What’s going on with remote work and cities? How are things changing?
I saw a lot of people move to cheaper places once the pandemic happened. Are people choosing having a house/stability over city living? Were bars/restaurants/events/general downtown things just something people cared about since they were “forced” to be in the city anyway (either commuting there or choosing to live near work)?
We’ve been seeing workplaces start to force people back to the office for a little while now too. Is part of this to encourage spending money in the local economy?
Personally I’m hybrid and enjoy living near the downtown of my city, but I also hate being forced into the office so it had me thinking about all these questions and how these values could effectively coexist.
I’m hybrid and I only go into the office once a week, though I live near the downtown area. We have (compared to the rest of the US) a fairly robust public transit system, a bustling tourism industry, and I think around 100 universities with the students that entails. Between students, tourists, and the extremely wealthy, I don’t see our downtown slowing down anytime soon.
I’ve noticed that storefronts are cycling through more frequently than they did in the past, but empty storefronts are very quick to get rented back out. Rents are definitely unaffordable, but I’ve noticed that for people who actually live here, many are willing to live a little further out and take public transit in to experience downtown outside of needing to be here for work.
Disclosure that this last point definitely doesn’t apply to me, but I’m also seeing a lot of people who actually go out of their way to go into the office now. With roommate situations and tiny apartments, I’m hearing more and more about people who are hybrid or fully remote, but actually enjoy a big working space with what might actually be more peace and quiet than they’d find at home.