I have a friend renting a smallish ranch-style house in Annandale, VA. EK and I were talking about our househunting adventures and the "outrageous" prices we were running into around Chapel Hill, and my friend almost fell off his chair laughing. The value of his house (were he able to buy it) was two and a half times what we said was "too much" here. Salaries seem a little higher than here, but definitely not enough to make up the difference.
Virtualize the federal government. Completely. All 1s and 0s. All network. Don't require people to be anywhere near DC to do their jobs. Completely decentralize it.
My uncle made the decision to live in Baltimore he started working at Howard University decades ago. Even though his family had been part of the African American upper middle class and lived in the District, he'd been priced out. This proved to be far thinking as my Aunt and Uncle have a significantly different life for the amount they saved.
They live close to the intercity trains and even as an outsider I can see the shift in the young professional population from DC to Baltimore. I suspect some are people who used to try and live in DC no matter what - as it's a more recent trend than commuters from the Virginia/Maryland suburbs.
Which I think will impact Washington policy even more in terms of urban planning. The fewer people can afford to live in the same city as their job, let alone in close proximity, the more this will impact what policy is generally considered rational.
Comments 4
Reply
Virtualize the federal government. Completely. All 1s and 0s. All network. Don't require people to be anywhere near DC to do their jobs. Completely decentralize it.
Reply
They live close to the intercity trains and even as an outsider I can see the shift in the young professional population from DC to Baltimore. I suspect some are people who used to try and live in DC no matter what - as it's a more recent trend than commuters from the Virginia/Maryland suburbs.
Which I think will impact Washington policy even more in terms of urban planning. The fewer people can afford to live in the same city as their job, let alone in close proximity, the more this will impact what policy is generally considered rational.
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment