Why New Yorkers Choose To Trade Flats For Houses
Over the past year, since the worldwide breakout of the novel coronavirus, many have become much more comfortable with remote working, exercising at home, cooking and basically moving all their activities in the confinement of their own house. Considering all the pandemic restrictions, everyone wants to have more space and more often New York City apartments simply cannot provide. Parents would ideally want a yard for their children to play in and a separated office space where they could work remotely. Younger people want more space not only for their office but where they could do all their activities.
Over the past year, since the worldwide breakout of the novel coronavirus, many have become much more comfortable with remote working, exercising at home, cooking and basically moving all their activities in the confinement of their own house.
Considering all the pandemic restrictions, everyone wants to have more space and more often New York City apartments simply cannot provide. Parents would ideally want a yard for their children to play in and a separated office space where they could work remotely. Younger people want more space not only for their office but where they could do all their activities.
Why Did New Yorkers Choose To Move Over The Past Year?
Ultimately, people decide to leave New York City for a number of individual and personal situations. Only last year, EmpireMovers helped over 10.000 New Yorkers relocate to more spacious suburban homes, leaving behind their city apartments. The majority of them have shared with their movers the reasons why they chose to relocate. Here are some of the most common ones:
1. Running From COVID
As most know, the coronavirus hit New York City pretty hard which brought the city to an almost complete freeze and still, many areas of the city’s life aren’t fully back to normal. New York quickly became the first mega hot spot in the US for coronavirus cases. With that, local hospitals’ nearly collapsed as the surge of sick patients led to high death rates and created panic among residents. In metropolises such as New York City, it can be more difficult for people to socially distance due to the high number of residents.
With the realisations that the coronavirus pandemic might not be the only one we could face in the modern era and since it didn’t look like the restrictions will end soon, many New Yorkers started to reconsider if living in the city is a good option.
2. Seeking More Space
While New York is a great place to live and it has a lot to offer (especially when you’re a young professional) there is one thing that can be quite annoying, especially in the middle of a pandemic when you are stuck in the house: small apartments.
When it comes to rent prices, the city can be quite expensive so most middle-class New Yorkers choose smaller apartments. Of course, living in a small space can be quite stressful, can become cluttered very fast and it can have a serious effect on morale and on productivity, especially if you have to also work from home.
Over the last years, moving to the suburbs has become a pretty attractive option, especially when deciding to expand your family. Many New Yorkers have decided to upgrade to a bigger space, where they could have more privacy, cleaner air and nature.
3. It Makes More Sense Financially
As you reach a certain type of stability and understanding of what you want your future to look like you tend to take more practical decisions. Comfort starts playing a big role in the way you take decisions and let’s face it…who doesn’t dream of that perfect white picket fence house?
Living in the city is definitely fun and exciting, not to mention that it has a lot of advantages especially when it comes to mobility, but a lot of New Yorkers have started to ponder whether or not it wouldn’t be smarter to invest rent money into a mortgage for a bigger house in the suburbs, which can offer them all the much needed comfort.
4. Wanting Peace & Quiet
Most of us would be tempted to associate this notion to a certain stage in your life when you’re done with hectic city life, parties, noisy neighbours and crazy traffic sounds and are ready to settle down in a quiet suburban neighbourhood with lovely, tranquil neighbours. While all that’s true, there has also been a trend of millenials choosing to quit the chaos in favour of suburban houses which can offer them an opportunity to not only become more productive but also to create more space and time for their hobbies, and overall…just mental peace.
Who’s Trading The City For The Suburb?
When it comes to searching the typology of people fleeing the city in favor of a suburban house, some are quite obvious but some might surprise you.
As might be expected, families with younger children make up the largest percentage of those who are choosing to trade their NYC flat for a suburban house. First-time homebuyers choose relocating to Northern New Jersey, Westchester County or Long Island, searching for more space for themselves and their children. But younger generations have also been leaving. With the pandemic restrictions came the surprise of a high percentage of young professionals choosing to flee from the city. Some have chosen suburban areas for financial reasons, others from lack of space or simply because it seems like a more practical choice overall. What’s sure is that there is starting to be a trend among millenials and even some Gen Z-ers to retreat to quieter areas.
If we’re thinking about the past year, there’s another trend that can be observed when it comes to leaving the big city. Corporations and other businesses are choosing to relocate their offices to suburban cities due to cheaper rents and the fear of using public transport during the pandemic.
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