: The mood is dark More than half of Silicon Valley residents still want to move away, poll finds
There is growing pessimism in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area as residents continue to deal with the high cost of housing, the high cost of living, homelessness, drought and more.
According to a new poll by Joint Venture Silicon Valley, 64% of those surveyed said the region is on the wrong track, a more than 10-point increase from last year. In addition, 56% said they plan to leave the area in the next few years, a number that remains unchanged from last year. And 36% said the quality of life in the Bay Area has gotten much worse in the last five years.
The mood is dark, said Russell Hancock, chief executive of Joint Venture and president of the Silicon Valley Institute for Regional Studies, during a briefing Tuesday about this years Silicon Valley Poll. Of course, he said, there were differences among those who felt gloomy about the region.
Those who think the region is on the wrong track were more likely to be Republican, Independent, and/or people who said their personal finances were in poor shape. More renters (62%) and people staying with family and friends (67%) said they were considering leaving the Bay Area than those who own homes (47%). The sentiment that things have gotten much worse in the Bay Area was held by 62% of Republicans surveyed, 46% of Independents and 23% of Democrats.
Housing affordability, the high cost of living and homelessness were the top three concerns of at least 70% of those surveyed, while 58% said Californias historic drought was an extremely serious problem. The other issues considered extremely serious by at least a majority of those surveyed were healthcare costs, crime, political division and distrust, and increasing frequency of wildfires.
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