Why Americans are rethinking where they want to live
And what the social and political consequences could be
AFTER THE second world war, Americans took their new cars on their new highways and decamped for the suburbs, changing American life forever. Today, the internet and remote work presage a similar transformation, removing the need for people to live near their offices. A two-hour commute a couple of days a week may be worthwhile, if it allows a bigger house and smaller mortgage payment. So might a move across the country, if one rarely has to travel to company headquarters. Adam Ozimek of UpWork, a freelancing platform, has estimated that some 14m to 23m Americans may relocate due to the rise of remote work, which amounts to between 9% and 13% of today’s workforce.
This article appeared in the United States section of the print edition under the headline “Movers and shakers”
From the December 18th 2021 edition
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