Travel
These remote Irish islands will pay you EUR80,000 to move there, but there’s a catch
The generous cash grants are being offered as a way of encouraging new residents to Ireland’s offshore communities.
If you’ve ever dreamed about dropping everything and reinventing your life on a remote island, now might be your chance.
Ireland has launched a scheme which will pay generous cash incentives to people who choose to move to one of the nation’s offshore communities.
The initiative is part of the country’s “Our Living Islands” policy, through which the Irish government is aiming to boost the population of Ireland’s islands.
“The aim of this policy is to ensure that sustainable, vibrant communities can continue to live – and thrive – on the offshore islands for many years to come,” the government says.
It sounds like the ideal escape, but there are a few stipulations to be aware of.
How to get paid to move to an island in Ireland
The “Our Living Islands” scheme aids communities on 30 islands not linked to the mainland by bridges and cut off by the tides.
As part of the project, Ireland’s government will pay over EUR80,000 to new residents of offshore communities.
It’s not a case of moving into a cosy island cottage and getting a bumper bank deposit the next day, however.
The ample cash grants are being offered as a way of rescuing and restoring the growing number of abandoned and dilapidated properties on the islands.
As such, there are a few caveats to receiving the free money.
Prospective residents need to purchase and own a property on one of the islands. The building must have been constructed before 1993 and been vacant for a minimum of two years.
There are also rules regarding the use of the cash once granted. The money can be used for building work such as installing insulation, structural improvements and redecoration.
If you jump through all the hoops, you could be looking at up to EUR84,000 to save a property from ruin and transform it into the house of your dreams.
The “Our Living Islands” grants are an extension of a scheme already in place on mainland Ireland called “Croi Conaithe”.
The sums offered for doing up a house on one of Ireland’s islands are higher, however, to cover the increased costs that come with less developed infrastructure.
If you fancy having a go at an isolated life on a wild island, applications will be available from July 1. The islands’ local authorities differ slightly in their eligibility policies so find out more on the “Our Living Islands” website.
The remote escapes you could choose from include Arranmore off the coast of county Donegal, with sweeps of golden sands and craggy cliffs, or Clare Island off the coast of County Mayo, a hiker’s paradise with a resident population of just 160.
Get paid to move to Europe
Several other communities around Europe have launched schemes to entice new residents.
In Italy and Spain particularly, rural towns and villages are using cash incentives to boost their dwindling populations.
The mountain town of Ponga in northwest Spain will pay Brits PS2,600 (EUR2,971) each to relocate there.
The white-washed town of Presicce-Acquarica in the southern Italian region of Puglia will pay new residents up to EUR30,000 to make the move.
Travel
Budget sightseeing: The most scenic bus routes in Britain for less than €3
The discount fares can be purchased this week, until 21 April, on journeys up until 12 May.
If you fancy seeing some of Britain’s top sights on the cheap, this is the month to book some leave.
Travel tech company FlixBus is celebrating its 3rd anniversary in the UK by offering £2 (€2.34) tickets for coach services across England, Scotland and Wales.
The discount fares can be purchased this week, until 21 April, on journeys up until 12 May.
This year, FlixBus added connections to the city of Inverness as part of its Scottish Network, which will be included in the deal.
The company says it aims to make coach travel “as sustainable and affordable as possible”.
It recently launched an electric, long-distance, zero-emission route between Newport, Bristol and London.
Here are five of the best journeys available on the £2 offer.
Escape to the Scottish Highlands
Visitors seeking bracing air and epic scenery can take a four-hour bus from Glasgow to Inverness, stopping on the way in Perth.
The city of Inverness is considered the gateway to the Scottish Highlands.
From here, you can strike out into the countryside and lose yourself in heather-carpeted glens and granite mountains.
Journey back in time to the historic city of York
This route takes travellers from the city of Manchester to the historic heart of York in northern England. The journey takes two hours and 40 minutes, stopping at Bradford and Leeds on the way.
York is one of the UK’s cultural hotspots, home to the UNESCO-designated York Minster, a Gothic behemoth from the 13th century with medieval stained glass windows.
If it’s a sunny day, take a walk around the city walls – a reminder of York’s Roman past.
Harry Potter fans should leave time to stroll down the Shambles, a street of charmingly crooked half-timbered houses that bely its macabre past as a slaughterhouse.
Visit the vibrant city of Manchester
This route travels between the city of Birmingham and the city of Manchester passing through Stoke On Trent and stopping at Manchester Airport.
The two-hour and 45-minute trip gives travellers access to one of the UK’s trending tourist destinations.
Once the hub of the Industrial Revolution, Manchester is now home to a buzzing music scene, warehouses transformed into popups and co-working spaces and the unmissable Gay Village along Canal Street.
Chill out in the Cairngorms National Park
A three-hour bus from Glasgow takes travellers through the attractive Scottish towns of Perth and Pitlochry to Aviemore in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park.
Nature lovers will find ancient forests, secluded lochs and a funicular whisking you up to sublime valley views.
Travel
‘An excess of tourism’: Lake Como to introduce daytripper fee to curb visitor numbers
This Italian lakeside city wants to impose a daily visitor fee.
Lake Como is glitzy, glamorous and engulfed by tourism.
The third largest lake in Italy, it sees as many as 1.4 million visitors a year descend on its shores.
The tourist numbers are proving overwhelming for the holiday hotspot in northern Italy, and one city is now considering introducing a tourist tax.
Mayor of the lakeside city of Como Alessandro Rapinese says he is mulling a Venice-style daily charge with suggestions that it could come into force soon.
Lake Como to introduce a daytripper fee
Rapinese has lambasted Lake Como’s overtourism saying it is “difficult to be mayor when you are fighting tourism”.
“We are already discussing the idea[ofa[ofatourist tax]. Revolutions begin with concrete measures and we are ready for this long journey,” he told UK newspaper The Times.
The fee would apply to daily visitors to the city of Como.
The mayor has not shared any further details about how much the fee will be, who will have to pay and when it will come into force.
If he uses the Venice model, the charge will apply to daytrippers (not those who have booked overnight accommodation in the city) and may be levied only on busy days like weekends and public holidays.
Lake Como battles overtourism
The chic lake has been struggling with soaring tourist numbers in recent years.
Crowds have boomed since several celebrities including George Clooney purchased multi-million euro properties along the shoreline and the lake provided a backdrop for films including Casino Royale and House of Gucci.
“I visited Lake Como last year and said I would never go back. Standards had dropped. Restaurants were disappointing in quality and price. Too many people to enjoy anything about the resort,” one visitor wrote on X.
Last summer, one lakeside villa which appeared in James Bond and Star Wars films was forced to limit visitor numbers.
Villa del Balbianello cut daily entries from 2,000 to a maximum of 1,200 to protect the historic house.
The Italian Fund for the Environment (FAI), which runs the property, called it “a drastic decision” but essential to counter the effect of “an excess of tourism that has an ever greater impact on Lake Como”.
Travel
Istanbul, Dalaman, Izmir: Where to go with Türkiye’s new digital nomad visa
Applicants are accepted from most EU countries as well as the UK, USA and Canada.
Türkiye has become the latest country to launch a digital nomad visa for foreign remote workers.
The Turkish Culture and Tourism Ministry has created a dedicated website where those interested can complete the first application stages.
The country hopes to lure digital nomads to destinations including Istanbul, Dalaman on the southwestern coast and Izmir on the west.
“Thousand years old ancient cities, unique bays hidden between forests, turquoise seas, dynamic people, big cities; Türkiye has all,” the visa promotion reads.
“In addition, this beautiful country is one of the biggest countries of the world in terms of economy and business, with strong infrastructure services.”
Who is eligible for Türkiye’s digital nomad visa?
Those interested in Türkiye’s digital nomad visa need to be aged between 21 and 55. Applicants are accepted from most EU countries as well as the UK, USA and Canada.
Additional prerequisites include holding a university degree, having an employment or business contract and being able to prove a monthly income of $3,000 (€2,800) or an annual one of $36,000 (€33,800).
Applicants can register and upload their documents – including a passport with six-month validity and a photo – on the dedicated Digital Nomad GoTürkiye website.
If the application is accepted, you will be issued a Digital Nomad Identification Certificate which you can then take to a Turkish visa centre or consulate in your place of residence.
The best locations for digital nomads in Türkiye
The digital nomad website also promotes destinations around the country as prime spots for remote workers.
Istanbul is “a business centre with large companies and small start-ups, a metropole of 20 million inhabitants, a meeting point of different cultures [and] a historical centre where the paths of millennia-old civilisations converge.”
Digital nomads will find a strong transportation infrastructure with several metro and bus lines, and ferry journeys between its European and Asian sides, according to the website. It also says it is easy to find fully furnished apartments to rent.
Dalaman, on the Aegean coast, “offers great transportation options, an easy escape from the crowds, an impressive variety of free-time activities, and a strong infrastructure for those who want to work from this paradise on Earth.”
Izmir, also on the Aegean Sea, is ideal for those seeking year-round warmth and Blue Flag beaches.
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