Reply #9: in my (CA) county it's more than that...."grim picture" is apt. We are

[pinto]

losing teachers, firemen, policemen, administrators, many non-service related small businessmen and just about any and all blue collar job classifications you can name for a predominately two tiered society here - relatively well off state/county employees & very well off retirees or cash outs from LA...and a minimum/low wage service sector.

One local town had a well recommended choice for a public sector job turn the offer down, point blank, because his family couldn't afford to live here.

The absentee ownership of property has increased dramatically - folks renting second homes - bought as personal retirement homes - as vacation rentals or subsidizing their kids' college stay here with a house for the kids and an investment. Kind of bizarre.

There seems little political will to reign in the obvious trend. It's spoken about everywhere, but everyone seems willing to line up at the trough of real estate bonanza...

(ed to make sense with the OP)