Professionals are always seeking escape from the pressure cooker city, for the more relaxed country. But, where most used to run to their weekend retreat, there's now evidence suggesting they are now opting to take permanent residency instead.
There's a great debate running whether these outsiders are contributing to rural prosperity or it's destruction. More people are turning their second home into a place to unwind, relax and spend time. They may work in the city, but they are returning to greener pastures every night.
The rise in urban exiles is driven by new technology, ways of doing business and working patterns. These tend to work within finance, media, entertainment or even sport and argue that they bring dynamism, diversity and new thinking.
Locals don't always agree with in-comers. They often feel their environment is being taken over, which can lead levels of friction. New residents feel they bring a host of economic benefits to a rural economy, local shops, pubs and businesses via extra custom.
Where there are losers there always tends to be a winner…
There's no disputing in this scenario the city money inflates the property market, making housing unaffordable for first time buyers. However, existing homeowners are likely to receive unexpected windfalls in any rising market.
Local authorities are trying to address some of the problems by building affordable housing and charging second homeowners the full rates of council tax. (This used to carry a 50% discount). The intention is to use additional revenue to improve local areas. Funding is to be applied to assist local communities and provide effective ways of helping local people obtain affordable accommodation.
It remains to be seen if the tolerance of 'Townies' improves? Until then they are likely to continue to been seen as wealthy outsiders. John and Geoff moved from the City to Devon two years ago, they kindly shared some thoughts.
They say…
"We moved to Devon for a better quality and pace of life. When we first arrived, we found the local atmosphere icy to say the least. It was several months before we managed to make friends with a local couple. This seemed to break the ice, and helped us to gain acceptance within the community".
"Even now we still feel resentment from some local people, we feel they blame us for rising property prices in the area. They tend not to consider that professional landlords who buy property to rent as holiday homes or even people buying purely as a weekend retreat - are also creating a demand. These groups are not so visible and are therefore harder to blame."
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