In the course of 2021, the STAYin(g)Rural team conducted a total of 135 semi-structured interviews with three life stage groups of rural stayers: young adults, families and retirees. In each of our three study regions, 45 interviews which explored housing biographies, staying practices and rural community life were conducted with local residents. Due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and requirement to adhere to public health guidance, the interviews were either conducted online or by phone – which worked much better than expected. Again, we had not expected project collaboration to work so smoothly in the digital world!