A record number of Bostonians are considering moving to this idyllic coastal town

Photo byRené PorteronUnsplash

A new Redfin report is chronicling the Great Migration currently happening in America. Larger city dwellers are starting to move to smaller cities and more remote areas.

Now that many knowledge workers can work remotely from anywhere they have Internet access, they have newfound freedom to live where they please, hours away from their employer's headquarters. And they're starting to take advantage of it.

The pandemic's white-hot real estate market and the rise in mortgage rates have helped speed the phenomenon along. Many feel they would be financially better off in a smaller, more affordable city.

Boston ranks number 7 in the top 10 cities that residents are considering leaving. Of the potential Beantown homebuyers who have looked at homes on Redfin, almost one-in-five (18%) are looking outside the city.

Where are Bostonians considering going?

Where are Boston residents most likely to be checking out homes? For the second year in a row, it's a picturesque beach town - Portland, Maine.

Portland is less than 2 hours drive from Boston, which makes it easy to get back to maintain personal ties and fulfill professional responsibilities. The Redfin report indicates many of the people considering a new place to live choose local - Washingtonians, for example, are looking at Virginia Beach.

There are other reasons Portland may be appealing. It has a relaxed, laid-back vibe that is a nice counter-point to Boston's more buttoned-up persona. It also has an abundance of natural beauty to enjoy.

Combine these elements with a lower cost of living - for example, the median house price in Portland is $479,000 while the median housing price in Boston is $849,000. That's a considerable financial advantage if your work is flexible enough to be done from anywhere.

Over the next ten years, remote work and rising costs will likely revolutionize the American landscape. This may very well have an effect on the housing prices and lifestyle of idyllic towns like Portland.