The New Demographics: Brain Gainers And Smart Belts

Soaring home prices in California and coastal cities are causing a demographic migration that could reshape the American landscape.

1 minute read

June 28, 2004, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen

"Young professional families are increasingly fleeing the exorbitant coast for Austin, Dallas or San Antonio, for Atlanta, Denver or Phoenix, for Charlotte, N.C... Calling the shift dramatic, demographer William Frey has dubbed the Southwest and Southeast the nation's 'brain gainers.'... Demographer Joel Kotkin...predicts that the trend 'may lead to a stabilization, or even a limited resurgence,' of the long-declining Rust Belt... In Atlanta, Ellen Crawford recalls one gleeful refugee from high-priced New Jersey who kissed her hands after she sold him a four-bedroom house in the sought-after suburb of Alpharetta for $189,000. Compared to the coasts, Crawford said, 'homes are practically for free here.' "

Thanks to Chris Steins

FULL STORY: Catching a Wave Out of Pricey California

Sunday, June 27, 2004 in The Los Angeles Times

Housing United States

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