Child Population Dwindles in San Francisco - Yahoo! News
Fred Pilot sends this disturbing story about how San Francisco is becoming an adults-only community. I understand why people with kids are leaving, but how about the choices people make that allow them to stay? If there weren't so many households willing to dump all their income into buying an overpriced house or condo in order to stay in that city (instead of perhaps living someplace where they can afford to raise a family or just have more disposable income), prices wouldn't be so high. In other words, there wouldn't be a housing bubble in San Francisco if there weren't so many buyers--many of whom I suspect are making bonehead decisions to purchase houses and condos that they can't afford, and that may turn out to be bad investments. It is also amusing to see Mayor Newsom's approach to this: more public services, which means higher taxes. As if high taxation were not also part of the reason families are leaving.

San Francisco has the smallest share of small-fry of any major U.S. city. Just 14.5 percent of the city's population is 18 and under. It is no mystery why U.S. cities are losing children. The promise of safer streets, better schools and more space has drawn young families away from cities for as long as America has had suburbs. But kids are even more scarce in San Francisco than in expensive New York (24 percent) or in retirement havens such as Palm Beach, Fla., (19 percent), according to Census estimates. San Francisco's large gay population — estimated at 20 percent by the city Public Health Department — is thought to be one factor, though gays and lesbians in the city are increasingly raising families. Another reason San Francisco's children are disappearing: Family housing in the city is especially scarce and expensive. A two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot starter home is considered a bargain at $760,000. A recent survey by the city controller found 40 percent of parents said they were considering pulling up stakes within the next year.