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What is happening in Boise? The article doesn't really say.

lotharbot 9y ago
Boise is absorbing a lot of people who either can't afford to live in California any more, or don't like California's political environment. Boise is currently the fastest growing metro area in the US. This is happening in a lot of mid-sized cities in the western US. California's economic / housing policies result in very high cost of living, which causes a significant migration of poor people out of the state and into places like Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Beaverton, Fort Worth, and so on. You can frequently find articles like http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180203/packing-up-and-moving-out-people-are-leaving-california-in-droves-including-some-high-desert-residents http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180203/packing-up-and-mov... from those places.
jonathankoren 9y ago
The impression I got from the article was that he was using a recent WSJ article[0] about Boise as an impetus to bash urban development. The WSJ article is basically, that it’s cheaper to buy a house in Boise. Sure it is, but there’s nothing about what these people moving to the Boise metro area (population 700k) are doing. The two Californians they talk to are, a CEO who bought a second house, and a soon to be retiree. As it is, this is more of a cutting indictment of California, than Fort Lauderdale is of NYC. Yes, the housing in the desirable parts of California is too high, but at the same time, it’s high because it is desirable. It’s cheap to live in places where no one wants to live. If I wanted, I could move back to where I grew up and a buy a house for $27,000[1], but then I’d be Royalton, Illinois. [0] https://www.wsj.com/articles/boise-idaho-feels-the-growing-pains-of-a-surging-population-1523793600 https://www.wsj.com/articles/boise-idaho-feels-the-growing-p... [1] https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/209-5th-St-N-Royalton-IL-62983/115623873_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/209-5th-St-N-Royalton-IL-...

Boise is absorbing a lot of people who either can't afford to live in California any more, or don't like California's political environment. Boise is currently the fastest growing metro area in the US. This is happening in a lot of mid-sized cities in the western US. California's economic / housing policies result in very high cost of living, which causes a significant migration of poor people out of the state and into places like Boise, Denver, Las Vegas, Beaverton, Fort Worth, and so on. You can frequently find articles like http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180203/packing-up-and-moving-out-people-are-leaving-california-in-droves-including-some-high-desert-residents http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20180203/packing-up-and-mov... from those places.

jonathankoren 9y ago

The impression I got from the article was that he was using a recent WSJ article[0] about Boise as an impetus to bash urban development. The WSJ article is basically, that it’s cheaper to buy a house in Boise. Sure it is, but there’s nothing about what these people moving to the Boise metro area (population 700k) are doing. The two Californians they talk to are, a CEO who bought a second house, and a soon to be retiree. As it is, this is more of a cutting indictment of California, than Fort Lauderdale is of NYC. Yes, the housing in the desirable parts of California is too high, but at the same time, it’s high because it is desirable. It’s cheap to live in places where no one wants to live. If I wanted, I could move back to where I grew up and a buy a house for $27,000[1], but then I’d be Royalton, Illinois. [0] https://www.wsj.com/articles/boise-idaho-feels-the-growing-pains-of-a-surging-population-1523793600 https://www.wsj.com/articles/boise-idaho-feels-the-growing-p... [1] https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/209-5th-St-N-Royalton-IL-62983/115623873_zpid/ https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/209-5th-St-N-Royalton-IL-...