Survey: 40 percent of Bay Area residents are thinking of leaving

Lyanne Melendez Image
Friday, March 31, 2017
Survey: 40 percent of Bay Area residents are thinking of leaving
Living in the Bay Area is both costly, and a pain to get around so it's no surprise a new survey found 40 percent of people say they're thinking of moving out.

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Living in the Bay Area is both costly, and a pain to get around so it's no surprise a new survey found 40 percent of people say they're thinking of moving out.

RELATED: Company offering employees $10,000 to leave Bay Area

Millennials also agree. Things aren't necessarily working for them as they consider having families.

Reality sometimes hits you when you least expect it. Take living in pricey San Francisco.

"I'm tied to the Bay Area for now," said San Francisco resident Mike Boyadjian. "The jobs are here, but it is insanely expensive to live here."

Forty percent of people interviewed for a Bay Area Council survey said they are thinking of eventually moving out of the Bay Area.

"And that's up from 34 percent last year when we thought that was bad, so it's a trend that continues," said Bay Area Councilmember Jim Wunderman.

"Housing is probably difficult for me personally. It's traffic," said one resident.

And the extra Uber and Lyft cars don't help.

When asked if she could start a family and life here, San Francisco resident Diane Le said, "Absolutely not, that's impossible. There's no way."

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And that brings us to the millennials -- 46 percent of them said they too are giving it some deep thought.

The possible exodus has some people saying, "let them go."

Be careful what you wish for since millennials are expected to fuel our economy.

"Those who are looking to, to provide the next generation of revenue for our cities and counties and our economy," said Wunderman.

The Bay Area Council Economic Institute hopes the city implements more policies to come up with more reasonable ways to keep the millennials here.

"It would be great if all of this were skyscrapers where we could have plenty of apartments," Boyadjian told ABC7 News. "Yeah, it would be great."

Others say they will make due with what the city has to offer.

"We love urban life, and we're making it work for our family," said another Bay Area resident.

RELATED: Sonoma State students face challenge finding affordable housing

The Bay Area Council says love it, and please don't leave it.