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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Tesla a highlight of Electric Vehicle Show ... Numerous structures reportedly destroyed in Seiad Valley blaze ... Temps are cooler, but it's still fire season ... Tesla a highlight of Electric Vehicle Show ... Numerous structures reportedly destroyed in Seiad Valley blaze ... Temps are cooler, but it's still fire season ... GUEST OPINION Guest Opinion: Ashland doesn't work for working families Comment By Gabriel Howe DailyTidings.com By Gabriel Howe Posted Aug. 23, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Gabriel Howe Posted Aug. 23, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Mine is an Ashland love story. I grew up visiting my grandparents here after trips down the Wild and Scenic Rogue River. In September 2002 I arrived at SOU a college freshman. Within days, I met the woman who is now my wife, Jill. We courted and our restlessness moved us to Portland to live out dreams of urban living. In the following years I became enamored with southwest Oregon's backwoods. The Siskiyous called to me, and in 2008 I convinced Jill to move back to Ashland. Our first apartment was downtown and cost $635 a month. It didn't have a washer and dryer, so we'd take our laundry to the old laundromat in a wagon. I got a job at Shop N' Kart to pay the bills and buttoned up my undergrad degree. In 2010 we founded a nonprofit, the Siskiyou Mountain Club. Jill and I married, and had two kids at Ashland Hospital. Jill kept her job at Starbucks to maintain health benefits and sustain stable income. I quit working at the Kart and started building an organization from scratch. We built a life in Ashland because it's the best town in the world, conveniently located in the middle of the best mountain range in the world. Nearly a decade later, we've been lucky enough to secure a home. We're fortunate to have a very supportive family willing to stick their necks out for us. Many of our peers are not as fortunate. For a working family to stay solvent in Ashland is almost impossible, and we will be moving into our new home with a serious case of survivor's guilt. Well-off retirees and long-term residents who got in early do well here. Ashland works for pot growers who fetch impressive margins and wiggle out of paying taxes. And Ashland functions for the willing poor, folks who are OK with not working. Ashland no longer functions for working class families who want to make a go at it, contribute, and build dynamic communities. Prices did once flirt the line of livability. Those of us willing to carry our laundry in a wagon or start a business in a studio apartment could just barely squeeze in. But recently Ashland has grown exactly out of reach for young families with middle class jobs. And working families don't need low-income, subsidized rentals. We need modest homes we can put 20 percent down on and raise a family in. If Ashland wants to retain its vibrancy, culture, charm and youth, our elected leaders need to take action. Find creative ways to arrest the greed driving raises on rent. Penalize the use of Ashland as an exchange for speculation on real estate for profit. Build policy that uses homes as a place to live rather than an asset to be manipulated. Otherwise, we are on a trajectory to become the best town in the world for only the poor, the rich and the old. Hungry entrepreneurs, creative innovators and families willing to work for a steady wage will move and make the next town the best, and Ashland will come to resemble a welfare Disneyland buoyed by an overpriced nursing home. Hopefully it's not too late. Gabriel Howe is executive director of the Siskiyou Mountain Club. The apartment he and his wife rented in October 2008 now fetches $1,055 a month. By Gabriel Howe DailyTidings.com By Gabriel Howe Posted Aug. 23, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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