People often tell me, 'You don’t have a car.' I do have a car, it’s just not parked right outside my door. But in how many other major Italian cities can you actually park right outside your building? Practically none. The difference is that in those cities you deal with 24/7 traffic congestion, whereas here it is absolutely peaceful.
The city is built on a human scale, not for cars, and that is a massive advantage. How can you say it is impractical to live in if you have never actually lived here? You should try it. I was born and lived outside the city for years, but now that I live here, I would never go back.
There are countless people actively looking for housing. A neighbor of mine, who relocated from another part of Italy, sold his home with the strict stipulation that it could only go to residents and not be turned into a tourist rental. It sold within three days of being listed.
My partner and I pay about 1,000€ a month for our mortgage. Meanwhile, an apartment in a nearby building which is worth far less than ours, being smaller and having fewer amenities is constantly booked solid at over 150€ a night.
Regarding the supposed lack of jobs, that completely ignores reality. The historic center itself has a major hospital, courthouses, government offices, police forces, and countless local businesses. Furthermore, you don't necessarily have to work right on your doorstep. The island is small, but right across the bridge, Mestre is full of job opportunities. That is actually where I work, and I commute there easily by car, bus, or train. All these workers need housing. To answer your question about who can't find a home, just do the math on my previous example: at 150€ a night, a landlord surpasses a standard 1,000€ monthly rent in just seven days. That is exactly why apartments are rented out to tourists instead of residents.