Decentralization of economic hubs is almost a universal constant as a result of the industrial revolution. Large scale efficient productivity reduced the need for people to live, work, and produce everything necessary for sustaining life in a local area. People naturally dispersed as railroads snaked across North America, and by the mid 20th century, the entire country was bustling with business.
The first great wave to deregulate geographic economic control was the decrease in cost of long distance phone calls. Once executives could effectively contact their people in another state, secure financing in yet another state, and still be home for dinner, there was no reason to all huddle around one town. New York City saw a massive exodus when this happened, with oil companies retreating to Texas and automobile execs moving to Michigan.
Although there have been smaller forces that have allowed people to move farther away from their place of work, like fuel efficient cars and long distance commuter trains, nothing has produced the kind of exodus like the remote work wave thrust upon the world by the pandemic. For the first time in history, companies are really wondering, “why do we need people physically here?” The work is getting done, and as long as production is high, companies don’t really care how the sausages get made. And just like that, people packed their bags full of clothes and stuffed their high end incomes into their back pockets and struck out to find where the best place to live might actually be. This is, of course, in sharp contrast from wondering where the highest paying jobs may be, which has been the standard question for American employees since, well, forever. Now people move state to state without even missing an email, but again, the question remains, where is the best place to live?
This has produced a uniquely 2022 problem. In the past, most people moved where they could get work. The second most popular reason to move was family. Both of those primary drivers are starting to lose ground in the race of considerations, because people actually want to know where would be best to raise kids, to adventure on the weekends, to hang up their hats. Just as Zoom saved the world in a time of crisis, TopHap is doing the same for those seeking a better life. You no longer have to “know someone” to know what the area is like. You can find out the wildfire risk in an area:
You can find out if there are young, elderly, married, or single people living close by:
Schools have always been a primary consideration, but what about finding all the homes in the best school boundaries at the touch of a button? You can finally search homes by school boundary instead of checking individual homes:
The life some are embarking on is not one that we have ever experienced before, which is why people are realizing that the tools of the past will not service their real estate needs of the present, and just as Zoom was there when we needed it, TopHap will be here when you need it, too.
