When New York City locked down at the start of the pandemic, hordes of well-heeled urbanites retreated to their summer homes in the Hamptons. And now that the city is reopening, they are freaking out about having to leave. “If my company says, ‘return to the office,’ I simply won’t show up,” one woman told Vanity Fair. “Last summer I was all stressed out because of COVID. I want to enjoy my summer this year.” The self-exiled were so sure they would be able to spend another season in the East Coast playground of the rich and famous that they have already shelled out for beach houses and farm shares and passed over opportunities to rent out their homes. One ad exec told the magazine that senior-level colleagues annoyed about shifting dates for returning to the office have decided: “Fuck it. I’m not going to move back to the city last minute.”