Covid-19 has had a dramatic effect on our lifestyles during the pandemic – lockdowns, working from home, furloughing, social distancing, wearing of masks and travel restrictions to name but a few.

The UK government has rolled out a very effective vaccination programme, which has now seen the vast majority of the adult population of the country receive first and second vaccinations. While these do not give total immunity they are allowing the government to ease many of the above restrictions on everyday life and a return to almost pre-pandemic freedom of movement.

However, many people may now be choosing to adopt working from home as a long term alternative to the daily commute to a city centre office. Many employers are accepting this as the new norm – some even encouraging home working, as they see a future with less need for expensive inner city office space.

Working from home as opposed to commuting to an office, impacts two areas of life; work and family life, both of which have a social aspect. Travelling to work allows you  to interact with people during the journey, even if only to buy a ticket or a latte-to-go. Once in the office, you talk to the people sitting around you or passing your workspace. You attend meetings, bounce ideas around a group to find solutions to problems. Maybe go for a drink with workmates of a Friday after work. The day has almost constant human contact.

Home working can be much more solitary, from a working perspective. Zoom calls and telephone conversations are much less personal than sitting face-to-face with colleagues. Many people find that difficult to cope with, in some, it can even cause degrees of depression.

Family life is also impacted by working from home. No more leaving the home at 6.30, Monday to Friday to drive to the station, while at the end of the working day, arriving back any time after 7.00 becomes a thing of the past. This can shorten the working day by around three and a half hours a day; the equivalent of a full working week, every two weeks.

Many employers are happy to afford their employees a degree of flexibility in their working hours, allowing parents to take a little time out to deliver and collect children from school. Home working gives an opportunity for much more quality time spent with other family members.

However, if home workers are to be proficient and productive, attend Zoom calls and conference calls, they require a proper working space; a home office. The dining room table is fine for the odd day at home, when everyone else is out, but is not an option for a full time home worker. A dedicated space to work from is essential to allow the user to function properly at their work, but it also allows the others in the home the freedom to carry on their daily life without disturbing the working environment.

A home based working space can be achieved in one of three ways.

1. Reconfiguring an existing room, such as a guest bedroom to form an office
2. Extending the existing home; an attic conversion, rear extension, garden room or garage conversion.
3. Buy a larger property.

To convert an existing room in a home for use as an office is not always practical but can be a good short term answer until a more permanent solution can be found.

A home extension can provide the solution, provided there is adequate space to build up or out and with city dwelling, however, this is not always possible Very few city homes have large gardens and many have roof lines which would be too low to accommodate building up.

That leaves the option of buying a larger property, which is being considered by many potential long term home workers. Moving house is always a decision not to be taken lightly as it is an expensive exercise.

Many housebuilders are now recognising the trend toward working from home and are designing and marketing their houses with a dedicated study and pre-installing cable broadband, allowing the dedicated home worker to move in to their new office, plug into the Wi-Fi and check their spreadsheets.

Older houses may not have a dedicated office or study but by moving to a house with an extra bedroom and converting that additional room, an office can be formed. The same result may be achieved by building a garden room in a larger garden, which is more common in a rural property.

House prices in cities tend to be higher than in towns or rural areas, with the same being the case in the rental market. This is why many, previously office based employees, are now starting to think seriously about living away from the city environment. A four bedroom house outside of the city can cost a good deal less than a three bedroom property in a more urban location. A recent report has stated that the average property price in London was £595,000 in July 2020, more than double the average price across the UK of £286,000. Add to that the pull of fresh air, more space or a simpler outdoor life then moving to the country can seem very attractive.

Pre home working, the potential savings in mortgage payments would be partly offset by the cost of commuting to and from London, for instance – around £5,500 to £6,500 per year, topped up by the not insubstantial cost of parking at most stations.   Working from home takes away most of that cost, assuming the odd visit to the office may still be required. By opting to buy near a main line railway station the journey time to most city centre rail hubs can be around an hour, which is comparable to many commutes within in a city.

Cutting down on the volume of traffic which commuting to and from work generates, would also have a positive effect on the environment, with a drop in car numbers, particularly at peak times, resulting in a drop in CO2 emissions.

As the market for more rural properties continues to grow, then inevitably, house prices in these areas will escalate. Covid-19 has proved that many of us do not need to be “in the office” to work effectively. Modern technology is now allowing us to choose where we live based on the quality of life we want for ourselves and our families and still work efficiently and professionally. Some may even argue that by cutting out fifteen hours a week travelling to and from an office, we may actually work better.

A move from a city offers a whole range of options, from isolated cottage to small village to reasonably sized town. Whichever one you choose, it is worth checking a few important points before taking the leap from suburbia. Consider local schools and amenities for children. The accessibility of shops, restaurants and other amenities, such as health centre, dentists, opticians, transport links. With more free time in the evenings it is worth looking at sports facilities; golf courses, cycle ways, walks and leisure centres where you can spend quality time with family.

Wherever you move to, it needs to work for the whole family, not just benefit the home office user and the new home office user needs to be sure that after a few months of working from home, the lure of an office full of other people is not going to bring regrets.

If you are considering buying a home, you may find some of these services useful: