Home is...

Where you make it

Photo by Breno Assis on Unsplash

This is the house we used to live in
This is the place I used to know
This is the house we used to live in
Where I felt I could always go - The Smithereens

What do you consider your home?

Is it where you currently live? A former residence? The house you grew up in?

Where do you consider yourself from? Where you live now? Where you grew up, or somewhere else?

A lot goes into making a residence a home, of course. And not all homes are houses. But we are a nation of homeowners by and large. Some 2/3 of Americans own a home. (But less than half of African Americans and 51% of Latino-Americans do.)

Owning a home for those just starting out or of modest means has become nearly impossible in many regions of the country, and especially so in the Hudson Valley of NY.

The family home is the foundation of a successful community. But our population is aging, as is our housing stock. The basic starter home that allowed our forebears to put down roots and create community is no longer at the forefront of new home construction.

As a result, in many locales, children are not staying, because they cannot afford to. The same goes for service workers — those we called “essential” just a couple of years ago. We all have experienced the dining establishment that has curtailed its hours or shut completely because they cannot find local workers. Or schools with staff shortages. Our housing crisis is at the center of this; low- to moderate income workers cannot find affordable housing at the wages they earn. This is a true fact.

Basic, sustainable, affordable homes must be prioritized to rebuild the vitality of our country. Smaller-scale construction projects that support – not overrun – communities CAN be created to fit within the fabric of what currently exists. This is the type of construction that many small community-focused non-profits, like Habitat, do.

Ultimately it will become a question of economic survival for communities. Those that embrace the changes needed to facilitate the construction of basic, sensible homes will attract residents and workers, generating more local business activity, tax revenues and fostering a virtuous cycle.

In the case of housing, less may well be more. Let’s go back to the future.

Happy Thanksgiving all!