SanFran is definitely choosing #2, but the problem for people wanting affordable housing is that there's a ton of inertia that affects real estate prices, so it

SanFran is definitely choosing #2, but the problem for people wanting affordable housing is that there's a ton of inertia that affects real estate prices, so it could take decades to make housing more affordable, unless some kind of collapse event happens. The bay area is still a huge employer in the tech sector, and companies can't just pick up and move on a whim. There's been some action to move away from that area (and California in general) over the last decade but most of it hasn't gone very far for various reasons. So people are still earning huge salaries, and paying enormous sums for rent in the area while having to put up with feces on the sidewalks and boarded-up stores, and this could go on for a long time. But there's probably a lot of other not-so-well-known mid-tier US cities where they don't have the huge inertia provided by the tech sector, and are going to turn into relative ghost towns much faster, as people look for more affordable places to live where there's also good jobs in their sector and a lifestyle or local culture they favor.