Reverse Migration

Chuck Marohn and Ben Oleson (with some texting from Jon Commers) discussa report from the Minneapolis Star Tribuneabout reverse migration - population moving from the exurbs to the central cities.All these trends would be much more pronounced, say some who live in outlying towns, if by some stroke of magic they could leave: if they were not upside down on their mortgages and forced to write $20,000 checks to escape."We're stuck there," said Jason Hanson, who bought a townhouse in Farmington with his wife in 2005. At the time, moving farther out was a way to get more space for less money. Now with a baby and a dog, the distance from work and everyday amenities has turned into a drag.They want to move to Lakeville or Eagan, closer to a freeway and transit to carry him to his job in Minneapolis. But, Hanson said, "a lot of people want to sell and they can't."