There’s been a lot of press about people leaving the Bay Area, leaving New York—we are wondering if that’s really true… Sure, you’ll find examples but is it really a mass exodus?

Well, as I told a client recently, the Bay Area freeways are not jammed up with people driving U-Haul’s leaving the state. What I think is really happening, is people are taking advantage of the pandemic to temporarily relocate.

Pew Research recently reported that 52% of young adults are now living with their parents. Maybe they are taking care of their vulnerable parents during the pandemic. Maybe they are enjoying a bigger house with amenities, like gassed up jet skis and home cooked meals and the like. Or maybe like that meatloaf and potato dinner, they are seeking comfort in an uncertain time.

A number of people took to their second home to hunker down. Maybe that house was in a lower cost area and is much bigger than their urban home. Maybe they always wanted to see if they could live and thrive in a ski resort off season.

Some people have taken up an Airbnb for a month in Florida or Park City. It’s appealing, no doubt.

But when we get serious about a real move, uproot the kids from their school, virtual or not, pack everything up and make it ‘forever’, we don’t see those numbers the press reports. The country has been immobile for a long time, the only people who seem to be getting more mobile are those in displaced industries—retail, travel and entertainment and the like. If forced to survive, to pull down a paycheck, most people will relocate. We’re just not there yet. Let’s hope we never get to that point.