Intrepid urban researcher Andy Yan is careful to warn us that the plural of anecdote is not data. Indeed not. But one story is sometimes worth 1,000 statistics.
There’s an economic tug-of-war going on in this city between the real estate industry and the other industries hurt by high housing prices. Here are two stories that suggest the real estate industry is winning – at an unknown cost to the rest of the local economy.
The first comes from Susie Joe Dooner, national strategic marketing manager for a national office equipment company.
“I graduated from UBC in 2000. Most of my friends who love being in Vancouver got decent paying jobs after graduation and found places to rent. But once they started thinking of having a family, eight out of my core 12 friends – including doctors, lawyers, and project managers – moved out of the province.
“What does this mean to our city’s future? We educate our youth, we give them entry-level opportunities, and when they’re ready to move up in their careers and give back to their community, they are gone – doing it for other provinces.
“My friends who moved away all dream of one day coming back, but they know that they are now priced out of the market.
“I know of numerous local companies who have to look elsewhere to recruit new talent. When they post the job in Australia, London, or the U.S., they get lots of applicants excited to be in our beautiful city – until they look at the cost of moving their family here. Then they always decline. It’s nearly impossible to find senior level people who can afford to move here.”
The second story comes from Isabelle Plessis, described by a mutual friend as “easily the most gifted young woman I know.”
“After growing up in Vancouver, I am now about to complete my university degree at UBC, and I will not stay in Vancouver. My three older siblings – each with a professional degree – have moved out of Vancouver because of the cost of housing, limited job prospects in Vancouver, and a feeling that Vancouver is not the place for young people starting a career. Despite our strong family connections in this area, my siblings have all begun their professional lives – as a doctor, lawyer, and London School of Economics graduate – elsewhere. The first grandchild in our family will be born this winter, 8,000 kilometres away from grandparents on both sides.
“As I look toward my 2013 graduation, despite UBC’s outstanding master’s and PhD programs in my field, I do not intend to apply, because I do not see the connection and opportunities in Vancouver that other locations with top-ranked universities can offer. I do not see the organizations, head offices and companies that would offer me work here. Vancouver is too expensive and limited in its opportunities. The maximum salary in any job that I might be able to find in Vancouver would still be insufficient to buy a small home and start a life here.
“And I am not alone. My friends, many of whom are graduating this year, are leaving Vancouver right after they walk across UBC’s graduation stage – on to Quebec, Washington, California, Ontario. They each acknowledge the beauty and uniqueness of Vancouver, yet outrageous housing and living costs make it completely unaffordable for them to begin their careers here.
“And so, they leave. And I will leave. And my siblings have left. And maybe we’ll come back, someday. I’d like to live here, near my parents. But first, we’d have to win the housing lottery.”
Should the business leaders of tomorrow, who want to live and work and have families and pay income taxes here, have to compete equally with real estate investors whose only interest is a safe haven for their money? What kind of a city are we creating? •
