[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by SailinAway

There are a lot of factors at play here. I do agree that people are going to be more fearful of urban areas as multiple pandemics have been forecast for a long time now---but now people have a taste of what it really feels like to be trapped in a city during a pandemic. I have several acquaintances in New York and it has been a nightmare of fear and chaos for them. A friend died in March because he was in a city and couldn't get proper medical care.

Another consideration is the availability of oil and the price of gasoline, which would make me want to stay within 30 to 60 minutes of a good-sized town or city for needed goods and services. If gas is $10 a gallon I don't want to be driving 40 miles for groceries.

Third, older people want to be within an easy drive of medical facilities. These things keep us tied to cities, or at least small cities.

For me personally, the current crisis has brought a halt to my plans to move, so in the short term I think there will be a slowdown in relocations, especially to other states.

Next, the pandemic raises once again the urgent question that was discussed all too briefly during the 2008 recession: when are we going to stop building trophy homes that people don't need and can't afford as soon as they lose their income and investments, and start building more small, affordable energy-efficient homes? When are we going to scale down our mistaken idea of what we "need" and give up greed as the main motivator of the housing market?

Finally, can we transition to a home-sharing society, which is very common in other parts of the world and seen as desirable, not a letdown in quality of life?

The pandemic is an opportunity to rethink these questions. If we survive another 50 years, I think there will be substantial change in how we view housing.

It’s called assisted living check it out...