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Coming from New York, I can tell you that San Francisco's expensive real estate has almost nothing to do with it being "too crowded."



Replace "too crowded" with "too popular". Real estate prices will rise and fall to reflect demand. If prices are ridiculously high, that's because lots of people really want to live there.

(By the way, I'm not disputing anything you said. pg's point about real estate prices is what reminded me of the Yogi Berra quote.)


Real estate prices will rise and fall to reflect demand. If prices are ridiculously high, that's because lots of people really want to live there.

Or:

1. It's extremely difficult to build. Only moguls can build new properties in New York, hence the emergence of the massively overpriced "luxury buildings" with unnecessary and expensive conveniences.

2. Government irresponsibility. The New York government should be barring the parentally-funded nonproductives (e.g. fashion interns who whine to their daddies and get $5000/month apartments and useless hipster idiots) from living here, because of their effect on the rents, but right now that isn't happening.


So you want to have to apply to the government to see whether you're worthy to rent an apartment?


We, as a society, are paying dearly for the sin of forgetting that not everyone deserves to live in nice places, and that culture rather than money should be the deciding factor (the mortal enemy of the good are those who are both uncultured and wealthy, who are like blind, rampaging, destructive animals).

I would much rather deal with a bureaucratic inconvenience such as this than get robbed blind on rent, and have absolutely no recourse. In other words, my answer is yes, because that would be an absolute improvement over the current, disastrous arrangement.




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