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What it takes to lure IT workers back to the Chinese countryside

Jun 26, 2023
Some city-dwellers are heeding the call of China’s government for people to return and revive the countryside.
Ex-coder Hu Hang stands in a peach orchard he co-invests in. He quit the IT sector and moved from Shenzhen back to his hometown in central Jiangxi province a few years ago. (Christian Petersen-Clausen/Marketplace)
Christian Petersen-Clausen for Marketplace

Lack of paid sick days takes a toll on rural Americans' health

Nov 23, 2022
Only two states with significant rural populations have laws that require employers to offer sick days.
Americans with long commutes to hospitals and doctors' offices are also less likely to have enough paid time off to make the trip.
Spencer Platt / Getty Images

Residents of rural Alaska brace for heat-up in fuel prices

Jul 13, 2022
High gas prices threaten food security as well as people's ability to keep the lights on and protect themselves from the cold.
In rural Alaska, the gas that powers electricity-producing generators is delivered by barge or air. Brevig Mission residents expect prices to climb when the next delivery comes.
Tashka/Getty Images