NYTimes: College educated workers are leaving DC due to high housing costs

[Anonymous]

Is it just DC or is it the suburbs too. I wouldn't want my 20-something nieces to live in DC now, there is terrible crime even in the nicest neighborhoods. I say this as someone who lived in Shaw in the late 90s/early 2000s.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

No. I live in a rural town and there is none of the following here or within 90 minutes of me: stores such as Lululemon, Apple, Athleta, Nordstrom, Coach and also Whole Foods, Equinox, Lifetime Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Soulcycle, Justsalad, Sweetgreen and Cava.

Every single one of these things that isn’t edible is available more conveniently online, and my smaller town has a better organic market and much better artisanal restaurants than Sweetgreen and Cava lol.

What smaller town can support an organic market?? This most be a vacation destination. Real rural towns don’t have organic markets, they have a section in Walmart. .

This is just untrue. I lived in a very rural town that had an organic co-op.

You should get out once in a while.

It’s interesting to read comments where posters think rural areas don’t have organic markets. This must be why these people stay in a city with carjackings, looting etc. They truly don’t understand what other locations have to offer.

We live car-free. There are not many places where that’s possible.

If you could afford a car where you live you would have one. The places where you need a car for something’s, you could have a car.

I can absolutely afford one, I just choose not to own one. I do not need one where I live.

[Anonymous]

2020-21 was the last year of covid. Hardly a representative sampling, but that never stops the NYTimes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it just DC or is it the suburbs too. I wouldn't want my 20-something nieces to live in DC now, there is terrible crime even in the nicest neighborhoods. I say this as someone who lived in Shaw in the late 90s/early 2000s.

If they want to work on the hill or in government or for an embassy/think thank etc, that's where they'll come to live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

No. I live in a rural town and there is none of the following here or within 90 minutes of me: stores such as Lululemon, Apple, Athleta, Nordstrom, Coach and also Whole Foods, Equinox, Lifetime Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Soulcycle, Justsalad, Sweetgreen and Cava.

Frankly you’re not missing much by not having these soulless corporate chains nearby. The great thing about a city are its unique offerings.

Right and rural towns have Walmart and thats it.

Citation?

[Anonymous]

What young, single people want is a large pool of young, single people. The dating options in a lot of rural places are pretty grim, especially if you are well-educated, double especially if you are a woman who is well-educated, triple especially if you are not straight. It's not only about amenities, it's often just about the sheer number of people around.

Ask anyone who's single and dating in NoVA and they'll let you know that they're at a disadvantage because DC people have a deep dating pool and won't even cross the river for them. That kind of stuff is going to continue to draw young people into the city; it's not going away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

The article doesn't say that college educated workers are leaving DC for rural areas and suburbs. It says they are leaving DC and environs for other cities.

The people in question want to live in a city, they just want to live in a city they can actually afford. They are not moving to Frederick or La Plata County, Maryland. They are moving to Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis, Nashville, etc. -- cities with many of the same amenities as DC but cheaper housing and an overall lower cost of living.

Can you point this county out on a map?

[Anonymous]

To be blunt, 23 y/o do not care about crime, homelessness, schools, transit delays etc. They care about walkability, a big dating pool, restaurants, bars & clubs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

Yeah the Smithsonian is opening in rural towns and cities nationwide.

25 year olds do not care about museums.

x10000000

Nailed it.

When I was 25 I lived in DC and moved to NYC a few years later. I wasn’t there for the museums but I wouldn’t have moved to the suburbs or a rural area because I loved the energy of the city, excellent non chain restaurants, and fun nightlife options that were at my doorstep!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

Yeah the Smithsonian is opening in rural towns and cities nationwide.

25 year olds do not care about museums.

x10000000

Nailed it.

When I was 25 I lived in DC and moved to NYC a few years later. I wasn’t there for the museums but I wouldn’t have moved to the suburbs or a rural area because I loved the energy of the city, excellent non chain restaurants, and fun nightlife options that were at my doorstep!

Oh and I forgot the lively dating scene not nearly as easy to do if you’re living in the burbs or rural areas!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

No. I live in a rural town and there is none of the following here or within 90 minutes of me: stores such as Lululemon, Apple, Athleta, Nordstrom, Coach and also Whole Foods, Equinox, Lifetime Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Soulcycle, Justsalad, Sweetgreen and Cava.

I live in a rural setting and nearly all of that is within 45 minutes - which, where I am, is about 15-20 minutes past the nearest thing.

Who wants to drive 45min each way to go to TJ? That's my weekly grocery run which is 10min away.

I live in the burbs, and all of that is within 15min from me.

My teen kids, 20/30 something yr old nieces/nephews want a big suburb, not rural and not big city.

Maybe those kids can just have your house then. Would save them a lot of money.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

No. I live in a rural town and there is none of the following here or within 90 minutes of me: stores such as Lululemon, Apple, Athleta, Nordstrom, Coach and also Whole Foods, Equinox, Lifetime Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Soulcycle, Justsalad, Sweetgreen and Cava.

Every single one of these things that isn’t edible is available more conveniently online, and my smaller town has a better organic market and much better artisanal restaurants than Sweetgreen and Cava lol.

Exactly. I’d rather live in the center of the city or an upscale rural area than ever live in the hellscape of the suburbs. They have no soul, no identity. The suburbs are the same in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Virginia - you wouldn’t know where you were except for the license plates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This doesn’t mean they’re moving to the middle of nowhere. Likely places like Philly, Providence, Richmond, Baltimore, Charlotte, Nashville, Pittsburgh and
Columbus that all have some semblance of city amenities like Whole Foods, public transit, “luxury” brand new apartments, walkability and Amtrak stop, but are relatively affordable.

Not just a semblance of a city, but employers. WFH is all but dead. People may be avoiding NYC and SF because of cost, but that doesn't mean they are going rural Montana

Fact check: FALSE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

No. I live in a rural town and there is none of the following here or within 90 minutes of me: stores such as Lululemon, Apple, Athleta, Nordstrom, Coach and also Whole Foods, Equinox, Lifetime Fitness, Trader Joe’s, Soulcycle, Justsalad, Sweetgreen and Cava.

Every single one of these things that isn’t edible is available more conveniently online, and my smaller town has a better organic market and much better artisanal restaurants than Sweetgreen and Cava lol.

Exactly. I’d rather live in the center of the city or an upscale rural area than ever live in the hellscape of the suburbs. They have no soul, no identity. The suburbs are the same in Ohio, Texas, Florida, Virginia - you wouldn’t know where you were except for the license plates.

Suburbs vary as much as cities do. I imagine you aren't talking about Anacostia or most of Baltimore or Philadelphia or Detroit. Cities can typically have some cool areas and a lot of dreary areas. Meanwhile there are lovely suburbs with village centers and strong neighborhoods. It's not one or the other.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s not just cheaper housing. It’s better schools, less crime and fewer homeless people.

Not to mention rural, towns and suburbs have caught up in terms of dining, gyms and other amenities. You no longer need to live in a city for access to these things.

The article doesn't say that college educated workers are leaving DC for rural areas and suburbs. It says they are leaving DC and environs for other cities.

The people in question want to live in a city, they just want to live in a city they can actually afford. They are not moving to Frederick or La Plata County, Maryland. They are moving to Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis, Nashville, etc. -- cities with many of the same amenities as DC but cheaper housing and an overall lower cost of living.

Here's a good Breaking Points take on the article : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCanKF7g1W0