More tech workers can't afford to live where they work
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/06/more-tech-workers-cant-afford-to-live-where-they-work.html?Diana Olick | @DianaOlick
Published 10:38 AM ET Fri, 6 April 2018 Updated 12:41 PM ET Fri, 6 April 2018
More tech workers cant afford to live where they work and neither can teachers and first responders
Teachers, first responders, restaurant workers and, surprisingly, computer programmers have the hardest time affording a home near their jobs.
Real estate listing company Trulia defines affordability as one's monthly payment on housing taking up no more than 31 percent of one's paycheck
Demand is high and supply is low, especially at the lower end of the housing scale.
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But it's not just in California, where home prices are highest. Barely half of programmers in Chicago; Charleston, South Carolina; Minneapolis; and Newark, New Jersey, can afford to buy the median-priced home. The numbers are even lower in Portland, Oregon, and Miami.
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)He gave up living in silicon valley about 4 years ago after striking an agreement with his employer to code from home. He left the valley and lives in very rural eastern Oregon on a small farm with a very high speed internet access. Only goes to the office about 4 times a year, and hates each trip.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)Working from home is not possible for teachers.
Kilgore
(1,733 posts)He has me for a brother!
Cicada
(4,533 posts)The horrible housing policies in California are a huge drag on the economy. If the super productive firms could get more super productive workers it would be a big deal. It really would make a significant difference. A law submitted in CA would require zoning within a mile of public transportation to permit building 85 feet high, without oppressive parking space requirements. That law if passed would lead to a ton of new housing units, a significant drop in housing prices, and a surge in economic output. The housing crisis in CA can be fixed. We also need a law that so long as housing is unaffordable anyone saying NIMBY will be flogged.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)The housing crisis in CA can be fixed. We also need a law that so long as housing is unaffordable anyone saying NIMBY will be flogged.
appalachiablue
(41,188 posts)most middle and working class people with serious political and economic consequences.
The American dream of owning your own home, affordable college and a well paying job is in undeniable decline.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)My grandson is in debt for his education. He has employment but his wages force him to live with roommates and sacrifice his personal life working long hours. My generation failed to act responsibly in holding politicians and corporations to fair labor practices. imo
Skittles
(153,261 posts)saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)HeiressofBickworth
(2,682 posts)I suspect the very high cost of housing forces more and more people to the suburbs. Yesterday I went into the city to meet a friend for dinner and a movie. I took the bus because the senior rate is many times less than downtown parkin. It took an hour and twenty minutes to go about 15 miles in the counter direction of afternoon traffic. When I took the bus back home at 10:30pm, it took about thirty minutes.
PS. The movie was Dream Empire, a Chinese film about the rise and bust of the Chinese real estate market that resulted in abandoned high-rise apartment cities. I have to do more thinking about how that might relate to the current housing bubble here.
saidsimplesimon
(7,888 posts)I am also retired. When I first moved to Phoenix, decades ago, there was only one freeway. My driving times have doubled since then.
The movie "Dream Empire" sounds interesting. I will add it to my list of must watch. thank you.