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3
The Wrap
Immigrant song
By Carl Franzen, June 23, 2018

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Hello and happy official start of summer!

I don't want to spend this week's note reviewing or reliving the political polarization and frenzied media coverage of the situation at U.S. border facilities this past week.

I'm a liberal-leaning Brooklyner with GOP parents, and I spend most days trading at least a few politically charged emails with my dad, so I am fully aware of the case for tough immigration enforcement and the legacy of previous administrations when it comes to border security, though I don't always come to the same conclusions as my conservative family.

Whatever your views are right now on these important issues, I welcome you to engage with others in civil discussion in the Inman comments of our story on real estate leaders reacting to the recent border separations.

I would also like to turn an eye to two trends I think all of us across the political spectrum can celebrate: legal immigration and relocation, both of which are on the wane nationally, but which nonetheless continue to change the fabric of America.

I had the opportunity to travel to Denver, Colorado, a few days ago with some of my colleagues, where we visited the world headquarters of iconic real estate franchise Re/Max, as well as the separate HQ of its recently acquired software development startup, booj.

While driving around Denver, I had the opportunity to talk with several individuals about how much that city has changed in the past decade since I visited. The legalization of marijuana has created a boom of new small businesses and investors, but even aside from all that, Denver has rapidly become one of the fastest-growing and most exciting cities in the country (though that growth is now beginning to slow).

Movement to Denver from other states is up, especially from California and Texas. At booj's very startupy offices (replete with foosball tables and gaming chairs), co-founder Ido Zucker told my Inman colleagues and I excitedly about how having new parent company Re/Max's financial resources was allowing his startup to expand at a rapid clip. Ido said booj was hiring new full-time employees in batches of five to 10 at a time, including some from out-of-state who were moving to Denver sight unseen.

Ido said booj's Re/Max-fueled ability to pay tech salaries nearing California levels was the driving factor in out-of-state recruitment. But Denver's draw extends beyond booj: it's a thriving metropolis with nightlife, good schools, great weather, outdoor activities and space to put down roots and raise families of all kinds and colors. And until the past few years, real estate was relatively affordable.

My cab driver from the airport, a Kenyan man and devout Catholic whose father lived in Ethiopia, told me how he had immigrated to Denver seven years ago: he had heard it was a great place to live and work through other Kenyan friends. Indeed, as some of our Re/Max friends noted, Denver is now home to over 30,000 Ethiopian immigrants and other African immigrants are following suit.

Despite problems with illegal immigration, Denver to me is an example of what the best American cities have to offer: opportunities for native-born Americans and those from outside the country to come, work, build families, buy and sell homes; to achieve mutual prosperity and build diverse, vibrant communities.

The flip-side of this population magnetism is that real estate values rapidly go from prosperous to unaffordable, which is why more Denverities are now looking to move elsewhere, too. Another summer, another year, the song of America, a nation of immigrants and movers, plays on.

Thanks for reading and enjoy your weekend! Talk to you next week,

Carl Franzen
Editor in Chief, Inman

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