I recently heard of a most curious incident in Germany. I have verified it but I want to keep the exact details for myself as that is not relevant for the point I am going to make, and the people involved probably do not need further attention. Anyway, there used to be an iron-clad law in real estate according to which the value of your property is a function of the area. In short, if your house or apartment is in a good neighborhood, it is worth more than some digs in da hood. Likewise, there are factors like the vicinity to a supermarket, schools, parks, or perhaps even certain employers that have a positive impact on price.

As it turns out, unsurprisingly, the vicinity to schools, parks, etc. is not a uniformly positive factor. For instance, if some Romanian cultural enrichers set up camp in your local park then people will not be quite so eager to pay a lot for your property, or accept high rents. I recall viewing an apartment in Berlin years ago, hardly a cheap one. It was in Berlin-Mitte, the central district. To my surprise, there was a poster in the foyer of the building advising people on how to act if there are junkies in the building, and how to dispose of the drug paraphernalia they leave behind. Needless to say, this dampened my enthusiasm for this place quite significantly.

Having a school nearby used to be a good reason for landlords and property owners to charge a premium. In the particular example I mentioned in the beginning, though, there is resistance from the residents: they have petitioned the mayor not to build a school in their neighborhood, citing reasons such as the “historic structure” of the area or the “neighborhood character”. Of course, the real reason why these people feel uneasy is because there is a fairly high number of cultural enrichers in the area, and the new school was necessary because there are too many of their children around. Needless to say, this school is not going to be a top-performing one. Nobody would have a problem with a high school with a profile in the natural sciences, for instance. However, the prospect of the government bussing enricher kids into the area so that they can sit in a new school building causes significant unease among the population.

While there is a shift to the political right in Europe, it seems that the situation is not bad enough yet to make boomers, and boomers in spirit, openly speak about the issues. They do not talk about not wanting to have a school full of immigrant children in the area but instead make up other reasons. Suddenly, these people who hardly ever speak to their neighbors are concerned about their district and its “social structures”. Of course, what they really are concerned about is their personal safety and property values. Obviously, they know that they are lying. Give it a few more years, and they will be more outspoken. Change is coming.