More from a short story I am working on now:
By the time the keys to the family kingdom had passed to me, our family had simplified things, focusing more on local sustainable efforts and had sold off many of its properties. We owned a few small businesses and residences in higher elevation regions in Cascadia. The region had become a desirable location, which kept property values high, and what property was sold had been for a premium, returning significantly more than it had originally cost us. The housing market had crashed for the last time when I was a kid, making California more affordable to live, but the rising sea level had reduced the homes available on the market, which, combined with the migration from the dust states had maintained high housing costs.
People generally lost faith in the state and had withdrawn their support, leaving shells of the former institutions. Some held out, and a surprising return to statesmanship saw the role of government evolve into an institution of social guidance rather than one of force and coercion.
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