I want to examine this issue.
Answer (1 of 5): Everything from bad taxation policy to horrific zoning regulations. For a house you can get for a million dollars in California, you could have a huge home in almost any other state, for example. And the ‘hur dur it’s in a city that the prices go up’ schtick is nonsense. Yes, th...
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Because red states less desirable to live in. It’s supply and demand. Blue states are in general more urban, and that is where the good jobs are located. You will find way more people making 6 figures in NYC and California than Alabama, Mississippi, West Virginia etc. This in turn makes prices go up. When a place becomes “expensive” it’s because lots of people are making more money than in a “cheaper” location where folks make less. Real estate is more expensive in these places because lots of people want a place in these areas, and in America anyone who can afford a house in these areas can buy it. It does not matter if you’re a citizen or not. So it makes real estate even more expensive in these areas than they otherwise would be, as rich foreigners can snap up valuable real estate. The reason San Francisco and NYC are expensive is because lots of people make a lot of money in these places. A place will never become expensive if there’s no money to push prices higher. It’s all just economics. So remember that when someone tells you “ohhh it’s so expensive there” just remember that means it’s valuable.
So I notice people who are of working age don't move to red states. They only move when they retire. If they moved to a red state too soon they wouldn't ever save the money to retire. So people save enough to retire in blue states, then move to red states where they can stretch their dollar.