A small group of Dubois volunteers believes there is a hidden benefit for their community in two emerging trends: increasing acceptance of remote work and migration from urban to rural locations.
The newly formed Wind River Remote Works (WRRW) group believes that the economy of the Dubois area could be boosted by attracting new residents who are already employed and who are interested in both working and living remotely — particularly those with families who could boost school enrollment.
Founded in partnership with Dubois DRIVE, WRRW is a new chapter of the international organization Grow Remote. Their mission is to promote economic development in rural communities by enabling remote work. Dubois is one of the first in the US to found an active chapter.
The effort will also benefit the region as part of a US Department of Agriculture grant to the Cheyenne-based coding school Array, Inc. This specifically gives the Dubois remote-work campaign free access to professional skills such as website design and app-building.
WRRW believes that remote work is rapidly becoming the “new normal,” and intends to stimulate the creation of a new online “industry” in Dubois, by appealing to those remote workers who would appreciate the small-town community and would value what residents treasure about it.
The WRRW effort has three related goals:
- to attract remote workers to Dubois,
- to help local residents find new opportunities in the remote-work field, and
- to allow current and future remote workers to meet and share their experiences, knowledge, and camaraderie.
WRRW members know that Dubois is positioned to capitalize on these trends, given the area’s high-speed robust Internet service, the joys of the outdoors, and the reasonable cost of living. These advantages have already attracted numerous long-term residents who work remotely here as consultants or as employees of distantly headquartered firms. WRRW intends to identify and attract more.
As a first step, WRRW seeks to gain perspective and fresh ideas from people who are currently working remotely in the Dubois area. The group welcomes others to add their insights to a campaign to vitalize the region, by describing and sharing the benefits of their current work arrangement.
Please contact Wind River Remote Works at [email protected] or through the Facebook group.