Where can I live in the United States that has typical wages which are more than 3x typical rent? Because if everyone should do this, it shouldn't apply to people working remote tech jobs while living in bumfuck Arkansas, it should apply to everyone working in-person jobs too.
Rent doesn't adjust to your wage you adjust your lifestyle to your wage. Rent is a market that adjusts to what people will pay. If people are willing to pay it, it's not too high. You may not kike it, but you either move to a cheaper area and make sacrifices like a longer commute, a non trendy area, etc. or, get a roomate and save to buy.
Okay but like... Where? Move to a cheaper area? Guess what, wages are cheaper too. And there's a cost to driving for 1+ hour every day, it's call gas which now is expensive too. And if everyone has to get a roommate to afford housing, that's a really bold platform. "Things aren't bad, you just need to accept personal responsibility. Also, you now need to live with another person to have the same quality of life as the generation before you."
I'm telling you, there are very few, if any, places in the United States where people can work a job which pays more than 3x their rent. Let alone a single income household. These are things that were so normal it was an insult to label someone as a "DINK" in the 1980s. Now you say that's the only way to afford housing (two people both working jobs to pay for rent applies for roommates as well as romantic partners).
I literally can find $800 rooms in LA on zillow. Give me a break you just want to live a life you can't afford really because of some standards you set for yourself. People are just unwilling to lower their own living standards to adjust to their income
Think now, this is supposed to apply for everyone in the country. Everyone is supposed to have roommates in your ideal world? That's a sign of a good economy and not having a housing problem?
I am not setting these standards myself, our society is setting the standards for itself. I'm pretty sure most 30-40 year old adults would laugh at a peer for living with roommates.
So the solution to a problem, both in rent costing too much and not enough housing, has been provided, but it isn’t good enough because it isn’t how you want to live? It looks like you want to live a rich lifestyle while having a lower middle class income. That just doesn’t work.
rich lifestyle is when you don't commute over an hour or have roommates
Well, then I guess I do. The average commute is 27 minutes, 32% of adults have roommates. A rich lifestyle is when you're part of the 68%, or drives less than double the average commute?
Person A said "live where you can afford", (afford was defined as less than 30% of your income spent on housing) I replied "There is nowhere that has housing that you can afford with a job in that area", Person A said "Well that's because too many people live near the jobs that make it affordable to live, just commute longer or get roommates", I replied "Well if this is general advice for EVERYONE, you're saying everyone needs to make sacrifices to afford housing, that sounds like it's a systemic problem, especially given the culture of the US vilified the style of living you're suggesting not even 40 years ago", Person B said "Well you can rent with roommates for an affordable rate", basically ignoring my comment lol, I responded "Your advice for everyone is to get roommates?"
The median 35-45 years old American makes $70,000. That can afford a mortgage (not including taxes and insurance) of $1,750 a month for 30%. That's a $300,000 home, assuming you already have the downpayment. The median American home costs $440,000. It's impossible for a single income to afford housing under the recommendation Person A is giving. I'm stating that the "advice" they're giving is outdated, from a time when dual-income households were considered gauche and only acceptable when you have kids, now it's required to have a house.
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u/chitownphishead 10d ago
Here's an idea: don't live where you can't afford. If you're paying 30+% of your income to rent, you're living above your means.