Hot air balloons floating over New Mexico from an aerial view
The median value of an owner-occupied home in New Mexico is $243,100, compared to $715,900 in California, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
  • Julia, 39, lived in California for more than 20 years before moving to New Mexico.
  • High housing costs in the Bay Area meant a tiny home with mold and a revolving door of roommates.
  • She thinks you shouldn't have to have a stroke of luck to own a home — it should be a human right.

For Julia, 39, the straw that broke the camel's back was when she found out her tiny house was moldy.

The elder millennial had moved to California in 2009. During her time in the Golden State, she went through what's come to characterize the millennial housing experience. By her own count, she has lived with 35 different people since the age of 22.