Posted on 07/09/2023 9:34:16 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
One in three Seattle residents are relocating out of the city due to public safety concerns over daily crimes and high cost of living prices, according to a Seattle Times/Suffolk University poll published in June.
About 33% of Seattle residents surveyed said they were seriously considering moving out of the city. Sixty-seven percent said they were not. The poll of 500 residents was conducted by phone from June 12-16, with a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
Among the residents who say they are considering leaving, 37% blamed rising housing costs, and 34% cited public safety as their primary reason for moving.
Overall, renters (44%) were more likely than homeowners (27%) to consider moving out. Respondents with lower incomes, especially those earning less than $20,000, were likelier to blame soaring Seattle home prices for motivating them to move. Poll data shows this group also reported experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity at the highest rates.
Gov. Jay Inslee signed 10 bills in May aimed at taking steps toward solving what the governor calls a housing crisis.
Inslee said the bills address the state’s housing shortage and should make home ownership more affordable. He also said the new laws could help those experiencing homelessness.
“Homelessness is a housing crisis,” Inslee said.
Public safety was the main concern among respondents in the highest household income bracket, those earning over $250,000 a year. These residents were also more likely to be homeowners than renters.
Of those wanting to move, 80% rated Seattle poorly as a place to live, and 66% said they did not feel safe in their neighborhood. In comparison, among the two-thirds of Seattleites who did not consider leaving, 88% rated the city as an excellent place to live, and 72% said they felt safe in their own neighborhood.
Gov. Inslee also signed a bill into law in April that will strengthen the prosecution of hate crimes and require rehab programs for offenders.
SB 5623 replaces the “physical injury” element of the definition of a hate crime with “assault.”
Under current Washington state law, a physical injury to the victim is required for prosecutors to charge a hate crime, but assaults meant to intimidate and demean—like spitting on someone—will now be grounds for prosecution as a hate crime.
“Hate crimes are horrific acts of violence that do more than affect individual victims — they make whole communities feel unwelcome,” said Sen. Manka Dhingra (D-Redmond), chair of the Senate Law & Justice Committee and bill sponsor. “These crimes are corrosive to our society, and we need the proper tools available to protect survivors and ensure that courts can effectively supervise offenders in completing rehabilitative programs when needed.”
In the last three years, costs in the Seattle metro area climbed over 20%. Before the pandemic, it took nine years for costs to grow that much.
The Seattle metro area’s home price index is now 40% higher than in 2018, down from 50% in 2022. But wages have not kept up with these cost increases, and well-compensated tech and finance workers are skewing the city’s income average.
Moving patterns revealed these residents were more likely to move out of the county’s wealthiest neighborhoods. While lower-income residents moved less often, they were more likely to move out of the Puget Sound region altogether.
About 65% of residents considering leaving said the city’s ability to progress on homelessness had worsened, and 60% rated the quality of education as poor.
According to new Census Bureau data, many people are moving to Florida, which has experienced a population growth of over 22 million people from 2021 to 2022.
The 1.9% increase was the largest of any US state over this period, exceeding Idaho and South Carolina, which saw their populations grow by 1.8% and 1.7%, respectively.
“While Florida has often been among the largest-gaining states, this was the first time since 1957 that Florida has been the state with the largest percent increase in population,” Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Population Division at the Census Bureau, said in a press release.
Despite people moving out of the state, many are also moving into it.
According to the Office of Financial Management, the state’s population expanded by about 1.1% year-over-year, mostly due to migration and housing growth. The previous year, the state population grew by about 1.3%. The annual estimates cover the 12 months running up until April 1.
Moving to the suburbs and taking their rubbish ideals there.
Whatever you see in SF....is probably 12 months later to occur in Seattle. I’ll bet at the airport...there’s already evidence of fewer tourists flying in.
Misleading title. Considering and doing are 2 different things.
But I’m not surprised.
“Homelessness is a housing crisis,” Inslee said.
He’s a dope.
My daughter and SIL sold their gorgeous home in North Idaho 18 months ago. . Put it on the market for $610,000, sold it in two days for $622,000 to a young family from Seattle that the neighbors like. So they probably aren’t commie pinkos.
If they were selling it today it would be a $million house. North Idaho is getting wrecked by developers building everywhere and the crooked City Council saying 5-acre lots are OK. OMG, My kids had 20 gorgeous wooded acres. And there will be horrible people coming in. Big sigh.
Now they have 20 gorgeous acres ‘way up in Kettle Falls, WA and another lovely house, plus tons of relatives who have children and grandchildren. I don’t think many people want to live that far from a sizable town. Kettle Falls has 1500 people.
I call him Idiot Inslee. When I lived on Bainbridge Island, right off Seattle, a friend dragged me to several small meeting where he was the speaker. So we had chatted about this and that
Then one rare sunny Sunday I was waling my Keeshond in the waterfront park. She was wagging and dog smiling at everyone until Inslee came up, tried to shake hands. Dog went ballistic growling barking, snarling, would have kneecapped him had she not been on a leash.
I will always regret that leash.
One-third say they are THINKING about moving out of the city. Every big city always has one-third of its residents thinking that. But most never actually move.
“Gov. Inslee also signed a bill into law in April that will strengthen the prosecution of hate crimes and require rehab programs for offenders.”
How about signing a bill to strengthen prosecution of CRIMES? Period. This is another feel-good liberal nostrum that won’t do anything to reduce crime except penalize people for what they are THINKING rather than the actual crimes they are COMMITTING. Such typical liberal boosh.
Dogs sense evil.
If all of those renters leave Seattle, it will free up a lot of space for the homeless to live in. Emperor Inslee can just decree an “emergency” like he did with Covid, and force those evil landlords to let the homeless in.
And so, in those latter days, did the righteous come forth from Sodom.
2 out of 3 useful idiot seattle residents voted for it.
The cancer is metastasizing
Rather than make Ida ho the state with an area the size of Texas, perhaps western Oregon and western Washington should merge into Columbia. Then the DC sewer could not become a state
Democrats ruin every nice place they choose to occupy. Look what’s happening to recently beautiful Asheville, North Carolina.
Homelessness is a housing crisis,” Inslee said
So house the homeless somewhere. Preferably in treatment centers.
“Moving to the suburbs and taking their rubbish ideals there.”
No kidding. Seeing it happen here on Camano Island. Newcomers bitch if a tree branch gets in the road after some wind. Oh and there’s more but you can tell that they are city folk.
They made tier bed now they want to destroy yours
Where Demonrats govern..........There is a SHITTHOLE!!!
If so many are leaving why are housing prices rising? This is the contraindication consistently present when these articles are published.
Seattle used to be an amazing city before the liberals poured in and ruined it like they ruin everything.
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