I don't think anyone is forced to live in the bay area. For what you spend to live in the bay area, you could just buy a really nice house in the midwest and raise a family.
“Just move somewhere cheaper” is such a lame argument.
Many of my neighbors are part timers from Illinois because they don’t want the winters but refuse to pay our income tax.
You think young families in the peak of their careers should move to the middle of nowhere Illinois away from all their family and friends? That’s the solution to our housing crisis…?
How about we build more housing and prioritize housing for people who want to live in a community full time?
>You think young families in the peak of their careers should move
I think anyone who cannot afford the cost of living should move to some place where they can afford it. You're not entitled to beach front property in California just because you were born near there. You only hurt yourself when you insist on staying where you cannot afford to live.
>middle of nowhere Illinois
2.5 hours by Amtrak to Chicago Union station. You can go in the morning and be back in time for bed. Then you can enjoy shopping and restaurants and still have a peaceful small town life in a nice big house.
>away from all their family and friends
The pioneers who started this country moved away from their family and friends. Those people didn't even have telegraphs either. Much less internet video calling.
>How about we build more housing
In case you haven't been paying attention, that doesn't work. Home builders don't build houses unless they are profitable. When prices fall, they hit the brakes.
I would say this isn't entirely specific to the Bay Area, it's part of a wider trend of younger generations not having children:
> Since 2018, the share of young U.S. adults who say they are unlikely to ever have kids increased from 37% to 47% in 2023.
https://www.ppic.org/blog/californias-plunging-birth-rates/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-birth-rate-all-time-low-cdc-...
https://www.axios.com/2025/09/22/the-american-dream-will-cos...
https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~jesusfv/Slides_London.pdf
https://archive.is/2acJn
I don't think anyone is forced to live in the bay area. For what you spend to live in the bay area, you could just buy a really nice house in the midwest and raise a family.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/402-W-Prospect-St-Kewanee...
Let's check the boxes here:
Walkable
Public transportation (Amtrak station)
Fiber internet
Blue state politics
And this isn't like a cheap house. This is the second most expensive house in town.
“Just move somewhere cheaper” is such a lame argument.
Many of my neighbors are part timers from Illinois because they don’t want the winters but refuse to pay our income tax.
You think young families in the peak of their careers should move to the middle of nowhere Illinois away from all their family and friends? That’s the solution to our housing crisis…?
How about we build more housing and prioritize housing for people who want to live in a community full time?
>You think young families in the peak of their careers should move
I think anyone who cannot afford the cost of living should move to some place where they can afford it. You're not entitled to beach front property in California just because you were born near there. You only hurt yourself when you insist on staying where you cannot afford to live.
>middle of nowhere Illinois
2.5 hours by Amtrak to Chicago Union station. You can go in the morning and be back in time for bed. Then you can enjoy shopping and restaurants and still have a peaceful small town life in a nice big house.
>away from all their family and friends
The pioneers who started this country moved away from their family and friends. Those people didn't even have telegraphs either. Much less internet video calling.
>How about we build more housing
In case you haven't been paying attention, that doesn't work. Home builders don't build houses unless they are profitable. When prices fall, they hit the brakes.