Call of the suburbs louder during crisis
Some downtown condo dwellers looking for greener pastures with plenty of yard space
Backyard envy has never been as strong among urban-dwelling Montrealers as it is after two months of confinement in the concrete jungle.
If they weren’t already drawn to greener pastures before the pandemic, many city folk may be seriously re-evaluating their living arrangements. A new poll by Léger conducted for realtor RE/MAX Québec found 58 per cent of respondents said they would consider putting their homes on the market in a quest for a larger piece of property, and 55 per cent for a bigger home. Some 46 per cent said they were mulling a move to the suburbs and 21 per cent said they were set on the country, versus 28 per cent who said they were contemplating relocating in the city. The poll of 1,400 Quebecers was conducted in early March, just after lockdown measures were first imposed.
Montrealers are certainly not alone in their sudden wistfulness for lawns, remoteness and privacy. Rich Torontonians are also pining for pastoral landscapes, according to Huffpost. And many New Yorkers are also in the throes of what the Washington Post has dubbed a “Great Reassessment” over whether to quit their Big Apple apartments for cheaper housing elsewhere (with washing machines).
To a certain extent, this could be stir-craziness talking at a moment when the realities of working from home while home-schooling kids left many people feeling claustrophobic.
The flight from Montreal is, after all, a continuation of a trend that started well before we ever heard of COVID -19. The 2016 census detected record population growth in smaller towns on the periphery of the greater Montreal region. Two years later, the Institut de la statistique du Québec showed the largest exodus from Montreal in a decade.
More recent data collected by the Communauté Montéal métropolitain, which represents 82 municipalities in the region, shows this phenomenon has been amplified, with more people moving even farther away.
Rising real estate prices in Montreal have forced many to “drive until they qualify,” especially middle-class couples looking for single-family homes. For suburbanites, long commutes have been the trade-off for finished basements and backyard pools, consequences on traffic and the environment be damned.
Despite Mayor Valérie Plante’s efforts to create more affordable housing, waive the welcome tax for qualifying families and encourage the construction of more three-bedroom condos, the city has largely been given over to the singles, couples, professionals, retirees, students and new immigrants populating Montreal’s soaring condo towers.
It’s mainly diehard urbanites who continue to squeeze their growing families into co-properties in exchange for walkable neighbourhoods and vibrant arts, culinary and cultural scenes.
But COVID-19 has forced many Montrealers into a reckoning.
The disparities between those with and without yards has never been so stark. Anyone who endured isolation in a condo with kids would be lying if they said they never fantasized about escaping Montreal for good, especially between the time Plante was threatening to close parks and started announcing more pedestrian, cycling or recreational corridors to help the public get outside while staying safely apart.
Square footage has also become a priority now that home is also the office and the classroom.
The transportation headaches of living far from the metropolis will also be minimized if telecommuting and distance learning become the new norm until a vaccine for COVID -19 is found.
The economic toll of lockdown has pushed many of the small businesses, cultural institutions and events that make city life worthwhile to the brink. Empty storefronts can lead to urban decay, petty crime and social inequality.
Density itself spawns a sense of insecurity in the age of social distancing. Even taking the métro now spawns a sense of dread.
Montreal has benefited from years of urban renewal and economic prosperity, but the fallout from this pandemic could make the city less livable.
It’s hard to know whether Montrealers who were polled about moving away were dreaming, venting or serious. But the call of the suburbs has certainly crescendoed to a deafening roar in the age of COVID-19.