> I'm curious about your comment about the migration from smaller towns - this isn't something I've heard about in the US

The percentage of Americans living in rural counties has been shrinking. Gains are mostly in the suburbs:

https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2018/05/22/demographic-and-e...

It probably depends on a lot on the region within the UK - towns in ex-industrial areas might be shrinking but those within commuting distance of a city or in areas with particularly high quality of life and good communication links seem to be thriving - Inverness and Aviemore being in the latter category.

I live near a small town on the Fife coast directly across from Edinburgh and all of the neighbouring coastal towns seem to be doing well - the ex-mining towns 10km away not so much. Main constraint on development being local planning authorities rather than demand.

This article mentions the growth of Aviemore (very much a centre for outdoor activities) but also the decline of some other more out of the way towns:

https://www.strathspey-herald.co.uk/news/aviemore-hailed-as-...

> I live near a small town on the Fife coast directly across from Edinburgh and all of the neighbouring coastal towns seem to be doing well - the ex-mining towns 10km away not so much. Main constraint on development being local planning authorities rather than demand.

If I had the choice between living on the coast, and living in an ex-mining town, I'm probably going to pick the coast (other things being approximately equal). The coast is scenic; ex-mining areas are usually not scenic. That is, I think that demand is exactly what's making the coast do better. The local planning authorities may be an effect rather than a cause - the ex-mining areas may know that they don't have as much to work with, and therefore may have less that they can realistically do.

Yes - you can see the differences between the coastal towns and the ex mining towns in this map of social deprivation in Scotland:

http://simd.scot