Have Laptop, Will Travel

*This post was originally published in September 2025.

Have Gun—Will Travel

In 1957, a San Francisco “gentleman investigator and gunfighter” named Paladin—played by Richard Boone—rode throughout the west every week, seeking out new problems to solve and new people to save.

Paladin would charge clients $1,000 to, uh, solve their problems. Of course, for those poor souls who could not afford such a steep cost, he would take their voice as payment, banishing his clients from the sea and stepping in to wed their beloved prince.

Actually, I think that last part was Ursula the sea witch from The Little Mermaid.

Anyway!

Paladin would travel the wild west handing out his card which read, “Have Gun—Will Travel.” Meaning, as long as you have work, I have the tools to complete it. He was the hammer to their nail.  

For the entirety of our history as a species, workers have always gone to where the work was and set their roots there. They took their proverbial gun and traveled.

Remote work is changing that, at least for some of us.

While small cities and towns across the US have spent the last one hundred years courting outside employers to come into their towns to provide jobs, a new way of thinking has emerged. Rather than spend the entire economic development budget on attracting companies to move in, civic leaders in some towns have started asking a different question:

“What if we paid remote workers to move to our city?”

Here’s the cool part: It’s working.

Let’s talk about it.

1. Remote Work-ing My Way Back to You, Girl

The COVID-19 pandemic didn’t just nudge us into remote work—it shoved us headset first. For months on end, laptops at the kitchen table became the office. That shift rewired expectations about what “going to work” means.

Yes, many companies have shifted back to hybrid schedules. But hybrid doesn’t always mean “live near the office.” If you’re only required to show up once a month—or once a quarter—you suddenly have the freedom to live two states away, or halfway across the country, without it hurting your career.

Here’s the kicker: In just six years, the share of Americans working remotely jumped from 6% to nearly 20% (U.S. Census Bureau). And forecasts from Cornell and others suggest that could reach 40–50% in the next decade.

Bottom line: remote work is not a blip. It’s a permanent feature of the labor market. And that creates an opportunity for small towns to get strategic about bringing in people—and their paychecks.

2. Have Laptop—Will Travel: Attracting Remote Workers to Your Small Town

So how do you convince remote workers and their families to choose your town?

The most successful programs have leaned on one simple word: cash.

• Tulsa: cash.

• Perry County, Indiana: cash.

• Muscle Shoals, Alabama: cash.

• Paducah, Kentucky: cash.

It works. Incentives as modest as $4,500 (Lincoln County, Kansas) or as generous as $15,000 (Topeka) have drawn hundreds—sometimes thousands—of applicants.

Not everyone gets approved, of course. But even a handful of carefully selected newcomers can change a town’s trajectory. For every $15,000 incentive, towns like Tulsa have seen up to $60,000 in new local economic activity. That’s a 4:1 return—hard to beat.

But here’s the secret: nobody relocates just for a one-time check. The money grabs attention, but people stay because the place feels like home. They stay for vibrant art scenes, hiking trails and river walks, charming Main Streets, strong schools, and a sense of belonging.

I know this firsthand. When I relocated, it wasn’t just about housing costs—it was about finding a walkable community, with local shops I could support and institutions that aligned with my values. That’s what sealed the deal.

Beyond cash payments, why are remote workers moving to the cozy streets of small towns?

Because small towns have character.

3. How Small Towns Can Punch Above Their Weight

If there’s one thing every small town has, it’s character.

And a vacant gas station that hasn’t been open in over a decade.

But back to business…

Every small town has a story. Sometimes it’s a story of grit and survival. Sometimes it’s one of heritage and tradition. Either way, that story can be your biggest asset.

A decent economic development team will dust off the history books and use them to pitch the town.

A great team will build a bold, modern brand around that history—something distinct enough to make people pull up Zillow listings at midnight.

And here’s why that matters: if workers are no longer tethered to a cubicle in a major metro, they get to choose where they live based on lifestyle, not commute. That’s revolutionary. People can decide to live where they want to, not where they have to.

For towns that know how to market themselves, that’s a once-in-a-generation chance to punch above their weight. It’s not about competing with Chicago or New York—it’s about standing out as the place where people can have the life they’ve been dreaming of.

We are in a new age. We can finally work on attracting employees instead of kissing the asses of major employers. We can fill our towns with people who want to be here, while reaping real collective economic benefits from their relocation. This is what it means for a town to be people-first—a value that is going to be increasingly important for all of us to fight for in the coming decade. More on that later.

For now, take a look at your small town. Do you think people would want to move there? Why or why not?

What would you change to make your town more exciting to remote workers looking for a better place to live?

Tell me in the comments.

-AT

Adam Tidrow is a serial entrepreneur, expert in American business and economic history, and scholar whose work focuses primarily on local economic development in the American Rust Belt.