Almost 3 in 10 Catalans would move to a smaller town if remote work was an option
Younger people more likely to want a change of scenery, poll suggests
Just under 3 in 10 Catalan residents – 28.1% of the population – would move to a smaller town if they had the option of working remotely, while 69.2% say they would not move even under these circumstances.
This is according to the findings of a survey conducted by Catalonia's Center for Opinion Studies (CEO) between 17 November, 2021 and 17 December, 2021 among 1,200 people.
People between the ages of 18 and 24 are even more likely to want to leave bigger cities for smaller municipalities than the general population, with 34.6% saying they would do so if they could. This figure was slightly lower among the 25 to 34 age group: 30.7%.
Among 50- to 64-year-olds, however, this desire to leave urban areas drops to 22.7%.
And although working from home has doubled in the past two years since the pandemic started, only 5.2% of respondents said they had already moved to a smaller municipality due to remote work arrangements.
Given the issue of population loss, 36.8% said empty homes in rural areas should be rented out to people who wished to live there, while over a quarter said unused agricultural land should be leased to people willing to work it and a similar amount said these territories should have tax exemptions to become more financially attractive.