• Ben Matthews
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    1 year ago

    Many comments below (->above?) about housing. But it seems to me, the problem in much of Europe is that many old people hang on to large half-empty family houses, so over 65s are occupying a lot more space than under 15s (although the latter have more energy, need space to play …). It’s a pity they blame immigrants for this.

    • danque@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      For me it’s more a cherry on a cake. We already have a housing problem for a couple years. Most young starters can’t afford to purchase/rent a house, so that look for cheaper options. Those cheaper options are given away to immigrants because of emergency housing laws. This in turn causes less houses for the population that can’t afford new houses. It’s not just a problem of immigration (not even that much) it’s a problem that existing empty houses go way over the affordable price and on top of that the immigrants get the houses for free.

      So yeah focus all that and I can see why people blame immigration, but it’s absolutely not the only cause. I would prefer it more if the government limits the prices of housing, but this causes investment in housing to drop as well. It’s a dirty vicious greedy circle that points to immigrants as the easy target.

      I should also add that some immigrants don’t accept other temporary options and want a bigger house for free, whilst the population pays 150-200%. That also causes friction.