What do "Zoom towns" have to do with global mobility and relocation programs?

Amenity migration is a term used for the situation where people relocate to places they perceive to have a higher quality of natural environment and/or an attractive, distinctive culture with the goal of improving their quality of life. With the dramatic increase of remote work since the pandemic started (a Gallup poll showed nearly 60% of employees are now working remotely either full or part time) and with no end close in sight, many workers are able to move to places both temporarily and/or permanently that they previously were not able to in order to live and work. Of those who are working remotely, nearly two-thirds would like to continue to do so. 

The impact of amenity migration has been that many "gateway communities" in the West are seeing a surge in what was previously a slight trend of people moving into these locations to take advantage of things like reduced costs, less congestion and income equality. Which towns are these specifically? This article from Fast Company explains that these gateway communities tend to have populations of less than 25,000 people; are within 10 miles of a national park, monument, forest, river or lake; and are at least 15 miles from a census-designated urban areas. Examples include places like Moab, Utah; Jackson, Wyoming; and Breckenridge, Colorado.

Many of these are being referred to as "Zoom towns" (places that are booming as remote work takes off) and they are now facing a strain of resources and an increasing cost of living. The impact of new people coming into these towns and owning second homes or living in short-term, more expensive housing is driving up costs for local housing and pricing some of the local workforce out as they cannot afford to work and live there any longer. These communities are now grappling with some big-city challenges like housing affordability, increased congestion, and a lack of planning and resources to tap into in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis.  

A study was done by Utah State University out of which sprung the Gateway & Natural Amenity Region (GNAR) Initiative. The initiative brings together university faculty, government and state agencies, nonprofit organizations and community leaders to support research, educational efforts, and capacity-building to help public land managers and others. The goal of the GNAR Initiative is to help these places thrive and preserve the things that make them so special. For more on this, try these useful links:

• Click here to view the initial study.
• Click here to view the amenity migration webinar series.

Global mobility programs may soon be more and more involved with designing policies and benefits to support the changing nature of work and the desires of talent to live and work where they want, as opposed to where an office is located. In the past, we have talked about "hand-raisers" as those who self-initiate a relocation and move to the location they want to live and do their existing job. There is now a greater willingness to accommodate and possibly even support these "hand-raisers" with funds and/or services to help them move (aka "de-locate").

For another great article highlighting the topic of "Zoom towns", try this one from NPR's show "Planet Money" - Zoom Towns And The New Housing Market For The 2 Americas.