4 ms·

I think one of the most important issues raised by this article is toward the end: > Ms. Ramos, the Apple janitor, lives down the road in San Jose. She pays $2

I think one of the most important issues raised by this article is toward the end: > Ms. Ramos, the Apple janitor, lives down the road in San Jose. She pays $2,300 monthly for a two-bedroom apartment where she and her four children live. Before overtime and taxes, her $16.60 an hour works out to $34,520 a year. Her rent alone is $27,600 a year, leaving less than $600 a month once the rent is paid. $2300 a month for a two-bedroom apartment. Service workers like janitors can barely afford to live here at all.

dionidium 9y ago
They should move. There are janitorial jobs all over the country, most of them in areas where you could rent a nice two-bedroom for 1/3 that cost. There is just absolutely no reason to stay in the SFBA with prospects like that. I wish more people realized this. They'd be much happier somewhere else.
- kevinchen 9y ago
  There are many reasons why someone can't simply move. Maybe they're caring for parents who live in the area. Perhaps they want their kids to attend well-funded Bay Area schools, so the kids can have a shot at earning more money. It could be they can't save up enough money to make the jump. The list could go on and on... my point is, moving is hard, especially so for those with little disposable income.
  - dionidium 9y ago
    Yes, of course! Been there! But a lot of stuff will be easier once/if they pull it off. Pop culture insists on a very silly perception of the non-coastal parts of the country. There's still a lot of opportunity elsewhere -- at drastically lower costs of living. Moving isn't easy, but everything else in their lives will be easier once they do. One impediment to this, as I see it, is that the culture is telling them the opposite of this. And that's actively harmful to their long-term prospects.
austenallred 9y ago
It's almost as if the problem in the Bay Area isn't so much wages as much as cost of living
conanbatt 9y ago
The question would be why is she living/working there at all.

dionidium 9y ago

They should move. There are janitorial jobs all over the country, most of them in areas where you could rent a nice two-bedroom for 1/3 that cost. There is just absolutely no reason to stay in the SFBA with prospects like that. I wish more people realized this. They'd be much happier somewhere else.

kevinchen 9y ago
There are many reasons why someone can't simply move. Maybe they're caring for parents who live in the area. Perhaps they want their kids to attend well-funded Bay Area schools, so the kids can have a shot at earning more money. It could be they can't save up enough money to make the jump. The list could go on and on... my point is, moving is hard, especially so for those with little disposable income.
- dionidium 9y ago
  Yes, of course! Been there! But a lot of stuff will be easier once/if they pull it off. Pop culture insists on a very silly perception of the non-coastal parts of the country. There's still a lot of opportunity elsewhere -- at drastically lower costs of living. Moving isn't easy, but everything else in their lives will be easier once they do. One impediment to this, as I see it, is that the culture is telling them the opposite of this. And that's actively harmful to their long-term prospects.

austenallred 9y ago

It's almost as if the problem in the Bay Area isn't so much wages as much as cost of living

conanbatt 9y ago

The question would be why is she living/working there at all.