Potential buyers are trawling the internet in search of property that offers an extra bedroom, bathroom or garden for the same price as their current four walls, which they have spent the past 7 weeks critiquing.   

Post lockdown, if Savills and Rightmove are to be believed, we should brace ourselves for a vast exodus from our cities to greener pastures, due to increased searches in commuter towns, where you can get more bang for your buck. 

This is potentially great news for property professionals looking to list and rehouse but before everyone gets carried away totting up potential fees, looking isn’t moving.

Many will fantasise about wide open green spaces where people still say good morning to passers by but the practicalities of commuting beyond 2 days a week, should give you pause. Consider the financial ball and chain of network rail and its ever increasing prices, for a consistently unreliable service. Yes, we’ve discovered, we don’t need to be in an office to ACTUALLY work. Zoom ensures verbal warnings, due to a train’s stubborn refusal to harm a leaf’s life, is a thing of the past but what is life out of town really like? 

If you are re-evaluating London life mid-lockdown, picture yourself embracing village life. The clean air, the local pub with its characters – all with a story to tell. A beautiful house filled with natural light and amazing vistas, a garden that you quickly transform into a tropical, decked, barbecue haven. Happier, more relaxed parents who roam the pedestrianised streets with their kids. Finally, a physical and mental escape from work. Life couldn’t be better.

Then picture those same beautiful walls caving in. No one visits. Friends say they will but they don’t and if they do, it will be once every year. Life becomes one long groundhog day. Realisation kicks in that the locals’ stories are on repeat, accompanied by an elongated slur, and begin or end with “when I lived in London.’’ It’s as if nothing of consequence has happened since. 

Then there is the curtain twitch – neighbours report back your movements with such precision that paranoia starts to kick in, as you move stealthily around town. On the plus side, you aren’t going to be stabbed or mugged at any point by some kid on a moped due to the abundance of witnesses. That said, many move out of town with the perception that their children’s exposure to drugs and gangs will be removed. With the lack of things to do…drugs run rampant in sleepy villages. Raves relocate to fields, playgrounds and behind bedroom doors. 

For younger kids, the advantages of a bigger garden, countryside to roam in or a beach to charge is undeniable. Nothing beats it. Kids maintain their childhood for longer and embrace their imagination before iPads, computer games and social media take hold. 

There is no denying life will be cleaner, slower and healthier out of town but don’t be surprised if you miss convenience. In town you don’t have to have a car to get anywhere. Public transport, however dirty, can transport you to museums, theatres, and restaurants in minutes. For some they will be able to cycle or walk to work, picking up their ritual flat white, oat milk, infused ‘hit’ en route. After work drinks or nights out without the kids, won’t be pipped by a train timetable. 

Life is generally more social and cultured…or is it?

You may find yourself wistfully thinking of all the things you ought to have done in London, and never did, but back in the city the reality is, you still aren’t doing it. Bogged down by the quagmire of dirt, convenience and general apathy for anything new that involves effort. Creatures of habit, all good intentions are left gathering dust under that pile of clothes you never wear. 

My point is there are pluses and minus’, the grass is indeed greener in the country but the city green is neon and abstract. What seems good now may not be in a year’s time so before we rush into anything, be sure to test the water first. Rent.