Who Can Afford to Live Here?

 Who Can Afford to Live Here?

Yesterday, walking home after a 1½-hour bus commute from cleaning a house, I had one of those bizarre Vancouver moments.

I'm still unhoused. I was hungry. And I walked past the Bentley store.

In the windows: $650,000. $350,000. $180,000.

Beautiful cars sitting behind glass while I wondered: who can actually afford to live here anymore?

I kept thinking about young people — the kids and young adults who carried us through COVID. They worked in grocery stores, restaurants, healthcare, delivery, cleaning and retail while many of us stayed home.

Now many are working low-paying jobs and spending $200+ a month just getting to work.

And we're told, "Take transit."

But what if your commute is over an hour each way?

"Ride a bike."

Okay, but what if you're working shifts and your job is nowhere near home? You could spend half your shift getting there and back.

We tell young people to work hard. They are.

But housing is unaffordable. Groceries are expensive. Transportation is expensive. And somehow we're surprised they're struggling.

Yesterday, I walked past hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of luxury cars and then walked home hungry.

That's the Vancouver contradiction.

Eventually, I'm heading back to Mexico.

And honestly, I keep wondering:

Who is Vancouver for anymore?

10 questions to think about

1. What did we ask of young people during COVID that we haven't really acknowledged since?

2. How many kids were genuinely afraid that getting close to their parents or grandparents could kill them?

3. How many families lost hugs, visits, birthdays and ordinary moments that they can never get back?

4. How many young people are still carrying fear, isolation and anxiety from those years?

5. Did we ever stop to ask what isolation was doing to children's relationships with their families?

6. What happened to the young people who missed school, graduation, friendships and those important years of growing up?

7. How can we expect that generation to thrive when many are now working low-paying jobs just to survive?

8. Why does getting to work cost hundreds of dollars a month when wages don't keep up with the cost of living?

9. Are we really listening to young people when they tell us the system isn't working for them?

10. And perhaps most importantly: what are we going to do to make sure the next generation doesn't inherit the same mess?

Keywords: COVID generation, young people, family separation, isolation, mental health, cost of living, low wages, transportation, housing crisis, Vancouver

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#COVIDGeneration #YoungPeople #Family #Isolation #CostOfLiving #HousingCrisis #LowWages #PublicTransit #Vancouver #LetsThinkAboutIt