Has lockdown made you question whether you want to live in a city?

Do you want to live in a city after lockdown? If so, you’re one of a dwindling section of the British public, according to recent research.

A survey by SpareRoom revealed in December that London renters are leaving the capital for countryside locations.

And Rightmove’s latest rental trends report showed that average rents in London were down 12% with other cities in the UK including Edinburgh and Manchester also hit hard.

Meanwhile, research by PwC has determined that London’s population is expected to decline for the first time in the 21st century.

“COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way we view cities,” said PwC’s recent UK economic update.

“We anticipate that in 2021, a shift away from city-living is likely to both increase the number of people moving out of the capital, and decrease the number of people moving in.”

At Urban Jungle, we looked into our own data and discovered a 149% increase in those changing from a London address to one elsewhere.

About half moved to other cities. However, the data showed there was a 73% increase in people moving to towns and more rural areas.

Young adults wish to flee London

To find out more, we ran a Google Survey of 1,022 young adults in London, to find out where they most want to live after the pandemic.

The survey, which ran for two days from January 26, suggested that the majority of 18-34 year olds are considering living elsewhere.

When asked where they would like to post-pandemic, just 45% of young Londoners chose the capital. Whereas 19% opted to live somewhere greener such as a village or the countryside.

Roughly eight percent of respondents said they wanted to live in a different city. Meanwhile, nine percent of young people express a desire to travel.

Did age or gender make a difference?

When it came to choosing where respondents most wanted to live, young Londoners weren’t hugely divided by age bracket or gender. But there were a few exceptions:

Those aged 18-24 were around 20 per cent more likely than those aged 25-34 to want leave London
Respondents aged 25-34 were about a third more likely than 18-24 year olds to want to go traveling
The genders were more or less equally split on where they’d like to live, although around 20 per cent more men than women said they’d like to travel

Five things to consider before you leave London…

Are you one of the many people considering a move after Lockdown? If you’ve been living in London but you’ve decided that the city’s no longer for you, here are a few things you might want to consider before you actually take the plunge and move away.

1. The free attractions

Leaving London would mean you’d no longer have free places like the British Museum, Tate Modern, the Natural History Museum and Science Museum on your doorstep.

2. The food and drink

London is regarded as one of the most diverse cities in the world, along with its restaurants and cafes, from Chinatown to Brixton market. Not to mention the endless bars and pubs, whether you’re looking for a cosy red wine in a London pub to fancy cocktails on a rooftop bar!

3. People

London has over eight million people and has been said to be the most ethnically diverse city in the world. There will always be jobs in London, and this attracts more and more people. Whether you're looking to meet new people or looking to join a new community, London is a great place to be.

4. The shopping

Whether you're a fan of luxury stores like Harrods and Selfridges or you love second-hand clothes and bric-a-brac, you might well miss London's diverse shops and marketplaces.

5. The parks

As a young person in London, you’d be lucky to have a garden but, fear not, London parks on a summer evening are golden. Remember when you’d meet your friends for a pizza and a beer in the park on a Tuesday? This will return!