Success Doesn’t Live in the City Anymore

For generations, ambition was assumed to have an address. The skyline symbolised success; the buzz, a badge of honour. If you weren’t chasing your dreams from a high-rise office, co-working space, or overpriced flat in the capital, were you even serious about them?

We were told the city was where things happened. That to be taken seriously, to scale a business, to build a powerful network, you needed to be near the action. But in 2025, that narrative is not just outdated — it’s actively unhelpful.

Thanks to technology, shifting values, and a reimagining of how women want to live and work, the story is changing. More founders are considering leaving the city than ever before — not to slow down, but to build better.

The Urban Myth: Success Lives in the City

Culturally, we’ve long associated urban life with hustle, productivity, and prestige. Sociologist Richard Florida’s influential book The Rise of the Creative Class argued that creative professionals thrive in dense urban areas where ideas collide. Cities became talent magnets — first for men, and then for women.

As men migrated into city centres for work in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, urban infrastructure evolved to accommodate them. But as more women began stepping into public life, the city adapted again — not just to include them, but to entice them. Shopping destinations like Selfridges weren’t just retail spaces; they were designed as cultural hubs, giving women a reason — and a right — to be out in the city. Eventually, women didn’t just enter the city to shop. They came to work, to lead, and to build. Urban life promised proximity to power, visibility, and economic growth — especially for those chasing ambition on their own terms.

From New York’s SoHo art scene to London’s tech corridors and Berlin’s creative quarters, cities became spaces where artists, designers, and entrepreneurs could shape culture and commerce alike.

But over the past few years — especially in the wake of the pandemic — priorities have shifted. The city no longer holds the same gravitational pull it once did. According to labour market data from the Office for National Statistics, remote and hybrid working has remained significantly higher since 2020, with many workers reporting increased life satisfaction and reduced stress. While not every remote worker has relocated, the trend toward flexible working — and the freedom to choose lifestyle over location — continues to reshape how people view ambition and success outside of major cities.

The data backs up a quiet cultural shift: more women are questioning the pace, pressure, and cost of city living. During the pandemic, thousands of people in their 30s left London — a shift that marked one of the capital’s largest net outflows in recent years. According to the Office for National Statistics, more than 100,000 people relocated in the year ending June 2021, driven by a desire for space, balance, and a better quality of life. The most popular destinations? Surrey, Kent, Essex, Hertfordshire, Cornwall, East Sussex, and Devon — places that offered nature on the doorstep and room to breathe. House prices in many of these regions surged as demand soared. The truth is, proximity doesn’t equal performance. And ambition doesn’t always need noise to grow.

The Reality Check: Alignment Over Aesthetic

The city can be energising, yes. But it can also be draining. Expensive. Distracting. Overstimulating. For many women, it’s a place of burnout, not expansion — where visibility sometimes matters more than alignment, and presence is confused with progress.

When you live somewhere that supports your nervous system and reflects your values, everything changes. Lower overheads reduce pressure. Fewer distractions allow deeper thinking. More space invites new ideas. And in a digital-first world, the right connections are a click away.

We’re not talking about living off-grid or unplugging from ambition. This is about building on your terms. Success no longer looks like 60-hour weeks and LinkedIn check-ins from the Shard — the polished posts from city rooftops that signal you’re “in the room.” It looks like strategy, freedom, and fulfilment — from wherever you are.

What Founders Really Need to Succeed

The idea that your postcode dictates your potential is a myth. Here’s what matters more:

• Clarity: A vision that excites you, rooted in your values and goals

• Structure: Systems, routines, and boundaries that support your output

• Belief: Backing yourself without needing permission or external validation

• Momentum: Taking intentional action consistently, not frantically

These are internal levers — not location-based privileges. You can activate them from anywhere.

A 2015 peer-reviewed study published in Psychological Science in the Public Interest found that greater autonomy and flexibility in work arrangements — including remote work — significantly improve productivity, job satisfaction, and work–life balance, when well supported. When we reclaim our time and energy, we unlock deeper levels of creativity, productivity, and growth.

Reclaiming the Dream

When I left my London job — which meant commuting into the city once, sometimes twice a week for client meetings, team strategy sessions and in-office co-working days — I worried success might slip away. That I’d lose momentum. That I wouldn’t be taken as seriously.

What I didn’t expect was everything I’d gain: space, time, energy, clarity. And the belief that ambition can thrive just as powerfully in a slower, more grounded setting — because it’s not about location. It’s about intention.

This isn’t a call to abandon the city. It’s an invitation to challenge the assumption that success lives there — and only there.

Because the real question isn’t where you live. It’s how you live.

If your vision involves coastlines, country air, or quieter mornings, you’re not playing small. You’re building differently. And that difference could be your edge.

So dream beyond the skyline. Your next chapter doesn’t need a postcode. It needs a direction — and the courage to follow it, from wherever you are.

Have you ever felt the pull to leave the city? What would it take for you to make that move?