Pictured, from left to right: Elyse Notarianni, Klein Aleardi, Devin Lee, and Alexis Stipe
The community of Saint Marys, in the Elk Country Landscape of the PA Wilds, welcomed four remote workers and their families to the area this August. During their stay, they’ll be fully immersing themselves in the PA Wilds lifestyle.
Now in its third and final grant-funded year, the Wilds Are Working: Remote Lifestyle Experience, has brought remote workers from near and far to the region to experience truly rural living.
Funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission through Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern PA and administered by the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, Inc., this program seeks to help address the issue of outmigration in rural areas by marketing PA Wilds communities as great places to live and work.
In July, three individuals traveled — one even internationally — to experience all that life in Williamsport, in the I-80 Frontier landscape and Pine Creek Valley and the PA Grand Canyon landscape of the PA Wilds, had to offer.
Now, in its final chapter, the program welcomes visitors from other locations in Pennsylvania and as far as Oregon to Saint Marys. The community boasts a special “hometown feeling,” and remote workers are attracted to the community for its easy commute, access to the local rails to trails system, and special community assets like coworking, parks, and more.
Three of this August’s participants are remote-based, service business owners. Two participants, Elyse Notarianni and Klein Aleardi, applied together to the Wilds Are Working program as friends. Get to know the participants and their motivations for applying to the program in this video.
Traveling from Portland, OR, with her partner, Rob, Devin Lee said in her application to the Wilds Are Working: Remote Lifestyle Initiative that she “thrives on exploring unfamiliar territories and building meaningful relationships along the way.” A systems strategist, she designs and build custom systems for quickly growing businesses.
Devin said that she had never been to the PA Wilds region. Her work is well-positioned for this kind of experience, since she runs her own online-based business.
“I love to travel, explore new places, and meet new people,” she said. “I have never been to the PA Wilds and it looked gorgeous (I was right!)”
Alexis Stipe, who works in a management role remotely, said that she and her family have been looking to move to rural Pennsylvania for some time. The family currently lives in Wrightsville, PA.
Time in Saint Marys will give them “the opportunity to get a feel for how my remote job would work in rural PA as well as a great opportunity to meet the community, get involved and learn if we would fit well in the community we want to move to,” she said.
Since 2020, Alexis said that she has been considering relocation and that the PA Wilds topped her list of relocation destinations.
“My husband and I have been looking to move out of our area for a while and when my husband came across an article about the Wilds are Working program we were particularly interested,” she said. “The PA Wilds region has always been appealing to me… growing up I would go camping in Tioga County and love the Grand Canyon of PA.”
Alexis and her husband are experiencing Saint Marys with their six children.
Elyse Notarianni travels to Saint Marys from Philadelphia, where she is the owner of a ghostwriting and digital marketing agency. Her work lends itself to working with primarily small businesses.
“I like being in the city, but I feel really connected to smaller communities and the ways in which people’s lives, passions and work impact an area,” she said in her application to the Wilds Are Working program.
“What I do for a living lends itself perfectly to a program like this. I specifically look for small businesses to help them curate their online presence, in an affordable way, and create real community between their business and their customers or potential customers.”
She noted that summer can be particularly challenging in Philadelphia, when she wants to spend more time outside but access to outdoor recreation can be difficult there. In her application, she also noted that she is looking forward to finding tangible ways of getting involved in the community.
As a content marketing manager, Klein provides marketing services for a number of small businesses in industries including tech, lifestyle publication and hospitality.
What was most appealing about the opportunity to participate in the program, she said in her application, was the opportunity to “live in a community purposely trying to foster connections and build support for another community.” Klein noted that her lease just wrapped up in Los Angeles, and she plans to spend the fall on the East Coast figuring out her plans for her next accommodations. She’s worked remotely for five years.
“I wanted to take advantage of my flexible schedule to fill my life with experiences where I could meet people, learn and find new hobbies,” she said. “It’s easier said than done — especially when you’re trying to run a business.”
It’s not uncommon to find Klein spending a Saturday trying a new experience, like going on a hike or visiting a museum.
Learn more
Interested in learning more about the Wilds Are Working: Remote Lifestyle Experience? Read this “What you should know” piece; or check out the Frequently Asked Questions.
