Facebook has been sending me ads calling southwest Arkansas "the new Austin".

I have my doubts.

lol

I voted ancestry (based on geography).

I grew up here, I like it, my friends are here, I stay.

If I was from Iowa or something, for all I know I’d have stayed there.

I thought we already decided that the following groups get to live in the best spots:

People who make > $200K/ yr
People with crippling methamphetamine/ opiod addictions
People with severe untreated mental illnesses

Often the same people!

Ha, Trag could’ve just said gentrification and save a lot time typing.

There should be some kind of meritocracy, but do I deserve to live in a 4 bedroom house in a nice suburb while others who work harder are poor? Probably not. So maybe think about merit more, knowing it’ll never be perfect.

Honest question, doesn’t gentrification only occur along ethnic/racial lines? Which wouldn’t be the case in some of those places. But if I’m wrong I’ll wrong.

I don’t think you’re wrong. You just explained the process without using the term. It’s funny.

I don't think it's strictly racial. The area I live in is very different than it was when I first came here 20 years ago. It was pretty bohemian back then. Now it's young professionals and upscale apartments. The weird (mostly white) crowd can't afford to live here anymore.

i vote for banks

burt show us your vision board

will burt die in a trailer park or ruddo's garage?

I don't plan on dying rich.

wow good luck with that

This, but in order to fully get there, cities need to change their zoning laws to allow for the markets to build what people need. This applies to both "desirable" cities, and can also apply to "undesirable" ones if the "desirable" cities refuse to change.

Once again, this. All of the boxy midrises exhaust me, too, but if you want more affordable housing, prettier facades get in that way.

I agree with Burt in that it isn't strictly racial, even if it often falls down those lines. One major example I can think of are trailer parks, whose residents often get screwed by rising housing costs when they own the structure but not the land--so they get booted out when the landowner wants to develop to the new highest & best use, while having to figure out where the hell they're going to put their trailer.

The root cause of gentrification, though, is when the more high valued parts of the city are zoned too sparsely. Without upzoning in those areas, often because old money raises hell in person at council and P&Z meetings, the new money that wants to move there buys up property in the lower valued areas, raising prices there and thus pricing out the incumbent residents.

What does someone like me, with old AND new money, do?

Try having twins again?

And good thoughts GH, thanks for chiming in

In an up-and-coming part of the city

Strength and cunning is running neck and neck with the tycoons!