Younger Americans Leaving Cities for Low-cost Homes in Other Places
2021-02-16
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1Young Americans without a lot of money are increasingly moving to parts of the country where the cost of living is low.
2The change is especially clear among people born in the 1980s and 1990s - the "millennial" generation.
3Also, many of these young people are buying old houses because they are less costly.
4Kate Reinhart is from the state of Utah.
5She long dreamed of living in a large Victorian house.
6Such houses were popular in the 1800s and are known for their unusual design details.
7She remembers seeing one in the popular television show the Addams Family.
8Her husband Cameron found his first job near Norwich, Connecticut.
9It is a town with one of the largest numbers of 18th- and early 19th-century houses in the New England area.
10For $85,000 the couple bought a house that was built in 1885.
11It has special glass, lights, and stairs.
12They plan to spend about $100,000 on its large rebuilding project.
13Housing prices are very different between states in the U.S. Reinhart's buying price is well below the price of most houses in Connecticut.
14In a 2020 estimate, the website Business Insider suggests that the median home value in Connecticut is around $250,000.
15Reinhart said she and her husband value their home more during the coronavirus health crisis because they "have more space."
16She added that people are worried about living close to each other in small apartment buildings.
17Many people from New York City, she added, "are fleeing to here."
18The change seems clear on CheapOldHouses, a website created in 2016 by Elizabeth Finkelstein.
19The website's goal is to increase the sales and preservation of historic houses.
20Followers of the site's Instagram page have increased every week since the coronavirus health crisis began in March.
21It now has about 20,000 followers, Finkelstein said.
22About 42 percent are aged 25 to 34 years old. About 75 percent are women.
23"We are living in a time," Finkelstein said, "when people are willing to kind of take risks, maybe risks that they've been wanting to take their whole life."
24She added that an important idea in property sales has always been "location, location, location."
25In other words, where a house is is the most important thing for people to consider when buying their home.
26But now, she said, "for the first time that's being flipped a little bit on its head."
27Flipped on its head is an expression that means to turn upside down.
28Many of the homes on CheapOldHouses.com are in the Midwestern and Southern states.
29In those areas, many houses sell for less than $100,000.
30"We feature homes people can realistically buy, but also use their hands on as opposed to sitting in a cubicle all day long," she said.
31Many people have moved away from some American cities after the beginning of the coronavirus crisis.
32It is estimated that 70,000 people left the New York City area in 2020.
33The moves resulted in an estimated loss for the city of $34 billion.
34That number comes from Unacast, an information research company.
35More millennials may leave big cities even after the pandemic is over, Finkelstein said.
36"With so many offices going remote, people have more opportunity to just say, 'maybe I don't need to be paying more than half my income in rent. And I can, I can take that leap.'"
37I'm John Russell.
1Young Americans without a lot of money are increasingly moving to parts of the country where the cost of living is low. 2The change is especially clear among people born in the 1980s and 1990s - the "millennial" generation. Also, many of these young people are buying old houses because they are less costly. 3Kate Reinhart is from the state of Utah. She long dreamed of living in a large Victorian house. Such houses were popular in the 1800s and are known for their unusual design details. She remembers seeing one in the popular television show the Addams Family. 4Her husband Cameron found his first job near Norwich, Connecticut. It is a town with one of the largest numbers of 18th- and early 19th-century houses in the New England area. 5For $85,000 the couple bought a house that was built in 1885. It has special glass, lights, and stairs. They plan to spend about $100,000 on its large rebuilding project. 6Housing costs differ 7Housing prices are very different between states in the U.S. Reinhart's buying price is well below the price of most houses in Connecticut. In a 2020 estimate, the website Business Insider suggests that the median home value in Connecticut is around $250,000. 8Reinhart said she and her husband value their home more during the coronavirus health crisis because they "have more space." 9She added that people are worried about living close to each other in small apartment buildings. Many people from New York City, she added, "are fleeing to here." 10The change seems clear on CheapOldHouses, a website created in 2016 by Elizabeth Finkelstein. The website's goal is to increase the sales and preservation of historic houses. 11Followers of the site's Instagram page have increased every week since the coronavirus health crisis began in March. It now has about 20,000 followers, Finkelstein said. About 42 percent are aged 25 to 34 years old. About 75 percent are women. 12"We are living in a time," Finkelstein said, "when people are willing to kind of take risks, maybe risks that they've been wanting to take their whole life." 13She added that an important idea in property sales has always been "location, location, location." In other words, where a house is is the most important thing for people to consider when buying their home. But now, she said, "for the first time that's being flipped a little bit on its head." 14Flipped on its head is an expression that means to turn upside down. 15Many of the homes on CheapOldHouses.com are in the Midwestern and Southern states. In those areas, many houses sell for less than $100,000. 16"We feature homes people can realistically buy, but also use their hands on as opposed to sitting in a cubicle all day long," she said. 17Many people have moved away from some American cities after the beginning of the coronavirus crisis. It is estimated that 70,000 people left the New York City area in 2020. The moves resulted in an estimated loss for the city of $34 billion. That number comes from Unacast, an information research company. 18More millennials may leave big cities even after the pandemic is over, Finkelstein said. 19"With so many offices going remote, people have more opportunity to just say, 'maybe I don't need to be paying more than half my income in rent. And I can, I can take that leap.'" 20I'm John Russell. 21Daniel Fastenberg reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. ____________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23median - n. mathematics : the middle value in a series of values arranged from smallest to largest 24preservation - n. the act of keeping something safe from harm or loss 25feature - v. to have or include (someone or something) as an important part 26cubicle - n. chiefly US : a work space in a large office with a desk that is usually surrounded by low walls 27opportunity - n. an amount of time or a situation in which something can be done 28income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc. 29leap - n. a great and sudden change, increase, or improvement; a serious attempt to do or understand something new