Should Reverse Migration to Slow Spaces Such as the Seaside Towns be Encouraged?

Entrepreneurs working in a fast-paced environment, those who are redefining, disrupting and innovating on a continual basis, might be a higher risk for poor mental health and stress. Consequently, we are witnessing a silent revolution of reverse migration from city centers to their peripheral regions, which is ultimately giving rise to the slow entrepreneurship in the periphery.

Digital connectivity and the rise of gig economy are fueling the increased attraction of working and living in seaside towns for the benefits of ‘time’ and ‘space’ needed to nourish the creative soul. More and more entrepreneurs in search of a humane atmosphere and lifestyle are beginning to move to the periphery to enjoy balanced sustainable growth and preventative approaches to wellbeing, which has given this rise to peripheral entrepreneurship.

For their health and mental well-being entrepreneurs need more than the lifestyle available to them in a crowded city. They also need space to help them manage and regulate their emotions, prevent against cognitive decline, and give the necessary attention to their mental health as seen in a well-balanced work-life relationship. Seaside towns offer the opportunity for this balance and harmony of physical, emotional, cognitive, and mental spaces across a given ecosystem and are, therefore, more likely to be a magnate for humane entrepreneurs of the future. They provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to disconnect from the fast-paced lifestyle and to diffuse stress while connecting with nature. For example, the Bournemouth & Poole digital cluster in the South West of England attracts frequent digital innovators, those who produce economic value with less environmental pressure. We are likely to see the emergence of more digital clusters of health-conscious entrepreneurs, social/impact investors, and imaginative spaces for nurturing frequent innovations. In the wake of the need to be more humane, we can expect to see more reverse migrations taking place from the center to the periphery. What do you think - should such trends be encouraged?