Survey shows: one in eight wants to get out of the big city

According to the experience from the corona pandemic, every eighth resident wants to get out of Germany's largest cities within a year.

A quarter of the population could follow in the next few years.

Munich - The experiences from the corona pandemic * could drive many people out of the big German cities.

According to a survey by the Munich-based Ifo Institute and the real estate portal Immowelt, more than every eighth inhabitant of a city with more than half a million inhabitants wants to leave it within a year and move to a smaller city or the countryside.

Almost half of them named Corona as an important reason for the decision.

Of course, you don't know how many people actually put this into practice, but plans to leave the city within six or twelve months can certainly be seen as relatively concrete, says study author Mathias Dolls.

All 13 percent would certainly not leave the big cities.

Big city: Moving is generally an option for almost a quarter

Specifically, 5.3 percent of the residents of the large cities said they want to leave the city within six months, and another 7.6 percent want to do so within twelve months.

Moving to other large cities was not included.

The destination was mostly smaller cities or the suburbs.

In addition, many other residents of the big cities are thinking of moving.

Another 18.5 percent want to leave in the next two or five years.

24.4 percent say that such a move would be an option for them in principle.

Around 18,000 people were interviewed for the survey in May 2021.