Posted on 07/23/2020 6:41:03 AM PDT by cuban leaf
I moved from Seattle to a "hobby farm" in rural Kentucky nine years ago. Two years ago, my daughter and her husband followed me here and bought a spectacular home east of Louisville for around $600k that would have cost millions in King county, WA. They were able to come here because his job allowed him to Work From Home (WFH) full time - and still earn Seattle wages.
I've said for years that once technology allowed the concept of WFH to reach critical mass, we'd be seeing our cities drain into the burbs and rural areas of the nation. Little did I know the catalyst would be not technology, but a ginned up over-response to another flu pandemic scare.
But here we are.
And now my other daughter and her husband, who were solidly planted in Seattle because he owned his own business, just visited her sister. They were blown away by the people, the environment, and the prices. Even though they were here during the most miserable hot and muggy weather that we can have, they said it was completely acceptable. Now they are looking for a home here.
But why can they do it? Because all of his employees are working from home now and he's seeing no drop in productivity. And now he doesn't have to be the "first to arrive and last to leave" at the office, which actually frees up a lot of his time.
But wait, there's more!
He was here in Kentucky looking to hire some more WFH people. He said he has hired his last Seattle employee because they are simply too expensive. He will not let any of them go, but when one goes, he will replace them with an equally qualified candidate from a "lower tier" market, like Louisville, Nashville, etc.
But wait! There is even more!
I've been trying to get electicity to my new building here in Kentucky, but there is a huge construction boom going on right now and electricians are swamped. Even the local Lowe's has actually run out of some construction materials like 2x4 studs. And to drive the point home, when I called the local electrical inspector, he confirmed that there has been a boom going on since late last year but it really ramped up after the lockdown started.
But here's the interesting part and what inspired this vanity:
I told the inspector my theory about the pandemic causing WFH to boom and that I expected it to impact the rural areas of Kentucky. His response was that it is already happening in our rural county. He went into detail about all the inspections he's been on and the reasons for them - people from cities moving here permanently. He spoke of old buildings being revamped and new electric requiring inspection, new construction in the sticks, etc. He then went on to discuss his predictions that mirrored mine: We're going to see real estate price hikes in these rural areas as more and more city dwellers realize what we have out here and couple that with their newfound (and in many cases, permanent) ability to WFH. It's changing our culture.
And if they are moving here, they are leaving somewhere else. I believe we are seeing a fundamental shift in the living arrangements and lifestyles of the American public similar to what we saw when our boys returned from fighting in WWII. It's going to leave a mark.
But this time it's not suburbs. I believe it will be many, many new cities around the nation with populations under 100,000 within their outlying areas. The needs and culture of the inhabitants will be fed and supported by "quaint" downtown cores for personal contact with other residents, and the internet and companies like Amazon to meet their general shopping and other needs. And they will work for companies all over the world, but never leave their small town except when they want to.
Did you guys go to Communist Martyrs High School?
Heavy on the 30 weight, Ma!
This is just occurring to them?????
They see it coming...
“But this cannot be ignored: Most of us were “blue” as teenagers. With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.”
“If one is not a liberal by the age of 18, they have no heart. If they are not a conservative by the age of 30, they have no brain.” Winston Churchill
We worked from home from mid eighties onward. Alway had work with the new York big boys because we were much less expensive but made enough to live well where we were
those ideas have already started being implemented through Obama administration. They want every zip to be representative of the country ‘s ranial mix
These things have already started through HUD
Hot dog! Grub cakes again!
I’ve never lived in a city my entire life. I was born in a small town in North Eastern New Jersey, outside of Newark. (now there’s a dump) and currently live in a small town a few miles in from the Atlantic Ocean.
LOL! “Hi, I’m Joe Beats’’.
Every zip code will be changed demographically
Yeah. I dunno... bad moon rising.
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