'Zoom towns': US remote workers are heading to smaller cities

Many workers in the United States are now considering moving to small towns that until now were seen mainly as holiday destinations. Photo: AFP

A third of the United States' office employees work entirely remotely and a further 25% do so from time to time, according to a recent analysis by Gallup. For many, this offers the chance to leave the big city behind for what are now being called "Zoom towns."

Bigger spaces, fresh air, no long commutes or traffic snarls: what might have seemed a distant dream suddenly became a reality when the Covid-19 pandemic obliged many office workers to switch to remote working.