As someone from the bay area, if you think the setup there leads to 'natives' being able to stick around for the long term, I have some bad news: it's literally

As someone from the bay area, if you think the setup there leads to 'natives' being able to stick around for the long term, I have some bad news: it's literally the exact opposite of that. Out of my high school class, people who stuck around are actually somewhat uncommon. I mean, there's obviously still more there than any single other metro, but surprise surprise, most have moved somewhere much cheaper. With saner density/zoning regulations, rents would be low enough to where more would have been able to stick around. Instead, very few have. The current setup benefits homeowners who get in early. Their kids may well eventually benefit by inheriting that house, but in the meantime they've probably lived at least a few decades as adults elsewhere.