Despite everything the Bay Area has to offer, many are starting to feel as if the bad far outweighs the good of living in the region.
Nearly three-quarters of Bay Area residents believe their quality of life has grown worse over the past five years, and more than half said they are considering leaving, according to a recently published poll by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based nonprofit.
While there have been reports of Californians and some major California companies considering leaving the state, it seems especially likely for those living in the Bay Area.
"It’s housing, housing, housing," said Joint Venture Silicon Valley CEO Russel Hancock. Housing is the number one issue residents are citing for wanting to leave, he said.
"People want to have a place to live, they want to be able to get ahead, they want to feel secure in those things, and our region has become completely inhospitable to that," he said.
The poll surveyed more than 1,600 residents in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties between September 22 and 26.
According to Hancock, over the past 8 years Silicon Valley has added 8 times more jobs than it has new houses.
The poll showed that 76% of people think the region’s high costs are an "extremely serious problem." Over half surveyed, 56%, said they were thinking about leaving in the "next few years."
"It’s been bad for a long time, this has always been a hard place to live – it’s a high-cost place, it’s an intense place, this is a very turbulent economy," he said.
The pandemic has only made it worse. "When you throw an infectious disease into the mix, I think people hit their breaking point," said Hancock.
The pandemic exacerbated the area’s already stressful work environment. According to the poll, among those who couldn’t work from home during the pandemic, just under half had to either take a pay cut, lost their job, or were furloughed.
The number of people thinking about leaving grew 9% from a similar survey taken last year before the pandemic.
But despite all the frustrations, many reported positive associations with the region as well. More than 70% said Silicon Valley is either a "good" or "excellent" place to pursue a career. More than half said the region is a good or excellent place to grow up, while 46% said it was a good or excellent place to raise a family.
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