This is a really good point! Remote work has massive socio-political implications. Really enjoyed discussing this aspect of remote work in this podcast interview with Liam Martin, founder of Running Remote: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/s2-e10-liam-martin/id1...

But on the other hand you have to wonder about the greater social implications down the line. The invention of the car was great at first. It allowed people to get where they wanted to go faster. But as it was adopted more and more heavily, we ended up with traffic and sprawl that mean people have to spend more of their time commuting than before.

I wonder if something analogous would happen with remote work. If more companies go the remote route, wouldn't we expect them to favor employees in cheap locations that will accept less pay for the same work? And if that's the case, wouldn't more and more families be forced out of more expensive locations, even those who could afford to live there before? In other words, remote work has the possibility to exacerbate the very problems that it seeks to fix.

If there was less demand for expensive areas, the market would adjust and they would become less expensive. The overall effect would be an averaging effect on real estate prices as cheaper areas became more expensive and expensive areas cheaper.

But it seems quite possible that incomes could fall faster than demand given there are other factors influencing demand like foreign buyers. And the money saved by employers would make many already rich people significantly richer. Perhaps the nice areas of the country would just become a playground for the rich (more so than they already are) while everyone else is in dystopian exurbs and suburbs.

This. Rent for an efficiency apartment within walking distance of my work is 4k a month. I rent a 3 bedroom house 40 minutes away for 1400. The ability to work remotely helps keep costs down significantly.

Yes it's insane. I save about $30k+ on housing costs working remote and am still in California.

I work for a startup that does not have funding. I moved from socal to Tijuana and my cost of living is about 40-60% less. I could not continue working on this startup without being remote.