The value of property in that area is simply too high for low-income folks to live there.
Such places are functionally identical to deserts: the cost of staying there is way too high for most, so MOVE already. Arguing with the environment doesn’t help. Taking from others who are not substantially above the cost of living harms everyone.
It’s a limited oasis in a large desert. More people want to be there than carrying capacity allows, expressed by the cost of living - and if “supply-and-demand” doesn’t dissuade those who can’t hack it, “survival of the fittest” will.
The value of 3 hamburgers a day and 100 sq ft of living space in that area is simply higher than the value of part-time teaching there.
MOVE.
There’s a whole lot of USA that’s affordable. zillow.com is a great start, just enter your housing requirements + budget + target state, and you’ll find lots of good options.
Just checked zillow.com for fun:
You can buy 3 near-oceanfront properties in Brunswick GA for $7,500 total (package deal), close to the high-dollar St. Simon Island and Jekyll Island (yes, _that_ one) with lots of affluent seasonal business. Build 3 “minimalist” poured-concrete homes there, topped with solar & rain collection, sell 2 for a considerable profit, then move on to the same process with other dirt-cheap properties in the area.
The adjunct profs in question could even continue their “career” via online/virtual classrooms.
Opportunities abound for the mobile & industrious.
It’s too expensive for working people to live there, yet I would bet there are plenty of welfare recipients living in subsidized housing there.