In March, I considered leaving my comfortable apartment in a lively neighborhood in Brooklyn and moving to a place that was cheaper, larger, but with a longer commute to work. The apartment with the lower rent won out, but at the time, it was a tough choice—“I was choosing between two equally good options,” I told my friend. Fast forward to June, more than three months after New York state ordered its citizens to shelter in place, and it felt weird to consider giving up on a bigger, cheaper place closer to bars and restaurants.
Many others have had their housing priorities completely upended due to the coronavirus. According to the New York Times , an estimated 5% of residents left New York City between March 1 and May 1. Similar trends are occurring in other densely populated cities. Some young people are moving back in with their parents or moving to new cities. Others found new apartments in their current areas while trying to stay six feet away from movers.
Move home and quarantine
Home sales and rental platform Zillow has seen a 33% increase in short-term rentals and a nearly 50% increase in furnished listings, said Zillow economist Joshua Clarke. "[One] possible explanation is that people are moving back home and subletting their units with their families," he tells Bustle. Zillow's analysis found that 2.7 million adults moved back in with their parents between March and April, a 9.7% increase from last year.
Mia, 25, moved to Brooklyn in October 2019, but when COVID-19 cases rose in New York, she returned home to Vermont because she thought she would only be there for a few weeks. Then she lost her job. "Our building management has been less than accommodating in offering us payment options," she tells Bustle. "At the end of April, my roommates and I decided to end our lease and move out. Thankfully we both had backup housing options," she said, referring to her home.
Taryn L., 30, had been planning to travel for months before contracting the coronavirus. She booked a flight from New York to Austin, Texas, to begin her journey on March 17, but changed her flight at the last minute to visit her parents in Arizona. “Fortunately, I was already packing up my life and putting things in storage, but not knowing when I would be back was and still is upsetting,” she said. "The last time I moved out, I told my mom never to let me come back with more than a suitcase," she said. "I keep reminding myself that this is only temporary... I have to be responsible and safe. My own choice." "
Gwenn, 26, decided to move back to her small hometown in the Netherlands, 160 miles north of where she was finishing her master's degree, when nearby grocery stores started running out of necessities. While she's glad she made the choice, especially after her grandmother unexpectedly passed away a few weeks later, the transition wasn't easy. "After living on my own for the past four years, adjusting to life at home again was very difficult. I had to get used to the way my mum ran the household and expected things to get done."
Moving to a new city during the pandemic
Victoria, 27, returned to the United States from England in mid-March. "The average age in my building is about 70. I feel like staying here with a ventilator shortage is putting our community at risk," she explained, noting that one of her colleagues has been exposed to COVID-19 .
Heather*, 32, is planning to move across the country to be closer to her family in California. "I've been quarantining alone. That in itself is lonely, but the effort required to get home now seems crazy. If we have another outbreak, the thought of being quarantined again is really hard to stomach."
Cassie is taking this opportunity to leave Chicago. "I just booked a shared room on Airbnb in Denver for June," she tells Bustle. "I'm not scared of making the decision to move for now. I'm lucky that I can work remotely and it wouldn't be possible if it didn't work out".
How to find a new place to live during the pandemic?
As if moving isn't stressful enough, people almost always look for housing online when it's time to move. “Landlords are now relying on agents to get more information about applicants to screen them,” said Joan Kagan, a licensed real estate associate broker with Triplemint. “They have strict rules about who they allow in and who they show their space to. Very strict." Kagan said that while some states, such as New York, are allowing in-person showings at the discretion of landlords after lockdowns are lifted, virtual showings are likely to remain.
Deepika, 24, chose to move to an apartment in New York City that she had never seen before because it was managed by the same company as her current residence. Hanna, 24, who is moving house with her partner, found the experience extremely anxiety-provoking. “I never thought I would consider moving to a new place without seeing it with my own eyes (wide angle lenses can be deceiving!), but I also feel lucky that this is even a choice I get to make now. ”
To compensate for the limitations of virtual viewings, Kagan now schedules screen-sharing sessions with clients, where they watch videos and 3D tours together, showing clients the surrounding streets on Google Street View. “There’s now more of a focus on creating a more pleasant environment — pleasant views and interiors — rather than location,” she said, adding that “it’s still a clunky experience” and sensory factors like smells and sounds It cannot be measured virtually.
Say goodbye
For many people, moving brings unexpected lifestyle changes. Taryn A., 29, moved to Los Angeles from San Francisco in May to live with her girlfriend, but she wished she could throw a going-away party. "I'm a passionate community person, so missing out on drink/game nights with all my best San Francisco friends is really, really hard. [...] It's really sad knowing I can't hug them."
Stephen, 28, moved to New York to pursue a new career but was already planning an exit. “What makes [New York] so great is the entertainment, social, professional activities and opportunities here that won’t happen or won’t be the same in a long time,” she said. The process made her think about more than just where she and her boyfriend wanted to live next. "It was hard to bite the bullet and quit my job and move to New York City without a real plan, and then jump on this opportunity because of the pandemic," she said. "When I wanted to do something "
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
