You moved to a new city. The boxes are unpacked. Your Wi-Fi is finally stable. You know where the best tacos are (it’s always a truck). But something still feels… unclicked.

Spoiler alert: It’s not just you.

Turns out, landing in a new place is a hell of a lot easier than belonging there.

Remote work lets us pick where we live, sure. But building a life? That part still takes people. And ideally, people who invite you to something other than a neighborhood Facebook group full of missing cats and dumb conspiracy theories.

That’s where we come in (yeah you, me, us).

Remote Workers = Community Builders 

We’ve hit a turning point: being a remote worker isn’t just about freedom of movement. It’s about the power to move communities forward. The data backs it up.

In Tulsa, Oklahoma where I help remote workers and newcomers become rooted residents through intentional place design, they’re not just filling coffee shops. They’re building businesses, joining boards, and voting with their hearts, feet, and wallets.

• Since 2018, over 3,475 Remoters have brought in $622 million in direct income to the city.

• 18% of alumni start local businesses. 11% serve on nonprofit boards, and 4% create nonprofits of their own.

• 56% of 2024 Tulsa Remote movers identified as part of an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, making the community more diverse each year.

• Remoters who choose to stay? They report twice the work satisfaction of those who leave. Coincidence? I think not.

This is community capital in action: real value created through real connection. (Tulsa Stats)

The Secret Sauce? Onboarding Into the City

Most companies have onboarding. So why don’t cities?

If we want people to stay, and not just collect incentives before ghosting town, we need to go full concierge. That means:

• Introducing people to places and to people with shared passions (tap into that intrinsic motivation!)

• Helping folks feel useful, plugging into projects, nonprofits, and boards.

• Creating “collision moments”: storytelling dinners, art walks, or trivia nights where serendipity happens.

And no, this doesn’t require a civic innovation grant. It just requires giving a damn.

Turn Remote Into Rooted

A remote worker who feels connected becomes a rooted resident who reinvests. Just take a look at Madeira, Portugal. Their Madeira Friends Project turned a tiny coastal island into an international hotspot for creatives.

Or look at TulsaBound. We didn’t just give remote workers a taste of the city, we translated what it could actually look like for them to make it their home, both physically and emotionally. People cried when they left…and 80% came back permanently. One participant said, “TulsaBound didn’t just show me a city, it introduced me to a future I didn’t know I wanted.”

That’s the goal. Not transaction, but transformation.

🔥 Hot Tip: Belonging Is a Verb

Feeling out of place? Flip the script: be the person who helps others feel like they belong.

• Extend the invite.

• Ask the next question.

• Offer your skill, your story, or your spare seat.

The fastest way to feel rooted? Help someone else find their way in.

Want help making your city feel more like home? Email me at [email protected] — WITH AN F.