Americans ditched big cities during the pandemic. Now many are regretting it.

Susan, a 30-something artist, lived in New York City when the pandemic struck. Eager to flee the claustrophobia of a too-small apartment, she and her husband decamped upstate to stay with friends in an up-and-coming town in the Catskills (population: 1,000) where they could hike local trails and fish for trout.

Susan, who asked that her real name not be used to avoid social repercussions, had lived in New York City for over a decade, but her husband had grown tired of the hustle and bustle of the city. The pair had talked about moving to a smaller town someday — the pandemic just shortened their timeline. Thanks to the influx of city folk desperate for personal space, rents in trendy upstate communities had become exorbitant overnight, so it made more financial sense to simply buy.