[slymon99]

Cities have jobs. Cities have opportunity. Cities have diversity. Why should we expect, encourage, or even desire that young people sacrifice economic and social opportunity and mobility?

Why is the response to high housing cost in cities lecturing "current generations" about their choices? There are glaringly obvious problems in many of our cities that make housing so expensive. Is it so outrageous to try to solve those problems, and allow people to be able to live where they want to live?

[4death4]

But why do cities have all the opportunity? Most likely because the capital owning class lives in cities and has been systematically draining wealth from more rural areas via globalization and the erosion of workers' rights. I'm not saying young professionals need to concern themselves with such lofty ideals, but I do think it's a valid to question why there are only a few pockets of opportunity left in the country.

[slymon99]

Exactly what wealth are cities draining from rural America?

Is it possible there's a simpler explanation? That the economy of the twenty-first century is dominated by information and technology, and that these demands are better matched to the agglomeration affects of true urban density, where the best and brightest can learn from each other?

[randomdata]

Cities offer opportunity at the extreme end of the spectrum due to the concentration of people offering scalability. A professional spots team in the city, for example, can attract tens of thousands of paying spectators. "Field of Dreams" might attract a half dozen spectators on a good night. That's the difference between making millions and not being able to put food on the table.

But for the average Joe who will never leverage themselves into those extremes, I'm not sure the data actually shows greater opportunity. My read from the data is the average Joe is generally worse off in the city with respect to job prospects and compensation.

[throwaway2037]

    But why do cities have all the opportunity?

This is an overstatement. In large parts of Midwest United States (and Canada), you can be middle class by farming. That is "opportunity" -- not amazing, but a good, middle class life in a small, safe town. Also, it is easy to own your home in a farming community -- much easier than large city or suburbs. It would better to ask why do cities have so much more opportunity in the 21st Century? Probably due to the structure of a highly advanced economy. Most of the (economically) valuable work in services is done in and around large cities.

[janalsncm]

Network effects. If you want to hire 5 good software engineers, it’s easier to find them where they already are.

> the capital owning class lives in cities

Cities are desirable places to live, so the capital owning class will buy and develop land there.

[paulmd]

Eh. Largely society transfers money from urban areas to subsidize rural ones. Thousands of miles of road and power and other services to sparse populations would not be sustainable without these transfers. And far from everyone who lives out there is a farmer, plenty of people just live on a mountain somewhere, 30 miles from the nearest grocery store, I remember this doing some driving in the Santa Barbara mountains.

[threeseed]

Housing prices in cities are rising across the world.

And it's all driven by simple economics. Demand is increasing faster than supply.

Now if young people want to participate in this market then all the best to them. I'm not stopping them. But statistically they have less purchasing power and demanding that the entire world ignore that fact is not realistic.

[janalsncm]

Hell it’s not even just trendy neighborhoods that are out of reach. Wages have stagnated while housing prices continue to rise. The upshot is that fewer and fewer people can afford a house no matter where they are.

[rurp]

I think the answer is both. We should work to improve city conditions but the reality is that there is a supply/demand mismatch and not everyone gets to live comfortably wherever they want.

The city I grew up in is too expensive for me to afford as an adult. It would be nice if I could, but I've never felt like the world owed it to me to live there because I want to. People moving to cheaper and less crowded areas to try and improve their quality of life is a story as old as time.

[slyall]

Yes it is.

Diversity means restaurant options go beyond MacDonalds and the local bar

Diversity means that if you are Gay, non-religious or into Table Tennis you can find others who are the same

[mplewis]

Diversity means you are allowed to peacefully exist without someone wanting you dead for your identity.