Countryside aesthetic for sale

Imagine images of ivy-covered cottages, floral printed summer dresses, and pastel-colored tea parties hosted next to lushful, green meadows. These scenes are all part of a social media trend referred to as “cottage core.” Simply put, the aesthetic centers around embracing the simplicity of countryside living and focusing on a slower pace of life. A New York Times article described the trend as:

It could ​​be the beginning of a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, before the inevitable darkness seeps in, but rather it’s the backdrop of a budding aesthetic movement called cottagecore, where tropes of rural self-sufficiency converge with dainty décor to create an exceptionally twee distillation of pastoral existence.

The modern escapist fantasy has been around for ages but became increasingly popular around 2020, especially on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram. The cottage core aesthetic was likely an antidote to the panic and stress of living in close proximity to others during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, this popular aesthetic does not account for its gentrifying effects on rural communities. Rural gentrification refers to the migration of affluent urban and suburban residents into rural places. This process can lead to real consequences for rural residents:

These include the displacement of poor, working-class, and middle-class people from areas experiencing gentrification because of the increasing price of housing and land, sometimes pushing existing residents into communities that are considered ​“chronically poor,” where they can afford housing. Thus, these demands create new opportunities and tensions within the community, particularly its land-use patterns.

The trend encourages consumers to buy land and cottages in picturesque rural towns in order to cultivate the romanticized country lifestyle. These “rural gentrifiers” are usually more abundant in picturesque towns located in the West and Midwest.

One example is Gunnison County in Colorado. The county has scenic lakes and mountainous landscapes, which fit perfectly against the backdrop of the cottage core aesthetic. The area has attracted many affluent families to purchase a second home in this area. However, the surge of wealthy residents has left a housing shortage and stark income inequality. This forces the valley’s low-paid seasonal and service workers to pay more than average for housing:

According to Headwaters Economics, a nonprofit research firm, Gunnison County’s workers devote 32% of their income on average to rent, compared to 19% in non-tourism-based economies.

The housing in Gunnison County is so sparse that many of the local motels have become month-to-month rentals for low-income families. Thus, this forcibly displaces long-time rural residents, puts families in vulnerable situations, and creates a cultural division within the community.

Although only the wealthy few can afford second homes in these rural communities, the need to buy into an aesthetic can lead to real and catastrophic effects. When the trend starts to fade away, rural residents are forced to deal with the aftermath. 

To learn more about rural gentrification, see How and why Democrats are failing to attract rural voters: Is it the economy, stupid? and On rural gentrification, and the ensuing housing shortage, in coastal California.