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African Americans choosing suburbs while whites go to cities will only increase the wealth gap.
Black folks sneezing while whites are yawning exacerbates the wealth gap. In other words, it has nothing to do with us intentionally choosing cities or the suburbs in which to live that exacerbates the racial wealth gap. Much of it is attributable to a much greater, and widening, disparity in wealth for whites between the top 10% and everyone else. Intraracial wealth disparities for Blacks between the top 10% and the rest, although sizable, aren't nearly as drastic by comparison.
In short, it's because there are many more wealthy whites (who are also able to pass down that wealth to future generations more easily than Black folks) to begin who have the money and numbers to drive the statistical disparities on their own. And that says nothing about growing corporate ownership interests in the housing industry that don't exactly boast Black owners up and down the rosters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrooklynJo
Most are moving because of cost of living.
When the biggest Southern gainers are Atlanta, Houston, DFW, and Charlotte, cost of living can't be the sole or primary reason; if that were the case, the Midwest would be the region of choice. COL is certainly a factor but just as important are educational/economic opportunities, cultural amenities, and warmer weather.
When the biggest Southern gainers are Atlanta, Houston, DFW, and Charlotte, cost of living can't be the sole or primary reason; if that were the case, the Midwest would be the region of choice. COL is certainly a factor but just as important are educational/economic opportunities, cultural amenities, and warmer weather.
Or even other parts of the South. Nashville is full of economic opportunity and much cheaper than Bos-Wash or California. Birmingham has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. Yet their African American growth is very lackluster compared to Atlanta, Houston, Charlotte, DFW, etc.
I'm sensing a "things are so great up here, the only reason people would leave is to buy a cheap house" attitude among some posters. Its very clear that, because African American movement to the South is so concentrated in just 4 places that it is ridiculous to say "its all because its cheap". This is especially true when considering how those four places are among the most pricey places in the South and the Midwest is still cheaper.
San Francisco: 119.8
New York: 114.6
Los Angeles:113.8
Miami: 109.9
Riverside: 105.5
Chicago: 105.4
Saint Louis: 96.2
Detroit: 96.1
Milwaukee: 95.6
Cleveland: 94.2
The West Coast, NYC, Miami, and to a lesser extent Chicago are high-cost areas, but the rust belt cities clearly are not - they are cheaper than most of the Sun Belt.
I'm sure this has been mentioned already but when looking at years 2011-2021, you're going to have a lot of internal fluctuations of migration statistics due to this span of time being bookended by the aftermath of the recession on one end and the pandemic on the other. This means that the 10 year stats could very well be obscuring current growth trends, in either direction, within recent years. Charleston and Charlotte are two good examples in that regard, each in a different way.
This is why I think the shift is somewhat overstated, as many are realizing just moving to the suburbs in many regions outside of the South may actually be more affordable and as the OP stated, it is really only a handful of areas in the South that are really seeing growth. Let alone that some in major areas in other regions just move to mid and smaller metros in their regions.
I think people forget this.
I live in Tennessee. Metro Nashville isn't a majority of the state's population, but it probably is constituting the lion's share of economic growth.
Knoxville and Chattanooga are getting most of the rest of the crumbs. The rest of the state is either stagnant or going backwards.
When the biggest Southern gainers are Atlanta, Houston, DFW, and Charlotte, cost of living can't be the sole or primary reason; if that were the case, the Midwest would be the region of choice. COL is certainly a factor but just as important are educational/economic opportunities, cultural amenities, and warmer weather.
Naw.. Brooklyn Jo is right. In the Bos-Wash corridor most people i know move south primarily often solely due to COL. Same with the white people
Atlanta and Dalls arent expensive to someone from New York.. Its still hella cheap compared to what were used to. People share the "expensive" listings from ATL and you wanna just pat em on the back and say "brother, you have no idea.."
It like how I have a friend in Chicago always telling me about how "high" rent is in Chicago. I gotta feign the empathy.
Last edited by BostonBornMassMade; 05-10-2023 at 10:36 AM..
Naw.. Brooklyn Jo is right. MOst people i know move south primarily often solely due to COL.
Atlanta and Dalls arent expensive to someone from New York.. Its still hella cheap.
This doesn't answer why though. Are they cheap compared to NYC? Sure. There are PLENTY of places that are even cheaper, have large black populations, and offer plenty of job opportunities. Even if you take Atlanta out of the equation, why DFW, Houston, Charlotte?
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