More and more people, not among the super-rich, not even among the heavy echelons of the upper middle class, maintain three or four permanent residencies. Places they call ‘Home’ in different countries, enjoying contrasting environments.
The typical portfolio consists of an apartment in a big city, a house by the sea, a retreat in the mountains, and something altogether different based on individual taste.
How can this be possible in times of high inflation, geopolitical earthquakes, after a pandemic that almost destroyed several professions, and during the ‘great quit’ where top employers struggle to lure and incentivize prospective personnel, may look like a mystery. But when you look at the big picture, it isn’t.
It is such a simple evolution as anything that has occurred on this planet: things seem outlandish just before becoming the norm. And they do once they move from being desired into being needed. In this case, maintaining more than one or two homes is no longer a luxury but a necessity. During prosperous times and long periods of world peace, successful professionals need variety, contrasting stimuli, and the emotional comfort no 7-star hotel can provide. They don’t need a glamorous life; they need multiple everyday lives.
And in difficult times, they want to make sure that if a disaster takes place (tsunamis, other natural catastrophes, accidents involving radio-active leaks, massive online hacks and neutralisations, or the more and more likely nuclear carelessness…), they will have alternatives for their families and themselves.
To that end, the technological race addressing the mega-rich strives to develop unprecedented products in 4 divisions: from the bottom up…
1) private bunkers under the earth or sea, able to withstand anything while servicing one’s needs,
2) Super Yachts with submersible abilities
3) Private jets able to stay in the air and refuel indefinitely
and
4) Facilities on other planets, able to welcome a select few.
No wonder the middle of the middle-class strives to maintain three to four properties…
As connectivity has made it possible for human beings to be active and present everywhere, there is a need now to be physically present across latitudes. But even if we as humans manage to avoid disaster, the future is inevitable, and it consists of professionals in need of different everyday scenarios as they operate globally and beyond.