Where the Grass Is Greener: Deconcentration Mobility and Activity Space Changes Among Remote‐Worker Families

Anneli Kährik, Katarzyna Kajdanek, Epp Vallikivi, Helina Tamm, Raul Garcia Estevez, Bianka Plüschke-Altof and Tiit Tammaru
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Anneli Kährik: Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia
Katarzyna Kajdanek: Migration–Culture–City Lab, University of Wrocław, Poland
Epp Vallikivi: Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia
Helina Tamm: Institute of Social Studies, University of Tartu, Estonia
Raul Garcia Estevez: Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia
Bianka Plüschke-Altof: Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia
Tiit Tammaru: Department of Geography, University of Tartu, Estonia

Social Inclusion, 2026, vol. 14

Abstract: Digital change—most notably advances in digital tools, infrastructure, and the widespread adoption of remote work—has increasingly shaped residential mobility decisions. Alongside shifting attitudes toward remote work and the expansion of e‐services, these developments have reduced the importance of workplace proximity in residential choice. This changing context has opened new decentralised residential pathways from urban cores to suburban, peri‐urban, and rural areas, as residential decisions are increasingly shaped by digitally mediated connections to activities and places. Drawing on a qualitative study of remote workers relocating from Tallinn to its hinterland and beyond, this article examines how digital transition influences residential decision‐making, daily activity spaces, and subsequent lifestyle changes following relocation. The analysis is framed within a life course approach, which conceptualises residential relocation as an event embedded within interconnected dimensions: the individual (situated within an individual’s lifeworld), the relational (shaped by linked lives and social ties, especially among the household members), and the structural (conditioned by institutional, technological, and economic contexts). The findings show that the ability to work remotely enables greater freedom in choosing where to live while maintaining employment, particularly where considerations of housing affordability, environmental quality, and family‐oriented lifestyles intersect. However, traditional life course factors remain important, and the ability to work from home primarily acts as an enabler for realising existing residential preferences rather than fundamentally altering them.

Keywords: activity space; digital change; linked lives; remote work; residential mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cog:socinc:v14:y:2026:a:11669

DOI: 10.17645/si.11669

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