I agree that the pains of restrictive zoning are very real and punish newcomers. When I was in SF, I lived in a rent controlled unit in which there was a cranky

I agree that the pains of restrictive zoning are very real and punish newcomers. When I was in SF, I lived in a rent controlled unit in which there was a cranky old lady paying $800 for a 2 bedroom apartment while a young couple moved into a smaller unit in the same building and were paying $3000. They were planning on having a child, but it was really hard. Both working full time just to afford rent. That's what happens when you freeze housing supply. But the usual counterweight is to move to areas with more liberal zoning -- e.g. zoning is locally controlled and if a city wants to stop growing, then there's not much that can be done to stop them - California is trying, but there is a lot of opposition to forcing cities to grow if they don't want to. The solution is to not build a major corporate HQ in such a city, or to move the HQ to cities that embrace growth -- which is the majority. But if that doesn't happen, then good jobs only exist in areas with restrictive zoning, and that's what makes the zoning painful.