Boom Bust Boom

In the eight short years I've lived in San Francisco, I'm now witnessing the second bust; the first being the dot-com implosion.

As someone who could barely afford a tiny condo in the worst neighborhood, it's nice to imagine that the spoiled children whose parents are footing their rent and the trust fund babies are getting their allowances cut.

There seem to be more moving trucks than usual in the nicer neighborhoods. But you know the turnover mostly occurs in the marginal fringes, and the prime locations are firmly held or passed on to friends (not entirely true... all it takes is a pocketful of cash?). When the boom happens, the elite converge from Ivy League schools and make their millions, then jet off to Europe or some country with a favorable exchange rate to sit out the downturn.

The rent's still outrageously expensive, and there's an empty Pacific Heights lot on the market for $25 million.