The rent went up 50%, not triple. Yes, I realize that without his partner, he is now paying all of it, but had the rent not gone up, nobody would have wrote an article saying "rent doubles for man who lost his partner".

First his partner, now the home they shared.

I just hope he's able to find something in that market that he can afford.

why is it only when there is some poignant twist everyone gets outraged.

I left Boston for much that reason, rents were rising very quickly every single year and even a nurse's paycheck didn't go very far after paying them. Forget owning anything--I had a down payment but when I'd figure in PITI, condo fees, and all the other crap that comes with ownership, there was just no way to swing it as a hedge for rapidly inflating rent.

I was lucky, I had options with money in the bank and a very portable career. I know too many people out there who have too little of either to be either capable of escape or staying in the cities they love.

I'll always feel like a Bostonian, it's where I did the rest of my growing up when I fled Dixie. I just couldn't afford to live where I wanted to.

Atlanta is seeing a condo boom. So much so I don't know where everyone is coming from to afford them. I lived in the city for many years in relatively cheap apartments in some now designated classy areas. The apt rents went up and then went condo, then the taxes went up and now the high-rise condos are going up up up. The whole city of Atlanta is under perpetual construction. Many of us poor folks have moved way out about 35 to 50 miles. It's livable out here.

My HOA, with monthly fees of $395, just hit us with a $9,000 special assessment, payable in full immediately. That follows a $2,500 special assessment just three years ago.