Population Outflow

Those who know me best know that my family fled Southern California nearly 20 years ago. The reason? It was no longer tenable to raise a family and to live in a home similar to the ones we grew up in. The costs of buying a home that a carpenter could afford in the 1950's had risen to the level where it took two professional incomes (teacher and computer programmer) to purchase the same house.

Of course, now, that very same house (1300 square feet on 1/6 acre lot) recently sold for over $400,000. Three families live in the house. I think they use "hot beds" - where a given bed is essentially used in shifts, with three people taking turns.

I have always thought that it was wrong that a house that a carpenter could afford on one income should EVER be so expensive that a future carpenter could not afford to purchase the same home, say, 50 years later. I understand market economics and I understand about taxation and its effect on affordability.

Anyway, there is an interesting article about population outflow from major metropolitan areas in recent years. I am glad we left when we did.