I'm mixed on the issue. I've got roots going back multiple generations in the bay area. The only immediate family member besides myself still living in the "bay area" (monterey to Santa Rosa) is one of my Aunts. Both parents born/raised in the Bay Area, my sister and I as well. Choices made, people moved. There is a golden rule - "if you sell your house and move out of California, it is hard to move back". My parents found this out in spades. They live in WA now and I'm supporting them a bit.<p>Old friends of my family still own a house in Campbell. Retired now, even with ups and downs, their mentality is "we aren't splitting up, because we can't afford to go anywhere". The build out of the Bay Area, lack of planning, etc. is taking a toll and making it hard on current and retired blue collar workers.<p>That said, I live in Santa Cruz and have very little pity on the "I should be allowed to live where I want". Mostly because over here, our "3000+ homeless" are 2/3 (according to a UCSC/Civinomics survey) didn't reside here before becoming homeless. We have way too many services, few rules, and a lot of "compassion" -- to the point of people being publicly called out if you publicly ask about "compassion".<p>The Bay Area is expensive, yes one would like to stay where their friends are, but one should also be open to where they can afford. For instance, locally, we keep being lectured about needing "safe places for RVs to park", yet these RVs aren't local, and a simple search of CL, a trailer park in Modesto has spaces (including utilities) for $15/day.