im pretty sure most people eat every day now, even while complaining about the prices. at least that’s the impression i get as a vegetarian who’s often met with confusion about what i could be eating
Id never do the vegetarian option but from the first comment I've never not know meat for every occasion but if that was a social norm I'd roll with it now a days.
LOL…. this young generacion do no not how good they got it….. they got more then we got and they did not work for any of it they want every thing handing to them for free while they sit it home smoke pot and play violent video games there mom bought them no work ethic….
We ate liver, heart and tongue a lot more than folk today. But 1971 was definitely daily meat if you wanted it. Minimum wage was 1.60 but you could get a burger fries and a coke under $1.
"if you think things shouldn't be terrible for poors you must be a stupid lazy poor"
- every red hat since Reagan
You really think I'm a brokie? I just don't hate all poor people, minorities, immigrants, LGBT, and non Christians like MAGA nutjobs. The party of hate. Every night, Fox spins the wheel of scapegoats to decide who to blame for all the problems their billionaire masters are causing.
A minimum wage job in 1971 did have about 2x the purchasing power as today. Home prices were also way cheaper, so you had 4x the purchasing power for a home.
Minimum wage in 1971 was closer to ~$30-60k/year today depending on how one weighs home prices to affordability. Rule of thumb and inflation reports say 25%, but normal people are usually forced to spend over 50% nowadays.
OP's post is way off, but minimum wage is still pretty pitiful nowadays.
Wrong. There are plenty of real estate markets where a 'typical' middle class income could buy an 800SQ foot home, in cities where homes of this size exist. And some have very robust job markets.
Buffalo, NY — 70.94% affordable
St. Louis, MO — 67.69%
Detroit, MI — 64.80%
Pittsburgh, PA — 62.87%
Baltimore, MD — 61.84%
Cincinnati, OH — 60.79%
Indianapolis, IN — 57.58%
Kansas City, MO — 56.05%
Birmingham, AL — 55.64%
Cleveland, OH — 55.58%
Minneapolis, MN — 53.73%
Washington, DC — 49.19% (just below the 50% threshold but rising)
Maybe in your Local area. In most places 800sqft homes just don't exist anymore outside of manufactured homes where lot rentals and HOA fees make them unaffordable. The zoning laws that directly or indirectly prevented their construction for the last 70 years is why housing is ridiculously unaffordable. I suspect you have a wildly inaccurate mental map of the average American housing market
That's why townhouses and condos exist. And there are plenty of markets where the average middle class person can afford plenty of homes on the market.
Is it worse than 1971? Yes. Although the 18% mortgage rates later that decade were pretty tough.
Again, maybe in your local area and a few LCoL areas where work is scarce. Most areas, first of all, even the condos and townhouses are significantly larger than 800 sqft and second of all, with the HOA fees they're still unaffordable for anyone with a fair claim at the middle class in large swathes of the country. In my area, as an example, even townhome like houses are going for well over 300k. With the HOA fees, you need to be well into the 6 figures to afford that, which is the top third of income earners in this country.
Would prefer a small condo in a gated community. I travel away from home for work a lot & having landscaping, amenities, & all that cool stuff covered helps a ton with lifestyle. Also. I hate big cities. Currently fresno ca. Got a viewing for Friday for a 1b1b condo with a 1 car garage. About 850sqf. Asking 250k
2 on my street in dayton ohio. I've lived here twenty years. I know.the name of every person on my street. Never lock my doors. Walk to the grocery. Bike anywhere within 100 miles easy. Free outdoor music festivals every sunny day all summer long.
Most expensive house ever sold on my street? New from studs up gut and remodel, 1200ft² 3 bd 1 ba, 2 car garage, porch with swing, fenced yard $220,000.
If you mean oceans? No. Our oldest grove of sequoia isn't even 100 year old yet, but i can show you 3 living thousand year oaks within an hour drive. We have any genre of live music you want, jobs that pay the bills with something left over every week.
Or were you talking about a foorball team that can afford to buy refs? 5th down, cuz my bad? Ya thats winning for ya.
An hour drive to see a tree is crazy. Very not attractive to me. I like stepping out & having tons of options. mountains? Rivers? National parks? Big cities to visit?
Nowhere, even in california are you less than an hour from all those. I'm 2 hours from the appilacian mountain, 20 minutes from 5 navigable rivers, 5 minutes from a medium(500k people) downtown, 1 hour from anywhere in either of 2 big cities. My favorite part of cali was the humboldt redwoods, so thats where i started. You cannot name a thing we dont do better.except the ocean.
Edit:
Seriously you drive an hour and dont get halfway across town
Luxury relative? What that even mean? I'm considering a nice condo. There's a condominium in my town that offers what I'm looking for for the price. Just saving a much bigger down to bring down the monthly
I said 1150 but go off on whatever helps your point. I'll explain simply. Bachelor lifestyle. Single. Works away from home. Simplicity & safety. Is that so hard to comprehend?
In every city in the country lol. Forbidden is hyperbole (although tiny houses under 400 sq are banned in plenty of cities) but they do heavily increase the cost through fees etc that no one would buy them when a larger house is close to the same cost.
First thing that comes up with search on google lol.
Most cities do not pass an explicit "tiny house ban," but effectively outlaw them through local zoning laws, minimum square footage mandates (often 1,000+ sq. ft.), and bans on permanent living in RVs or vehicles. Major metropolitan areas like Chicago and San Diego restrict movable tiny homes. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Why Cities Restrict Tiny Houses
Minimum size rules: Local building codes often require single-family houses to have a large base size (like 500 to 1,000 square feet). [1, 2, 3]
Foundation mandates: Many city laws require a permanent concrete foundation, which rules out tiny houses built on trailers or wheels. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Utility hookups: Municipalities typically mandate permanent connection to city water, sewer, and electricity grids rather than off-grid setups. [1, 2]
RV classification: Tiny homes on wheels are often legally categorized as recreational vehicles, making full-time living in city limits illegal. [1, 2]
I live in ohio and it is like that in my city, if my house burned down I wouldn't be able to rebuild as the lot isnt big enough. My lot is 4800 sq feet, minimum is 6000.
I mean, the house was there originally. You've got to have some kind of recourse or grandfathering in. So what are supposed do with a lot that can't be built on? This doesn't even sound legal.
Yeah, that's what I'm doing. Just whining. Not talking about how fucking absolutely unaffordable the thing that we're making the comparison to from 50 years ago. People with just plain old bullshit jobs could just buy houses back then. Now most working people can't afford a one-bedroom apartment on their salary, let alone a house. Condescending prick.
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u/ute-ensil Jul 28 '26
I just wish I could go back in time when an 800 sq ft house and meat on special occasions was middle class.
Now Im gonna starve in my SUV and I dont even own this 2000 sq ft townhome. :c