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Incredible that countries still haven't learned that American-salary digital nomads are only harmful to local people. Airbnb all the apartments so locals can't

by k4rli 3y ago

Incredible that countries still haven't learned that American-salary digital nomads are only harmful to local people. Airbnb all the apartments so locals can't afford in cities anymore. While I do enjoy my EU salary nomading within EU, those with >5x local salaries have pretty much ruined Lisbon and Porto.

plexman 3y ago
hum, can you explain what 'ruined' means to you?
- pb060 3y ago
  Don't know that op means but I can relate. Not long ago I was searching for an apartment to rent in my hometown to move closer to my workplace and I noticed that prices went crazy high compared to few years ago, so high that I can't afford them anymore. Students have demonstrated by mounting camping tents near the universities to protest the lack of affordable housing. I'm quite sure it's because owners prefer to rent to tourists than locals (higher income and no taxes, depending on the owner's compliance). Cities like Venice lost their original character as many locals preferred to move out of the historical center to reduce the cost of living. Other cities like Florence don't allow new bed and breakfasts to be registered, to try and control housing costs.
tim333 3y ago
Some locals probably also make money by renting out the airbnbs, hotels etc. It's how the tourist trade works.
ChadNauseam 3y ago
From the government's perspective it may be a wash. If rents go up, home values go up, and homes are also usually owned by natives, so from that perspective it's a transfer from one group of natives to another. And if home values go up it means the government collects more revenue from property taxes and home value appreciation taxes.
paxys 3y ago
It isn't harmful to people collecting rent for those Airbnbs. Or service workers who can demand higher salaries. Or local business that see increased sales. Or the government itself that can collect taxes on all of it. A large amount of foreign income being spent in a local economy may cause temporary disruptions to the status quo but is overall a good thing. It shouldn't really be a surprise that governments worldwide are encouraging it.

by k4rli 3y ago

plexman 3y ago

hum, can you explain what 'ruined' means to you?

pb060 3y ago
Don't know that op means but I can relate. Not long ago I was searching for an apartment to rent in my hometown to move closer to my workplace and I noticed that prices went crazy high compared to few years ago, so high that I can't afford them anymore. Students have demonstrated by mounting camping tents near the universities to protest the lack of affordable housing. I'm quite sure it's because owners prefer to rent to tourists than locals (higher income and no taxes, depending on the owner's compliance). Cities like Venice lost their original character as many locals preferred to move out of the historical center to reduce the cost of living. Other cities like Florence don't allow new bed and breakfasts to be registered, to try and control housing costs.

tim333 3y ago

Some locals probably also make money by renting out the airbnbs, hotels etc. It's how the tourist trade works.

ChadNauseam 3y ago

From the government's perspective it may be a wash. If rents go up, home values go up, and homes are also usually owned by natives, so from that perspective it's a transfer from one group of natives to another. And if home values go up it means the government collects more revenue from property taxes and home value appreciation taxes.

paxys 3y ago

It isn't harmful to people collecting rent for those Airbnbs. Or service workers who can demand higher salaries. Or local business that see increased sales. Or the government itself that can collect taxes on all of it. A large amount of foreign income being spent in a local economy may cause temporary disruptions to the status quo but is overall a good thing. It shouldn't really be a surprise that governments worldwide are encouraging it.