In the face of an ongoing housing crisis, residents flee the San Francisco Bay Area in large numbers. According to a Migration Report from real estate brokerage Redfin, the San Francisco Bay Area was second only to New York when it came to people leaving major U.S. cities. Over 28,190 departed in the second quarter of 2019, almost double 2017’s rate.

To find out why, analyst Shane Lee breaks it down: “It is no news that the Bay Area is one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation with a median home price of $1.4 million in San Francisco … In fact, the Bay Area housing market is one of the least affordable markets in the U.S. A home buyer making median income would have to spend over 60 percent of income on the home. The truth is, not everyone makes over $150k each year, and at some point, the home prices would reach a ceiling, which seems to be what the Bay Area is experiencing.”

It’s not just housing that’s unaffordable. On top of paying some of the highest taxes in the country, eighteen neighborhoods levy mandatory fees on property owners to finance services the city is failing to provide, like private policing, graffiti removal, and sidewalk clean up.  “We already pay the city taxes. We’ve always paid,” says Gilles DeSaulnier, who runs a grocery store previously profiled in the “American Dystopia” series. “Starting this year in January, we’re paying an extra thousand dollars a year, each real estate owner in this whole district, to help pay to keep the streets clean.”  Add on to that $5 a gallon gas, private schools with university price tags, and chic restaurants that cost nearly double the national average. These soaring prices are coupled with an exploding homeless population; estimates by the New York Times found 17,595 persons without a residence in November 2019. In 2020, San Francisco is a long way from the bohemian mecca that the Beat poets and ‘60’s hippies called home. All in all, it’s not altogether surprising that so many would opt to leave.

But to go where? Many San Francisco residents are looking for places with more affordable housing, where they have space to raise a family and the creature comforts that a city provides.  As a compelling in-state option, many San Franciscans are looking at Rancho Cordova, a hidden gem located in the Sacramento Metro area. According to real estate website Zillow, the median home value in Rancho Cordova is $375,495. Located on the picturesque American River, surrounded by natural lakes and the rolling foothills of California Gold Country, Rancho Cordova boasts a bustling food and drink scene. Families in Rancho Cordova also enjoy schools that are among the best in-state  — over 90th percentile — such as Sunrise Elementary and River STEM Elementary.