B2 reading: Remote work and small towns

1 For most of the past century, ambitious young people followed a familiar path: they left their small home towns for the big city, where the jobs, the universities and the excitement were. Many small towns grew older and quieter as a result, with closed shops on the high street and schools struggling to fill their classrooms. The rise of remote working has given some of these places an unexpected opportunity to reverse that trend.

2 When offices closed during the pandemic, millions of people discovered that their jobs could be done from anywhere with a good internet connection. Once they realised they no longer needed to be near the office every day, some decided they no longer needed to pay city rents either. Estate agents in several countries reported growing interest in homes in rural areas and small coastal towns, where the same money could buy a house with a garden instead of a small flat.

3 Some towns have actively competed for these new residents. A number of places in Europe and the United States have offered grants to remote workers who agree to move there for at least a year. Others have invested in co-working spaces, where people can rent a desk, use fast internet and, just as importantly, meet other people who work from home. Local officials hope that newcomers will spend money in local businesses, send their children to local schools and perhaps eventually start companies of their own.

4 The results so far have been mixed. In some towns, new arrivals have brought life back to the high street, opening cafés and bookshops and joining local clubs. In others, their arrival has caused tension. When wealthier city workers move in, house prices rise, and young local people who earn local wages can find themselves unable to afford a home in the town where they grew up. There have also been complaints that some newcomers treat the town as a pleasant background for their laptops without really taking part in community life.

5 The picture has become more complicated as many employers have asked staff to return to the office for at least part of the week. A worker who must be at a desk in the city two or three days a week may find that a four-hour round trip is less attractive in practice than it seemed in theory. Some who moved in a hurry have since moved back.

6 Nevertheless, it seems unlikely that the old pattern will return completely. Even a partial shift towards flexible working gives small towns a chance that they did not have before. The towns that benefit most may be those that think carefully about how to welcome new residents while protecting the interests of the people who already live there.