Americans are rethinking where they want to live • Hacker News Board

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#91

Post by foofoo4u » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

I sure am. I live in San Jose (which resides in the Bay Area). Here’s why I am leaving.

- $2,700 per month for a 500 sq/ft apartment.

- Homeless people everywhere the moment I step foot out of my apartment.

- Smells like urine on many sidewalks.

- Literally half of the buildings are vacant or abandoned (in downtown).

- Human feces on sidewalks and entrance to buildings.

- Political and ideological homogeny. Keep your head low if you aren’t progressive.

- We’ve reached $4.99 per gallon for gasoline.

- I’ve experienced two car break-ins.

- Trash everywhere.

- High taxes.

- Crummy roads.

I’m paying a lot of money to live here, but for what? My standard of living is low. I’m leaving for Texas or Florida. Hopefully either of these two states provide me something better.

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#92

Post by hardtke » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

dmode wrote: post #32

This article and similar ones have been written at least a 1000 times for the last decade with a clear political tinge. The poster child is always around how people want to move to Florida and Texas. But somehow it forgets to include Washington and Seattle which has probably seen the biggest tech migration and grown into the second biggest tech hub in the country, far greater than Austin or Miami (hyped up constantly…

The San Francisco Chronicle has done some analyses of the Bay Area exodus, and the majority are not moving to Texas but instead to places like San Joaquin and Madera county (counties that border the Bay Area). People want the bigger house, but they also want to be able to visit their friends and family.

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#93

Post by lotsofpulp » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

sanderjd wrote: post #75

goostavos wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1. Walkability is the main thing that keeps me in the city. A very large part of me wants to go back to the suburbs, rent a house, have a yard, garage -- space in general. However, every time I actually visit someone in the suburbs, the long drive there, watching things get more and more spread apart until it's just strip malls, grocery stores, and subdivisions, really saps the excitement out of having more space fo…

There's no reason (besides inertia) that we can't have both. This is how thriving smaller downtowns are, single family homes within walking distance to amenities. It's just that all those areas get really expensive because there are so few of them. But there don't have to be so few places like that.

How do those smaller downtowns thrive? The few I know usually have rich populations that do not mind spending more than what Costco/Target/Walmart/big grocery stores sell at.

All it takes is the big box stores to setup camp 10 minutes outside of town and almost everyone with a car will opt to save money and shop there.

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#94

Post by scottmcleod » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

The answer is Miami

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#95

Post by jcadam » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

Moved out of the city (Tampa) to rural Alaska. Currently working remotely with the help of a local ISP that does wireless internet (on the waiting list for Starlink).

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#96

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:16 PM UTC

sokoloff wrote: post #12

gknight wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could you dig up sources on that? Not challenging you, but as an Angeleno I've always believed this to be true myself. Curious what may actually be happening.

(As a resident of MA,) I'd also like to see the data. If I had a choice to be homeless here or homeless in the Bay Area, it's not even close. The weather here is terrifically worse than anywhere near the water in CA.

[deleted]

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#97

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:17 PM UTC

SavantIdiot wrote: post #51

I'd go South if the politics start to blue-up. I figure if this trend holds as the article says, by the time I'm ready to retire there will have been two censuses. I care about social justice, local produce, and warm weather. The south has 2 out of 3.

[deleted]

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#98

Post by kahmeal » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:17 PM UTC

donatj wrote: post #77

I live just west of Minneapolis with my wife in a house that's been in my family for generations. I don't want to leave but the continuous stream of car jackings, home invasions, petty theft and seemingly random acts of violence have me rethinking this. Calls to defund the police sound pretty tone deaf when your elderly neighbor is assaulted in their own home and robbed.

Seem being the key word. The messaging is poor, the idea has quite a bit of merit.

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#99

Post by lucasverra » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:18 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #37

larrymyers wrote: post #10

My family and I decided to stay on the north side of Chicago, a very high cost of living location, despite no longer needing to head downtown every day for work. Why not move outside of Chicago where our cost living would be substantially lower? * We wanted to keep our kids in the same school, which is walking distance. * We like being walking distance to the grocery store, doctor's offices, etc. * Our kids can walk…

+1. Walkability is the main thing that keeps me in the city. A very large part of me wants to go back to the suburbs, rent a house, have a yard, garage -- space in general. However, every time I actually visit someone in the suburbs, the long drive there, watching things get more and more spread apart until it's just strip malls, grocery stores, and subdivisions, really saps the excitement out of having more space fo…

Paris is the Walkability by definition city. 20-min ride on a regular bike, and you've crossed half of it.

Lots to dislike, but I love Paris human side ^^

Re: Americans are rethinking where they want to live

#100

Post by jcadam » Mon, Dec 13, 2021, 5:19 PM UTC

shrubble wrote: post #60

anthk wrote: post #33

As an European, I love the American culture. But if you had the European standards on healthcare (The Spaniard one it's great), America would enter in a 2nd golden age.

You get good healthcare but only if you work for the right companies, meaning companies with good plans. My recent experience had me paying zero USD and dealing with almost zero paperwork. For a physical and the resulting outpatient surgery.

I'm paying over $1000/month through my employer for a high deductible health plan. So I'm contributing to an HSA on top of that.