In one narrative of the past versus present in major cities today, home buying was comparatively affordable. For certain strata, housing, like college tuition for a few children, was counted as an achievable goal. Now, New Yorkers, who have long lamented the high cost of housing, are joined in their complaints by Los Angelenos, Seattleites, and, perhaps most vocally, San Franciscans. Thanks to the changing structures of income and supply, the cost of housing in major cities has become the economic focal point of adulthood.
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