Smaller American Cities See Big Interest From Urban Flight: Remote Work & School

[appalachiablue]

- 'Smaller American cities see big interest from urban flight,'- CNBC, Oct. 30, 2020.

Now that more Americans can work and attend school from anywhere, they are increasingly looking to leave large urban centers for smaller, less dense cities with cheaper housing.

As different real estate entities try to measure the migration, certain cities are standout destinations.

Santa Barbara, California; Louisville, Kentucky; and Buffalo, New York, are seeing big net inflows. This is the number of people looking to move in minus the number of people looking to leave, according to a study of online home search results by Redfin.

Santa Barbara’s net inflow increased by 124% in the third quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. Louisville saw a 113% increase, and Buffalo a 107% gain.

> “Remote work has opened up a whole new world of possibilities when it comes to buying a home,” said Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather. “Many residents of expensive areas like New York or Los Angeles couldn’t manage to afford rent and save for a home at the same time. So it’s no wonder that these folks are looking to buy homes in much more affordable places like Louisville and Little Rock.”...

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/10/30/smaller-american-cities-see-big-interest-from-urban-flight-.html

[marybourg]

1. Santa Barbara is "affordable"?

[appalachiablue]

2. That I wondered about too, maybe when compared to LA..

Less congestion an population too?

[marybourg]

3. I just looked it up. It's considered, at least by

one source, to be the 6th most expensive place to live in the U.S. Sloppily written story.

[appalachiablue]

4. SB is a poor example, but there are many business articles recently

on this changing trend. We know several young professionals who have been working remote for months that have also moved from large urban metro areas, DC, Phila. to smaller cities in the last several months.

It means much less commute, cost savings, more time, more space and much more affordable housing than in large cities and suburbs where a basic starter home, closer in is over $1 million. Many are also carrying large student loan debt which this helps. I can't blame them, I would do the same.

[marybourg]

5. Yes, I tried to lure my 50- something working from home

son-and daughter in law to my southwestern town- where they do hope to retire someday - but they’re content in their NY suburb for now. My local paper says houses in my mega “active senior” community “ are selling within hours, sight-unseen. I wish I could sell mine and move to Santa Barbara!

[pfitz59]

6. Tacoma WA

Everett WA. Bellingham WA. Boise ID. Carson City NV. Lots of smaller cities with appeal.