Thursday Discussion Thread

Should we all move to Tulsa?

I didn’t want to give my sister this satisfaction, but here we go. She moved to Tulsa in April, and it feels like every time we talk, she tries to convince me to become a Tulsa Remoter. Though she, herself, is not a remoter, she may be onto something.

Between its launch in 2018 and its 2024 impact report, Tulsa Remote’s 3,475 participants generated $622 million in direct employment income, and the workers’ relatively high salaries are a boon to the city’s tax revenue.

It’s been a successful program for revitalizing the city: every dollar spent on remote workers brings $4 to current residents, and around 70% of remoters have remained in Tulsa after their initial year. It works for Tulsa and the tens of other communities with similar programs because they are small cities with a lower cost of living than Seattle or Los Angeles or Boston. Crucially, they have a brain drain problem, and this might just be the solution.

Would you consider making the move? (Alas, at the end of the day, Slow Boring HQ is in DC.)