TL;DR: Americans now need to make $120K a year to afford a typical middle-class life and qualify to purchase a home. Minimum.
I will repeat this here:
While there are a lot of factors, you really cannot understate the size of the homes being built in the US. We are building homes nearly 3x the size (despite cost per square foot only going up slightly), and pretending it has no effect on housing costs. It’s actually pretty insane.
You guys really do build giant soulless houses in empty suburbs and think that living in an apartment is a crime against humanity
Because living surrounded by lifeless cement is crime against humanity. People need home, not voluntary prisons.
That 120k a year is still assuming you buy a house on a long term mortgage.
It even says 120k to qualify, not actually comfortably buy.
Good thing investment “firms” are buying up all the rental properties, right, guys? Neofeudalism for the win!
But you can buy a microshare of the fund through Robinhood, so it all works out. Right?
TL;DR: Americans now need to make $120K a year to afford a typical middle-class life and qualify to purchase a home. Minimum.
Maybe in the middle of nowhere America. Meanwhile my wife and I make well above that in Los Angeles and we can’t afford the monthly on a two bedroom house in a sketchy neighborhood.
So why do people live there?
All I ever heard is how absurd the cost of living is in Cali, is the weather really that good?
I’m sorry, you think people that can’t afford a basic living situation in California are able to up and move their entire lives that easily? Do you have any idea how much that costs?
Well, it sounds like basic living there is way higher than anywhere else, so maybe?
Being born there, living your entire life there, your whole family and all your friends are there, you went to high school and college there so it’s easier to transfer to a CSU for grad school, and cheaper because you won’t have to pay non-resident fees, etc etc. The same reason people don’t move from other places. Besides, it takes a lot of savings to move, especially out of state, especially when you have to keep going back and forth to look at places. There’s also just not wanting to move. I am really not ok with being forced out of my home and away from my family because of bullshit like this.
And yes the weather really is that good - in Southern California.
SF Bay Area, $125k a year, I gave up on buying a house. I’ll just inherit my parents’ when they die, thanks.
Most people’s parents will end up selling their home to pay for cruise ships, and or palliative care.
Yet disability pays $11k a YEAR that’sthe same as $5.42/hour.
The US government would rather disabled people just not exist. From their perspective, nobody on disability creates shareholder value, therefore you are subhuman. And non-disabled humans to them are cattle.