The much-vaunted salary arbitrage will exacerbate local inflation in destination cities, especially in housing markets. I mean, come on, it's a no-brainer: if YOU suddenly have tens of thousands of dollars in extra income to work with, of COURSE you're going to bid up housing. And what you don't spend on your house will get spent on lifestyle - that was the whole point of moving to a destination city!
The main limit on sprawl won't be regulatory, it'll be demand-side. The professional-class Millennials who will be moving to destination cities HATE living in traditional suburbs. They want their microbreweries, local eateries, and farmers' markets, and being habituated to working remotely (without a commute!) will make them even LESS tolerant of driving long distances. "Drive 'til you qualify" will NOT be the driving (no pun intended) force in those markets; it'll be "Make Tampa Bougie Again".
From The Comments: The Remote Work Revolution Isn't Going To Remake Cities The Way It's Been Hyped
From The Comments: The Remote Work Revolution Isn't Going To Remake Cities The Way It's Been Hyped
From The Comments: The Remote Work Revolution Isn't Going To Remake Cities The Way It's Been Hyped
I think the tourism point is revealing, though. Tourism is known in international development circles as a kind of "fool's gold" of development.
The much-vaunted salary arbitrage will exacerbate local inflation in destination cities, especially in housing markets. I mean, come on, it's a no-brainer: if YOU suddenly have tens of thousands of dollars in extra income to work with, of COURSE you're going to bid up housing. And what you don't spend on your house will get spent on lifestyle - that was the whole point of moving to a destination city!
The main limit on sprawl won't be regulatory, it'll be demand-side. The professional-class Millennials who will be moving to destination cities HATE living in traditional suburbs. They want their microbreweries, local eateries, and farmers' markets, and being habituated to working remotely (without a commute!) will make them even LESS tolerant of driving long distances. "Drive 'til you qualify" will NOT be the driving (no pun intended) force in those markets; it'll be "Make Tampa Bougie Again".