I’ve talked to a lot of people in their 20s and 30s who worry they’ll never be able to afford a home in San Diego (or Southern California, for that matter) and will eventually leave because of the high costs of living here.
Massachusetts young professionals are in a similar boat. Now a lawmaker in that state has proposed a bill that would give college grads $10,000 to use as a down payment on a home or condo.
Talk about out-migration — these lawmakers are worried about brain drain. From a recent Boston Globe story on the plan:
During 2004, about 65,000 people with college or post graduate degrees left the state, compared with 48,000 who moved into it, according to a report by the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth. In 2004, more people between the ages of 25 and 34 left Massachusetts than arrived, the study by the independent, nonpartisan think tank said. Policymakers fear that the numbers represent an exodus that would strip the state of its educated work force and damage its economic future.
Click here for the story. Could/would a plan like that work here?