Why did they do that? Did they share to you a main reason? Is it access to groceries, as you mentioned? or better schools for their kids? medical care?
I find it hard to justify the increased rent and general cost of living.
Rent sucks, yes, but I live here because I like it here, not because I need to for my job.
Three things stopping me from moving that haven't been mentioned yet were:
(1) I had to run out my lease (had signed a 1-year a few months before getting the job) (2) Friends and professional network (all in the city) (3) Fear of losing the remote job / not being able to get another one and having to move back into the city for a job
1 & 2 are fixable with time, but 3 always felt like too big of a risk. Granted, this was pre-pandemic so finding remote opportunities that paid well was harder. Not sure if I'd feel the same way if I had a similar choice in front of me today.
If you view a city as nothing more than rent and groceries and you get most of your entertainment at home, then big cities probably don’t feel like a good value proposition.
But if you enjoy going to events, eating out, socializing with a wide variety of motivated people, and otherwise experiencing everything a city has to offer, a big city is the place to be.
Neither answer is “right” for everyone. It’s an individual preference.
There is the occasional outlier, that is someone who prefers to freedom to work from anywhere and keeps on the move, hopping about the globe whilst working remotely, but they are rare.
I have not had good luck with most (though not all!) digital nomad types, either as contractors or remote employees. My sample size is small because they are rare, like you said. However, the few that I’ve worked with felt like they needed extraordinary management attention to extract even moderate amounts of work relative to anyone else on the team.
And of course their peers and teammates hate it the most because they’re forced to collaborate with someone in changing time zones who seems to be working hard at avoiding work.
They get to evaluate and inherit the infrastructure density too.
Density of humans means density of networks of humans. This decreases the cost of having many things available. You want to be around other people that have justified those things and didn’t find it hard to, because you inherit their superior networks too.
Live in the country … “I need to be in the city where I can access more events and people to fulfill my life. The countryside is boring and making me feel x.” Live in the city … “I need to be in the country where I can have more solitude and enjoy nature to fulfill my life. The city is overstimulating and making me feel y.”
Some of us are nomadic by nature and simply want some place different every few years. Others want stability and remain in places for decades.
I used to fantasize about new places, expecting the change in environment alone to be impactful. Now I realize that changing locations will not by itself impact my life for the better, but the act of searching for a new home, discovering new places and meeting new people is exciting and invigorating.
Moving physical things sucks though, so minimizing physical possessions makes this lifestyle much smoother of course.