This study examines migration from Copenhagen and Stockholm's capital city areas (CCA) to rural destinations (2014-2023), focusing on migrant characteristics, COVID-19's impact, and the role of remote work. Utilising longitudinal micro-register data and logistic regression, we analyse counterurbanisation patterns in two Nordic countries sharing cultural similarities but differing markedly in population density and geography. The findings reveal fundamental cross-country differences. Denmark exhibits strong socioeconomic stratification, where highly educated, high-skilled workers avoid rural migration, whilst high earners drive a "wealthy rural exodus" seeking amenity-rich lifestyles. Sweden demonstrates spatial flexibility, with rural migration broadly distributed across social groups, though migration distances increase with workers’ level of education regardless of destination. A key finding is remote work's divergent role as a mobility shock. In Denmark, higher work-from-home (WFH) probability paradoxically reduces CCA-to-rural migration, reinforcing metropolitan attachment, a pattern intensified during the pandemic. Sweden shows the opposite, where remote work gradually expanded the feasible migration radius, with higher WFH probabilities associating with notably longer distances to both rural and urban destinations, particularly post-pandemic. Understanding these dynamics provides crucial insights for policymakers managing population redistribution and sustainable rural development, where remote work increasingly drives residential preferences. Rural municipalities can proactively leverage the counterurbanisation trend, which is driven by desires for improved well-being and affordability, by investing in digital infrastructure and emphasising local amenities such as environmental sustainability, cultural offerings, and social inclusivity to attract and retain new residents.
Javakhishvili-Larsen et al. (Sun,) studied this question.