EDITOR:

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated many changes, chief among them being a wholesale shift to remote work for a growing number of people around the United States.

According to the website Upwork, remote work has increased a staggering 87% since the pandemic started.

Delta County is one of the places that can benefit from this change. We offer safe communities with good schools and access to an abundance of desirable lifestyle factors that people in larger metropolitan areas dream about.

Places like Tulsa, OK, and Southwest, Michigan, have already launched financial incentive programs in order to attract remote workers to their communities, and I expect more places to start directly competing for these people in 2021.

Economic developers also need to consider this shift when making their plans. It’s no longer enough to simply work to attract manufacturers and other more traditional industries.

I myself am 32 years old and grew up in Gladstone but now reside overseas in Tallinn, Estonia. I can say that many peope of my generation now have the ability to work from anywhere, and the prospect of \“coming home\” is an exciting consideration for many of them.

It’s time for the Upper Peninsula to actively promote itself as a great place to live, work, and raise a family among the growing number of people who suddenly have more freedom to choose where they spend their time.

Alex Wellman

Gladstone