The average vacation home on the Vineyard rents for $6,500 a week. A major plight on the island is that there are plenty of jobs, but restaurants and stores often can’t find enough staff because workers can't afford to live there.
Brick sidewalks line homes in Edgartown, Mass. on June 4, 2024. High housing costs on Martha's Vineyard are forcing many regular workers to leave and are threatening public safety.
Landlords stand to make far more money from short-term tourists than from year-round residents. Meanwhile, many island homes remain almost permanently vacant, their wealthy owners uninterested in renting them out between fleeting visits. “So we’ve had a shift in our income distribution. This speaks to the fact that we’re losing year-round residents," said Laura Silber, the island housing planner who wrote the report."We’re losing our low- and moderate-income families. We’re losing our middle class, because we have no housing.”
“It's a vicious cycle," Ogden said. “Every year, we're losing two to three dispatchers because of not only the high cost of living here, but the insecurity of housing.”One trained correctional officer, he said, was forced to instead take cleaning jobs so she didn't earn too much and lose her access to low-income housing.
Jason Merrill, who owns the Martha’s Vineyard Bike Rentals store, said people will often stop to ask him if he’s heard of any jobs that come with housing, or any housing options at all. Olda Deda, an Albanian visiting on a student work visa, said she works three jobs — at a coffee shop and two restaurants — and a big chunk of her wages goes toward her $900 monthly rent. It's about three times higher than she would expect to pay in Europe, she said, and the housing costs came as a shock to her and many other seasonal workers.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Dow slides 500 points, S&P 500 retreats from record while Nasdaq hits new heightsSamantha Subin is a digital news associate with CNBC.
Read more »
2024 Indy 500 Blog: Josef Newgarden wins the 108th Running of the Indianapolis 500Heavy rain Sunday morning caused a delay in the start of the 108th Running of the Indy 500.
Read more »
IndyCar moves to Fox Sports in 2025 after 16 seasons with NBCFox now has Daytona 500 and Indy 500
Read more »
Cannabis regulators allow pot to be transported to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket amid shortageCannabis regulators in Massachusetts have issued an administrative order that will allow pot to be transported to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket islands for the first time. The order Thursday comes as Martha’s Vineyard was about to run out of pot, with one dispensary temporarily closing in May and the other saying it would close by September.
Read more »
State cannabis commission will allow pot to be transported to Martha's Vineyard, NantucketMassachusetts will allow the transportation of cannabis from the mainland to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
Read more »
Martha's Vineyard is running out of marijuana as regulation prohibits transport over waterIf you're heading to Martha's Vineyard this summer, it might be hard to get your hands on cannabis products while you're there.
Read more »