Poor forced to make extreme choices as affordable homes erode

Kendrick Bates fought his way out of poverty to within two semesters of a bachelor’s degree. Now he needs an apartment.

He’s been accepted at a college in suburban Roseville, but he hasn’t been able to find a home in a good neighborhood that he can afford.

Bates, who now lives near the southern Minnesota town of New Ulm with his two daughters, grew up in poverty in Mississippi and is wary of the trade-offs of urban life. He is looking beyond the metro area and likes Stillwater, Hudson and New Richmond in Wisconsin.

http://www.startribune.com/shortage-of-affordable-housing-forces-tough-choices-on-the-poor/386364391/