The pandemic and the rise of remote work are perfectly tailored to take this trend that had been building over the past decade and just make it take off. People were doing these arbitrage things with their paychecks and their mortgages during the pandemic. Austin is a great example of a place that's been a beneficiary of this trend. The single most important thing that this next tier of cities are doing, you know, people bring up housing affordability as an incredibly important advantage.
In recent years, well-paid and college-educated Americans have shed major cities like New York, San Francisco and Washington for places like Philadelphia or Birmingham, Ala.
Emily Badger, who writes about cities and urban policy for The Upshot at The New York Times, explains what is driving the change, and what it means for the future of the American city.
Guest: Emily Badger, a cities and urban policy correspondent for The New York Times.
Background reading:
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