To wonder if WFH will regenerate affordable parts of the UK

[notanothertakeaway]

Currently on holiday in a part of the UK where housing is relatively cheap eg £65K for a flat, £130K for a small house

The area feels a bit down on its luck, but scenery is good, lots of mountain biking nearby, and within 2 hours of 2 large cities. I wonder if, going forward, a shift to more people WFH could turn it round. If you had to work in an office 2 days per week, you could have an early start on Monday, stay in Travelodge / Premier Inn on Mon night, late home on Tuesday night. I would love to think this might help to regenerate the countryside. What do you think?

I think there are ups and downsides to the area as pp have said it brings in regeneration but also can push house prices out of reach

The new people are detested and the house prices mean local people are being pushed to the worst areas of town and on the outskirts.

But many of the people buying will have be have been priced out of their areas. I will be leaving London soon because I can't afford a decent sized house where I was born. Am I not allowed to move? It wasn't me who moved to London & pushed prices up.

No, I agree with you.I don't agree with people treating the out of town people badly, but unfortunately they aren't welcomed.
I would say as well, our area has alot of people buying up places to rent out and buying holiday homes.
The issue with my area in particular is that wages are low, argued because of the area we live. So people hear are really stuck renting as they can't afford to move anywhere.

Not if the schools are poor performers - as they often are in rural or seaside areas.

[quote notanothertakeaway]**@WildPoinsettia* @Thesearmsofmine* @Francescaisstressed

Thanks for your comments. Where we're staying, the local food processing plant closed a few years ago. I think they may have been a big local employer. I guess I was hoping that more people WFH might benefit everyone eg new residents with a disposable income = new customers for shops, cafes etc = higher wages / keeps shops open etc. I wouldn't like to think of local people being priced out.[/quote]
This is my thinking also. I live in an area that was destroyed (in an economic sense) with the closure of heavy industry some time ago. Since it has been classed as deprived.

DH and I have good jobs, the only reason we chose to live here was due to free childcare being provided by my parents. Luckily we are also in easy commuting distance from our jobs but working in the city centre meant us spending most of our money there. Lunches, haircuts, jumping out at lunch to pick up birthday gifts, cafes for a coffee and cake etc.

When I started working from home about 4 years ago I then started spending this money locally. Now more people are wfh they will all likely be doing the same. We have a local cafe that you now have to queue outside at lunch to get into (not a covid thing just busy!). This can't be a bad thing for local economies. Local businesses are busier, this creates jobs which creates more spending power etc.