You Can Get Paid to Live on a Deserted Irish Island With No Electricity
Governments and private island owners have started offering serious money to bring people into places most travelers only see in photos. In Ireland alone, remote offshore communities have struggled with shrinking populations for decades, dropping to just a few thousand residents across dozens of islands. Officials have already approved grants worth tens of thousands of euros to attract long-term residents. And at the same time, small island businesses have posted paid caretaker jobs tied to tourism survival.
The Money Is Real, But It Comes With Rules
Image via Getty Images/Gregory Lee
Ireland’s offshore housing grants can reach about €84,000, which is roughly $92,000, depending on currency fluctuations. The funding is inside the “Our Living Islands” national policy, launched in 2023 to support housing, infrastructure, and local economies across remote coastal communities.
The grants focus on vacant or derelict homes. Many properties must have sat empty for at least 2 years, and construction dates must fall before early 2000s cutoffs, depending on the program version. Applicants must commit to living in the home long-term or renting it out as residential housing. Selling early can trigger repayment rules that last several years.
These islands are sparsely populated, and in past counts, qualifying offshore communities held just a few thousand combined residents, which explains the urgency behind the funding.
Island Jobs Show The Day-To-Day Reality
Separate opportunities exist outside government programs. Great Blasket Island, located off Ireland’s southwest coast, has hired seasonal caretakers to run its café and manage visitor cottages. The role usually lasts from spring through early fall and includes housing plus meals.
Daily duties include serving visitors, handling bookings, cleaning cottages, and supporting guest needs. Workdays are long during peak tourist months. The island is a ferry ride away, but supplies are limited, and weather can slow transport.
Electric infrastructure also varies across remote locations. Certain areas rely heavily on generators, solar setups, or limited grid access. This changes daily routines fast, especially during storms or supply delays.
Why Governments Are Offering These Deals
Image via Pexels/Pam Crane
Ireland is not alone. Italy, Japan, Croatia, and parts of France have launched similar relocation or housing rescue programs. The goal is simple: rural regions face aging populations and shrinking workforces. Schools close, stores disappear, and access to medical care becomes harder when numbers drop too low.
In one case, an Irish island community even wrote public letters to American and Australian residents asking them to relocate. This type of outreach shows how serious the population challenge has become across coastal Europe and parts of Asia. Financial incentives help offset renovation costs and lifestyle adjustments, while also protecting the cultural identity of these communities.
The Electricity Factor
Living on a remote island without reliable power changes daily habits. Cooking, heating, internet use, and water systems can depend on fuel deliveries or weather-dependent renewable systems. Tourism season often drives income. Winter months can feel extremely quiet, with fewer ferries and reduced visitor traffic.
Medical access usually requires travel to the mainland, and weather can delay emergency transport. People who succeed in these environments usually adapt well to isolation and flexible schedules. Social life tends to center on small local communities and seasonal visitor cycles.
For the right person, this opportunity can be life-changing, but for others, the adjustment can feel extreme. Either way, the fact remains that Ireland and other countries are actively paying people to help keep remote communities alive, and in certain places, modern comforts like constant electricity are far down the list of priorities compared with survival and sustainability.