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A comment on The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town. Parent comment

Re:The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town by anthony_romeo on Tuesday July 21, 2015 @03:15PM (#9924955)
I wonder how much of this is related to the increase of two-income households coupled with overall wage stagnation? I mean, if a family only has one breadwinner, and work is in the suburbs, it becomes trivial to find a location close to work. But it's harder for a family to live on one income now. If both spouses want to work or need to work to get by (and I'm not talking about a small part-time job on the side), it is plausibly more difficult for both to find substantial work in the same suburb, depending on their industry, demand, and so forth. Such people may only find work in distant suburbs, causing a long commute for one or to live in a place in between to share the commute time.

I'm not claiming this is the cause of frustration, or even a significant factor. Just a thought I had.

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Re:The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town by Domenic_S on Tuesday July 21, 2015 @04:38PM (#9925612)
Underrated comment right here.

It should come as no surprise that it takes two solid incomes in the Bay Area to buy housing close to work, because that's what the market supports. Families didn't become "better off" when two incomes became the norm -- everything just got more expensive.

I think this is one of the nasty secrets why remote work and public transit hasn't taken off like it should; who would support the crazy real estate prices if people could (more easily) choose where they live?

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Re:The old suburban office park is the new American ghost town by jseliger on Tuesday July 21, 2015 @05:58PM (#9926165)
It should come as no surprise that it takes two solid incomes in the Bay Area to buy housing close to work, because that's what the market supports

Sort of, but not really. The market can't provide lower-priced housing because of intensive zoning restrictions: http://www.amazon.com/Rent-Too-Damn-High-Matters-ebook/dp/B0... or http://www.voxeu.org/article/causes-and-consequences-land-us.... This: http://www.citylab.com/housing/2013/10/san-francisco-exodus/... pertains specifically to San Francisco and environs.

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