A brand new ballot paints a stark image of life within the Bay Space and its residents’ discontents.
Joint Enterprise Silicon Valley, in partnership with the Bay Space Information Group, polled 1,610 registered voters throughout 5 Bay Space counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.
A stunning 71% of respondents mentioned the standard of life within the higher Bay Space is worse now in comparison with 5 years in the past. Fifty-six % of respondents mentioned they’re contemplating leaving within the subsequent 5 years — together with 53% of respondents who work within the tech sector.
“It’s the price of residing, excessive housing prices. I believe that’s the dominant factor. It is housing housing housing,” mentioned Russell Hancock, President and CEO of Joint Enterprise Silicon Valley, in a press briefing. “…That’s driving virtually the entire outcomes.”
Hancock mentioned the 53% determine is the very best proportion of people that have mentioned they need to depart the Bay Space in comparison with earlier polls carried out outdoors of Joint Enterprise.
Certainly, an amazing majority of respondents mentioned it is excessive housing prices (77%) and value of residing (84%) spurring their want to hunt out greener pastures. Homelessness, wildfires and drought have been additionally points respondents thought-about when mulling the choice to go away the Bay Space.
“We’ve lengthy been a high-stress area. Staggering housing costs, rising homelessness, a stark revenue divide and a number of sustainability challenges have had us on edge for a while,” Hancock writes within the introduction to the ballot. “However while you toss a extremely infectious illness into the combination you get a smothering quantity of tension.”
However as Hancock famous, these emotions transcend the pandemic and its challenges.
“We’re cut up (48% to 52%) on whether or not the Bay Space is headed in the correct path,” he mentioned.
The ballot paints a disturbing image of life within the Bay Space, nevertheless it’s not all doom and gloom. About 65% of respondents mentioned “they really feel a powerful sense of belonging to the Bay Space” — much more so than they really feel linked to their neighborhood and metropolis. Many (66%) applauded their employers’ response to the pandemic and now really feel otherwise about their work-life steadiness.
As Hancock identified within the briefing, polls “inform us how individuals are considering. And that is price understanding.”
“Notion,” he added, “can be a type of actuality.”
