YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WFMJ) - Many of us at least temporarily switched to remote working during the pandemic. For some people, that move might be permanent. It has a lot of real estate professionals wondering if that might change the entire landscape of where people live.

For decades, the Mahoning Valley has been one of the most affordable places to buy a house.

"Our area has always been known as not so much a destination spot," said George Berick from Century 21 Lakeside Realty. "Because honestly, we don't have the beaches. We don't have the whole jazz of the four corners and all the special stuff, but we have been known forever as one of the most affordable areas in the nation."

Now, with more and more companies making a permanent switch to remote work, some of those people who work on the coast don't necessarily have to live there.

"The people that are in those industries that can work remote, those are usually tech. Those are the first people that are going to go on and go, best places to live in America," said Berick, who noted Columbiana's recent title of "Nicest Place in America."

"What gets you a small apartment in San Francisco gets you a pretty palatial spot in places like Youngstown," said Evan Hock.

Hock is the co-founder of a company called "Make My Move," geared toward helping remote workers find that perfect fit no matter where it may be.

He sees it as an opportunity for some of these areas, like ours, to boost the local economy in a new way.

"Let's take an average software engineer. They might be making mid-six figures and bring a household income higher than that," said Hock. "They bring tax revenue, they're going to buy a house, they're going to bring all their local spending in the economy."

Hock says, some communities are even offering incentives for these workers to move there; a new tweak to an old strategy.

"Most of these communities have been used to giving these incentives to companies for decades. It's just... maybe a slight tweak of their perspective to have them consider recruiting directly the remote workers," said Hock.

After all, the American Dream never really changed; there's still that desire for many people to have that home with a yard in a nice neighborhood.

George Berick says, his website analytics already show an uptick in out-of-state people looking at listings, so we may be just on the cusp.

"Once that starts to happen I think it's going to be crazy. I think a little bit of a migration's going to happen," said Berick.

Which could be a by-product of the pandemic that very few saw coming.

Berick says, there isn't a ton of local data out there about this just yet but he is starting to track it locally.

If you want to learn more about the website connecting remote workers with communities, it's makemymove.com.