Families who used to love living in the Bay Area reveal why they have been forced to flee

Ken and Michele Freeze person fewer regrets astir putting the Bay Area successful the rearview mirror.

In 2019, they sold their split-level $750,000 location successful Martinez, California, and bought a overmuch larger spot with a five-car store in Meridian, Idaho, for $496,000.

Ken, 69, says homelessness was 'getting retired of hand' successful Martinez and section quality spots were 'littered with needles.'

'People didn't privation to instrumentality their families down there,' helium told The Mercury News. 

The Freezes are acold from alone. 

New polling shows that astir fractional of Bay Area residents are struggling with rising lodging costs and a scope of quality-of-life issues, and question to permission successful the adjacent mates of years.

The survey, by the Bay Area News Group and Joint Venture Silicon Valley, revealed that 47 percent of denizens privation retired of the five-country metro area.

Pollster Russell Hancock said the results uncovered the 'complicated feelings' residents person astir a once-desirable country that helium said was astatine an 'inflection point.' 

The Bay Area has agelong been plagued by vagrancy, drugs, crime, and different societal problems, which critics accidental is made worse by the area's liberal-leaning politicians failing to ace the whip.   

Concerns astir lodging and transgression are dominating San Francisco's mayoral race, successful which London Breed, who has led the metropolis since a 2018, faces stiff absorption from 4 large opponents. 

Critics accidental the metropolis is caught successful a doom loop, characterized by thoroughfare homelessness and open-air cause markets. 

Downtown betterment from the pandemic has been slow, with galore bare storefronts and debased thoroughfare traffic.

Even so, Bay Area location prices jumped 6 percent successful the twelvemonth to June, with the median location terms reaching an eye-popping $1.4 million.

This is unattainable for galore homebuyers. 

The emergence is understood to bespeak gains by Bay Area tech workers, fueled by the soaring worth of stocks successful their sector.

Soaring spot prices was the main crushed that drove retired erstwhile San Bruno renters Jason Troutman, 45, and Grace Xu, 37, who erstwhile planned to put an connection connected a tiny cottage successful Half Moon Bay. 

'At the extremity of the day, we couldn't spell guardant with paying a cardinal dollars for a tiny, one-bedroom house,' they said.

Instead, they opted for a quirky $695,000 location with a pool, thenar trees and upland views successful the Ahwatukee vicinity connected the southbound broadside of Phoenix.

'You can't get each that successful California anymore, unless you're Elon Musk,' said Troutman, who works remotely.

Their owe costs little than their monthly $2,600 rent successful San Bruno, and they yet person abstraction for the feline and canine they'd wanted.

Still, Troutman said they miss the Bay Area's earthy beauty, its nutrient scene, and their household ties there.

'It wasn't needfully that we wanted to permission the Bay Area,' helium told The Mercury News. 'But it made a batch of sense.'

Though millions of Bay Area residents balk astatine the outgo of housing, the fig of those planning to relocate is nevertheless falling, the canvass showed. 

Last year, 52 percent said they were looking to exit; successful 2022 it was 56 percent.

The survey of 1,773 residents recovered that astir 4 fifths besides complained astir lodging prices, portion akin numbers said the fig of unhoused vagrants was a large headache.

Locals besides expressed alarm astir the costs of security and the increasing clout of Silicon Valley's large tech companies. 

Former Oakland residents Mary Ezell-Wallace, 73, and Samuel Wallace Jr, 83, are among those who person voted with their feet.

In 2006, they bought a ample ceramic two-story location successful El Dorado, Arkansas, wherever Mary had grown up. 

Mary told The Mercury News she utilized to deliberation 'Oakland was 1 of the top places determination was' and enjoyed the convenience of section stores wherever they 'could get thing we wanted existent fast.' 

But successful the aboriginal 2000s, the progressively run-down country started 'to consciousness similar a third-world country,' she said.

'I didn't privation to hold until everything got worse than it already was.'

They sold their four-bed, three-bathroom location successful the hills supra East Oakland for $575,000, and bought a 5,500sq ft location successful El Dorado, Arkansas, wherever Mary grew up, for $400,000 

'Living successful Oakland was stressful each time and night,' she said. 'It's truthful overmuch amended down here.'

Likewise, long-standing San Jose residents Susan and Dan Hyland, some 47, are different mates who person joined the Bay Area exodus.

They wanted retired of their location successful the Willow Glen vicinity successful 2018 due to the fact that they were seeking amended schools for their sons — a 5th grader and a precocious schoolhouse sophomore.

They went from renting a 1,200sq ft location and bought a $1.1 million, 4,200sq ft location successful Granite Bay, California

'I was rooted successful Willow Glen,' Susan told The Mercury News.

'For america to permission felt precise scary, but erstwhile we recovered a assemblage and situation similar wherever we're at, we person ne'er looked back.'

Since they moved, Susan's ma besides sold up and joined them. Susan present works arsenic an enforcement adjunct successful a task superior firm.

'So galore radical are frightened to marque that determination due to the fact that of their community, but it truly is feasible to find happiness extracurricular of a spot that seems truthful peculiar and irreplaceable,' she said.

Those fleeing the Bay Area astir uniformly accidental they benefited from being capable to upgrade the homes they lived in.

Some accidental they admit the alteration of gait of beingness and putting California's societal problems successful the rearview mirror.

But leaving the Bay Area does not ever lick each problem, says Ken Freeze.

They bask their caller beingness successful Idaho — Michele installed a wood turning workplace successful their five-car garage; Ken collects coins and is progressive with a section past group. They spent respective weekends this summertime successful the mountains with a golden prospecting club.

Still, they present accidental California's problems of traffic, municipality sprawl and overcrowding person followed them to Idaho, which is increasing fast.

'In the abbreviated clip we've been here, areas that erstwhile we archetypal moved present were conscionable unfastened fields are present flat complexes and buildings,' Ken said.

'I'd conscionable similar to spot them propulsion backmost the reins a small spot and fto the infrastructure instrumentality a breath.'

Respondents to the survey lived crossed Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties.