The Future of Suburbia. where to Invest in R.E. in the Future?

[Llewelyn A.]

I read an article from Business insiders: The American suburbs as we know them are dying

It's very interesting and basically talks about how the Suburbs are changing, malls are becoming ghost towns, and Millennials are move to more urban and efficient living spaces in denser areas where walkability is a benefit.

Of course if all of this is true, buying into major cities ahead of the migration of younger people seems like an excellent strategy.

In fact, we see this all the time and contributes towards a process of gentrification. So I'm not sure if this article is talking about a new phenomenon or something that has been happening for at least the last 15 years.

I'm curious if anyone had notice that there was a trend where malls are struggling, young people are avoiding the suburbs, etc. I only see it from the end where they have arrived. I can't see the side where younger people would stay in the Suburbs where their family live. Therefore, I can't determine if this is a real significant movement because NYC is a mecca that if 500k young people move in from all over America, that still doesn't mean there is a trend (or does it?).

So, if it is a trend, what does that mean about small cities? If business leave, as in the article where GE leaves Fairfield, CT for Boston and UBS leaves Stamford, CT for New York City, how much of an impact does it have on the traditional cashflowing smaller cities? What about those that invest in SFR?

Does anyone here invest in either Fairfield or Stamford? It would definitely be helpful to know the impact of those two companies after a few years when they left. I don't want to make the assumption that Rental Real Estate went down hill. I'd like to know from those that actually have investments there.

Just curious to see what BPers think of this article or phenomenon.

Investor Llew