New data shows an interesting trend – popular cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Washington D.C., normally destinations for living, are actually losing people in mass.

According to a study by Bloomberg, in the 100 most populous U.S. metros, the New York City area ranked 2nd, losing about a net 163,000 residents, Honolulu came in fourth, and Los Angeles came in at 14th.

These areas also have the distinction of having some of the highest inflows of people coming in from outside the country, which has a net result showing a steadily growing population, despite people leaving.

“I have an idea of what’s going on here,” said Michael Stoll, a professor of public policy and urban planning at the University of California Los Angeles.

“Soaring home prices are pushing local residents out and scaring away potential new ones from other parts of the country.”

And, when those people leave, most often those who move in from abroad fill vacant low skilled jobs. How? Stoll has an idea about that as well.

“They are able to do so by living in ‘creative housing arrangements,’” said Stoll.

“They pack six to eight individuals, or two to four families, into one apartment or home. It’s an arrangement that most Americans just aren’t willing to pursue, and even many immigrants decide it’s not for them as time goes by.”

High skilled foreign workers coming into the country, specifically in the technology industry, they earn enough to live in high cost areas.

“They are compensated appropriately and can afford to live in these high-cost areas, just like Americans who hold similar positions,” said Stoll.

“One example is Washington, D.C., which had a lot of people from abroad arriving to soak up jobs in the growing tech-hub.”

Rust belt cities like Cleveland, Dayton and Toledo, didn’t fare so well.

Even though the cost of living is low, the cities did not get the same influx of people that the other major cities did, which potentially shows that locals were leaving for lack of jobs.

“This is part of a multiple-decade trend of the U.S. population moving away from these manufacturing hubs to areas in the Sun Belt and the Pacific Northwest,” said Stoll.

“Retiring baby boomers are also leaving the Northeast and migrating to more affordable places with better climates.”

 

Opportunity for Manufactured Housing?

Many of those retirees have chosen a familiar location.

According to the Census Bureau, The Villages, Florida, was the nation’s fastest-growing metro area for the fourth year in a row, with a 4.3 percent population increase between 2015 and 2016.” The Villages includes a significant amount of manufactured home communities.

The Daily Business News, MHProNews and MHLivingNews have covered the case for manufactured housing as a viable solution to hope for the American Dream of home ownership at a reasonable price extensively, including Bloomberg making a statement to the same effect.

The myths, and the facts surrounding manufactured housing abound. To learn more, including why manufactured housing is the solution hiding in plain sight for many to achieve the American Dream, click here. ##

 

(Image credits are as shown above.)

 

Submitted by RC Williams to the Daily Business News for MHProNews.