At 11 PM, Maya sat at her kitchen table doing different math. Not rent math. Future math.
She'd found the Opportunity Atlas—a website showing what happens to children who grow up in each neighborhood. She typed in her address. Then the cheaper apartment she'd considered to save money. The numbers that appeared weren't about rent. They were about her daughters' statistical futures.
This week: Why Maya's $225/month rent negotiation was actually about $1.28 million. We unpack the Moving to Opportunity study, Raj Chetty's research on zip codes and destiny, and why saving $3,900 over ten years would have cost Zara and Amara $640,000 each in lifetime earnings.
The question: When Section 8 gives you "housing choice," are you choosing more than housing? And does anyone tell you that geography isn't destiny—but it's a powerful force?
Remember: Everything in real estate is negotiable. Even the zip codes that try to determine futures.
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Women + Real Estate™ delivers market intelligence for decisive action—covering tactics, policy, opportunities, and analysis.
By Eve Moss, market analyst and founder of Women + Real Estate™.
New episodes weekly.