are offering couples up to €15,000 (£13,000) to buy or renovate a home and up to €20,000 (£17,400) to start a business.
They will also receive €600 for their first child plus €400 for each subsequent child until they turn 5.
To top it off, houses will also be sold for as little as €1 – a tempting offer to potential parents.
However, there is a slight catch for those choosing to move to the Mediterranean island.
The offer stands only for people willing to move to certain areas of Sardinia- including regions with fewer than 3,000 residents.
Residents must live in Sardinia full-time and register as permanent residents within 18 months.
But it might be worth it as people will have the chance to live a stress-free life on the picturesque island.
As the second biggest island in the Mediterranean, Sardinia boasts sandy beaches and breathtaking mountain views.
In 2023, a similar scheme was introduced which, Sardinian President Christian Solinas explained was all about creating new opportunities for locals.
He said: “We have created the conditions for young people to decide to stay and (develop) the economic fabric of the most fragile territories.
“Thanks to the contributions to their first houses, this is strengthened and becomes fertile ground for those who will move there or decide to build a family.
“There can be no growth without a real enhancement of the territories, of the interior and most disadvantaged areas, which must pass through new policies for their repopulation.”
Sardinia isn’t the only Italian town offering money to lure new residents.
Last year, Tuscany’s regional authorities announced they would pay people up to a whopping £25,000 to relocate to the breathtaking Italian mountain towns.
IT might surprise you to learn that there are some stunning destinations worldwide that have paid for people to move there
Antikythera, Greece
The island of Antikythera was looking for more people to live there, as the younger population left for more job opportunities on the busier Greek islands.
Located between Crete and Kythira, it is 45 minutes by plane from Athens.
The island planned to offer €500 (£450) per month for three years to people who moved there, which worked out to £16,200 over the three years.
Candela, Italy
Candela, a tiny town in Puglia, is offered up to €2,000 (£1,800) for people to move there after the population had dropped from 8,000 to just 2,700 people.
It was €800 (£723) for single people, €1,200 (£1,085) for couples, up to €1,800 (£1,600) for three-person families and €2,000 (£1,800) for four-person families.
You needed to become a resident, along with a house and a job of at least €7,500 (£6,700) a year.
Sicily, Italy
Sicily offered homes for just €1 (90p), with the only catch being the amount you need to spend to renovate them.
While they were not quite giving you money, they were giving a huge discount on homes.
The Palermo homes were in need of TLC, meaning at least €15,000 (£13,500) must have been spent to refurbish them within three years.
Vermont, US
The state of Vermont has one of the lowest populations in the US, which is why they hoped to lure remote workers to the area.
Their Remote Worker Grant scheme offered applicants $5,000 (£4,000) every year for two years to live there – working out to $10,000 (£8,000) to cover moving to the area.
The applicants needed to become a full time resident of the state to be eligible.
Santiago, Chile
The best offer to move abroad was to Santiago in Chile – which offered $40,000 (£32,700) to move there.
The government wanted tech entrepreneurs to launch their business there, with the Start-Up Chile programme that looked for female founders and founders with companies less than three years old.
The offer also included a year-long work visa as well as a free co-working space.
The money would be used to buy a house in a town in the picturesque province.
And in Greece, on the island Antikythera government officials offered to pay people €500 (£450) per month to live there.
They also offered new residents a plot of land to build their home or business.
Like in Sardinia, the scheme was aimed at young families and came about after the island suffered a significant drop in its population.
Meanwhile, Mussomeli in southern Sicily also offered 100 abandoned properties for just €1 to keen property hunters.
Buyers simply had to agree to renovate their new homes within a year of purchase or they would lose their $8,000 (£4,270) security deposit.
This tactic was also adopted in the quaint French village of Auverne in a bid to entice newcomers in to the area.
A WORLD Cup qualifier between Nicaragua and Haiti was plunged into darkness after the floodlights went out.
Haiti ended up securing a 3-0 win in their bid to reach next year’s tournament in the United after going top of their CONCACAF group.
But their World Cup game was temporarily disrupted in the first half after the lights went out inside the stadium.
There had been heavy rainfall inside the Estadio Nacional de Futbal in Nicaragua on Thursday evening.
And the weather appeared to cause technical difficulty as a clip showed the stadium becoming completely pitch black for a short period.
Haiti were 1-0 up at the time of the power cut at the 28th minute mark as play was briefly halted.
The commentator could be heard saying: “Oh and the lights have gone out.
“Well, that obviously will make it difficult to continue for now.”
Fans were seen trying to entertain themselves in the stands while organisers battled to get the power back on.
Eventually the problem was resolved and the lighting was restored, with Haiti scoring a second just minutes after the restart.
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The goal, scored by Danley Jean Jacques, was assisted by Wolves midfielder Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
They netted their third goal of the night in stoppage time to seal an important victory.
Fans reacted to the bizarre moment on social media as they joked it was a “peak CONCACAF moment”.
One said: “Every time we think we’ve reached peak CONCACAF, there’s yet another peak further up.”
Another added: “CONCACAF gonna CONCACAF.”
A third said: “They went full CONCACAF. Never go full CONCACAF-y.”
And one wrote: “Only in CONCACAF would the lights go out 30 minutes in.”
Haiti have five points from their first three World Cup Qualifying third-round games, with two draws and no losses so far.
Nicaragua are bottom of the standings after just one point so far.
The team who finishes top of the group will advance to next year’s World Cup, while the runners up will compete in a play-off.
