I was talking to someone about the impact of the lockdown on urban areas. I live in the sticks, but work in a city 75 miles away. The only impact of the lockdown on me is that now that I WFH I save a three hour commute every day and a tank of gas every two days.
But for urban residents, ALL of the reasons for living in the city - every single one - has been stripped from them. And in many cities, there is no end in sight.
Another factor may be this. Now that those things have been stripped, there may be a large contingent that realized they don’t need all that stuff. They had their “come to Jesus” moment, thanks to this nonsense, and prefer to live somewhere quieter and with more freedom.
i.e. this will leave a mark.
My son worked in Boston until the pandemic hit. His company will not return even though they just moved in to new headquarters. They feel they’re saving money having everyone work remotely. My son is good with that. He lives in a great suburban community on the ocean and he’s going to save a good deal of money not having to commute. On top of that he said he now gets to see more of the kids and have dinner with the family every night.