[aldonius]

I'd suggest high local wealth and economic productivity tend to correlate strongly with increased housing costs.

People move there for the jobs, and the ones who do have jobs tend to have relatively well paying ones, so can pay more for housing. But the ones who don't have a well paying job are in trouble...

https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-housing-shortages-cause...

[IncreasePosts]

So these people decide to become homeless instead of moving to a nearby area with a lower cost of living?

[estearum]

Like everyone else, homeless people tend to have ties to specific areas, and by the time you're homeless you tend not to have the capital required to move and restart someplace else.

Basically at what point do you decide you're "failing" (no moral valence intended) in one area in which you have a support network that you're willing to risk moving to a totally new area and starting over? At that point, do you have the resources required to do so successfully?