I've lived in the Boston area for several years. Renting was expensive, so I ended up buying a smallish condo. Of course, all the buildings in New England are a hundred years old, so it needed a lot of work. I loved my town of Salem, but I had to commute over an hour each way to work. It was dreadful in the winter. Once my company went fully remote in March, I started looking seriously at moving. My family lives in NC and I've been wanting to move there for over a year. When our CEO told us we would not be coming onsite again until at least January 2021, I put my condo up for sale, signed a lease on an apartment in NC, and left. I'm in a bigger place with awesome amenities for less than I paid before, and I'm close to family for the first time in years. My office is now just my laptop, so it doesn't matter where my body is.

I moved from NYC to North Carolina last year because I wanted cheaper rent and a slower pace. I started looking for a house in December and covid 19 quickened that search. I wanted something stable that I could invest in during this global moment. I also didn’t want to be caught renting in a strong property rights state as a Black person during this November’s election.