The people getting priced out of a housing market are not <i>choosing</i> to live somewhere&#x2F;somehow else. They&#x27;re being forced out by the wealthier people who are bidding prices up.<p>For these same people, moving to less populated areas is probably not an option because they can&#x27;t afford to commute long distance to their job(s), and don&#x27;t have the kind of job mobility enjoyed by wealthier people.<p>They probably can&#x27;t choose a smaller home, because the small home prices get bid up along with the other homes. (I speak from experience; I recently moved out of a &#x27;starter&#x27; size home in the &#x27;bad&#x27; end of town, where the houses cost $300K - $500K even over the past few years.)<p>Renting instead of buying might be an option, but even there prices get bid up in desirable locations.<p>Where do these people actually wind up? In <i>undesirable</i> locations: places with higher crime rates, more obvious poverty, worse public services, etc. And for most of them, and their children who have to be raised in that environment, it becomes a trap that&#x27;s very difficult to escape.