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Living expenses
The popularity of the region, owing both to its mild weather and its cultural
and economic diversity, combined with limited buildable areas, has led to high
housing costs, especially for ownership and for commercial property leases.
Owing to the relatively lower costs of outlying housing and limited public
transportation, long, expensive, and often unpleasant automobile commutes are
common in the region, and these costs tend to trickle down throughout various
activities, making many other activities such as dining out, theater tickets,
etc. more expensive than in other areas of the country. For only a limited
portion of the population have wages kept pace with the increased expenses and
many minimum wage earners, even those holding multiple jobs, (and many families
with multiple members employed) are classified as "working poor", while the
higher incomes necessary for a satisfactory lifestyle in the region lead to
higher taxes, especially at the federal level for persons not qualifying for
high mortgage or self employment related deductions.
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