Being able to own a home near UNC comes down to one question: Can you afford to spend $334088?
That figure the average price of a home in Orange County is the driving force behind a growing trend.
As local price tags have risen the backbone of Chapel Hill's labor force — the gardeners nurses cops and custodians — has moved outside of city limits.
That means hundreds of dollars a month on gas and bus tickets coming out of their pockets.
That means hours on the road away from family and friends.
That means a journey from their world into their employer's day after day a journey made by firemen dishwashers housekeepers — people like Ervine Purnell a stocky 52-year-old fraternity chef who likes to sing the blues.
‘A type of migrant worker'
While the students Purnell feeds at UNC packed their trunks for Spring Break he was on the prowl for a house.
He has been in Chapel Hill since August" when he moved out from California with his wife Charmaine.
He spent his first few months in a motel (""a waste""). Then he jumped from rental unit to rental unit in Cary. Now he's looking in Raleigh.
The bottom line is that Purnell is struggling to find a home near work that's not several times his $32""000 income at the Chi Phi fraternity.
""We're still looking" basically" he said. I'm just trying to get buckled down.""
For Purnell"" who prefers to be called ""Chef P"" every day he spends in small, temporary houses, he loses more money. He spends more than $300 a month to keep most of his belongings in storage.
He drives the 30 minutes or so into Chapel Hill every day. And every night he drives back.
He didn't think it'd be hard to find housing in Chapel Hill, where he knew UNC attracted thousands of students, faculty and staff.
But Purnell is not alone in his search for cheap, local housing.
Workers at UNC and the UNC Health Care system — the county's top two employers — are moving out of the pricey houses of Chapel Hill and into areas where homes are more affordable.
For UNC groundskeeper David Brannigan, the fact that in 2008 more than 70 percent of UNC staff lived outside of Chapel Hill means something's gone wrong.
It's like there's a type of migrant worker" he said. Come in do your work" and leave.""
Brannigan" a native of Leeds England" lives in Chatham County. He said living closer to UNC would be ""inconceivable"" on his wages.
He's been in the area for six years and has seen the prices go up and workers go out.
Property values in Orange County rose by about 87 percent between 1995 and 2005" while those in Durham and Wake counties increased by a little more than half that.
Now county homes are frequently twice as expensive as those in neighboring areas.
And many say what's missing is some kind of middle ground: homes for people who aren't on the chancellor's pay scale but don't qualify for the small amount of public housing available locally.
As home prices have increased those middle options have slowly faded away said Kim Woodard" a local realtor.
""I've seen it change"" she said. We've lost a little bit each year.""
Purnell and Brannigan belong to the economic stratum that needs that middle ground.
So do the 389 UNC housekeepers who make $25"000 on average annually and are usually fighting for better wages.
And so do Brannigan's co-workers the 90 or so groundskeepers who keep the University green and pull in about $29"300 a year.
Living in Chapel Hill ""requires an income that those jobs just can't provide"" said Loryn Clark, Chapel Hill's housing and neighborhood services coordinator.
So many just don't live here.
To a lot of paid employees" Chapel Hill is like another planet" Brannigan said, his English accent still thick.
Unaffordable issues
Some officials are quick to point to a number of affordable housing providers that work in Orange County to make homes available to people not earning much.
A few, like Empowerment Inc., mostly rent homes, while others, like the Orange Community Housing and Land Trust, sell.
But as providers struggle to meet demands, each with their own definitions of affordable" many workers are left without options.
The pricing here makes it more difficult" said Tara Fikes, Orange County's Housing/Community Development director. There are always people in Orange County who need help.""
Manuel and Purificacion Santa Ana" a husband and wife pair from the Philippines" are some of them. They work as housekeepers at UNC Hospitals.
""We are really poor"" Manuel Santa Ana said. If you give me a more cheaper house … we'll sell our house in Durham and move here.""
If the Santa Anas decided to apply for affordable housing from the town" they could have to be patient for up to five years.
There are currently about 250 people on waiting list for the 336 occupied rental units the town maintains for families with a household income of no more than $49680.
That waiting list is not shrinking either.
Chapel Hill puts up more and more homes and apartments" but the waiting lists just grow.
""If you build them" they will come" said Tina Vaughn, director of Chapel Hill's Department of Housing.
Some staff worry that even UNC's options, specifically designed to house staff, won't be within their means.
UNC officials are planning a project in Carrboro that would sell homes at 20 percent of market value.
There's a higher demand because this is such a highly desirable and unaffordable area"" said Crystal Fisher, sales and marketing manager at the Land Trust. People really want to be in Chapel Hill.""
And the factors that influence the cost of living for UNC staff and others continue to change — gas prices reached record levels last year; credit markets are in withdrawal; housing markets keep property values in flux.
Brannigan" standing on South Road with his eyes shaded by a wide-brimmed hat" talked about how last year's gas prices ""really"" really"" hurt the people he works with.
He talked about how many groundskeepers live along major highways — where there's often the least greenery — to make the sunrise commute to work easier.
A solution to the cheap housing shortage is far off" he said.
But right now the bedrock of the Chapel Hill's labor force — the nurses gardeners firefighters and cooks — still needs help.
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
In Chapel Hill pricey homes push out blue collars
