This has not been true for a while. All the people leaving big cities for cheaper metros have now also made those metros expensive as well since it doesn’t take that many people to tighten up supply.

Yup. Anywhere appealing is now expensive. The internet/social media means that few places with any redeeming qualities that are remotely affordable stay under the radar for long.

Living in a big city offers big opportunities too though. In my city I have access to a lot of clubs for the niche interests I have. And there is always something new to discover.

I used to live in a small provincial "city" of 150.000, 250km from the country's only big city. People often mocked it was the graveyard of ambition. But to me it really felt like that. I hated living there so much.

> Trying to squeeze into a few major metros is a terrible choice for young people who want a decent life.

If remote work is a possibility, or big cities decentralize a bit, that makes sense.

We've seen during COVID, if people can move from San Francisco and keep their jobs, they will do it.