The Cotswolds, home to honey-colored stone cottages, rolling hills, secluded villages and antiquated inns, has long been something of a best-kept British secret — cherished by aristocrats, frazzled Londoners and foreign tourists after postcard-perfect countryside. But the region has quietly evolved in recent years to become something far different. It has emerged as a destination for rich Americans seeking old-world allure, cultural sophistication and escape feet from home.
Enter a market town such as Stow‑on‑the‑Wold or Burford and the change is palpable. On narrow, cobblestoned lanes and historic market squares, you are as likely to hear an American accent as a local’s.
What’s drawing them in? First: lifestyle and heritage. The Cotswolds isn’t merely the pretty — it’s performant-classic. Some of the rustic cottages, pubs and churches are centuries old; a few even predate the United States. For Americans accustomed to suburbs or development after development of cookie-cutter houses, the notion that one could live in a neighborhood where your building might have stood since medieval times holds out irresistible allure. The villages are pretty, the roads empty, the pace gentle and the sense of continuity profound.
Second: the area now has luxury living that combines heritage and high-end amenities. Smart restaurants, independent shops, artisan food stores, wellness spas, pricey farm shops and curated experiences have all prospered. Daylesford Organic Farmshop or Bamford Wellness Spa give the peace and solitude of the countryside a swanky contemporary twist. Gucci-style tweed shops, boutique pâtisseries, artisan delis with fine-food sections; even “country-but-luxury” spas selling cryotherapy or wellness retreats — all geared to newcomers with disposable income.
Third: with increasing instability, and seismic political change in the U.S., some Americans view the Cotswolds as a “plan B” — somewhere safe in a stable country with good healthcare, slower pace, easy travel distance to London and palpable sense of tradition. It wasn’t until after the 2024 U.S. election that interest spiked: Now property agents in the area say they’ve noticed more American buyers than before, including tech founders, media types and high-net-worth individuals looking to snap up heritage homes or second residences.
You could even call it transatlantic gentrification — or merely old-money envy with a passport. Some buyers are looking for estate-style properties: stone farmhouses, converted barns, cottages with gardens, old schoolhouses turned into homes — houses that seem historic or substantial or timeless. These buyers don’t simply want a home, agents said; they want a tale, an heirloom.
But as the influx intensifies, so too does the friction with local residents. Foreign buyers and second-home owners are driving up prices, in a housing supply that’s already squeezed. And there are signs that second homes in a number of the region’s districts are on the rise, worrying long-time residents. In a few of the villages, the Cotswolds is now one of the most unaffordable places to live in England.
Long- time residents fear their villages are turning into shells of themselves. But as homes are purchased by outsiders and used for weekends or holidays, the feel of a community — the Saturday markets, the village pubs, the regular locals — can be lost. An old village where clans lived for generations can suddenly look like a resort town in slow motion.
Yet, for the Americans who choose to remain, the trade-offs appear to be worth it. They are in unison with a world of pastoral calm, historic architecture and upscale comforts — an easy ride to London. Weekends could be spent walking along ancient lanes, slipping into a gastropub for lunch, taking in a spa session or perusing shops offering artisanal countryside tweed and handmade wares. Somehow, daily life takes on the aspect of a page from period drama: slower, prettier, more rooted.
For many, the appeal isn’t about beauty or luxury — it’s an opportunity to belong to somewhere new, while hanging on to something familiar. The English countryside is a form of rootedness we scarcely have anymore.” Add top-tier amenities, cultural sophistication and a community of like-minded expats and locals, and you’ve got a strong pull.
But the story of the Cotswolds today is also one of what occurs when beauty and peace intersect with demand and global money. It is a struggle to balance heritage and community preservation with influxes of wealth, outsiders and changing local economies. As visitors continue to stream in and residential development grows, locals wonder: will this slice of the Hamptons remain quaint and welcoming — or become yet another glossy luxury hotspot, with all that implies?
So far, the shift is happening. For Americans hungry for old-money vibes, rural calm and a refuge from the rest of us, the Cotswolds is more alluring than ever.
