5 ms·

I think the fear of not being able to find a job is a large part of the reason people don't just move somewhere cheaper when they can't afford housing. There ar

I think the fear of not being able to find a job is a large part of the reason people don't just move somewhere cheaper when they can't afford housing. There are of course other reasons, e.g. community, for staying in expensive areas, but I think people would be more likely to move to where they can afford housing if they have an guaranteed income stream. Theoretically this would also decrease demand on the low-end of high-price housing areas, lowering prices.

pier25 8y ago
Or move to another country like Mexico or Thailand.
- taysic 8y ago
  You can't outright move to Thailand at least. You'd need to do visa runs in neighboring countries but couldn't live there 365 days a year.
  - pier25 8y ago
    Those were just examples. There are dozens of alternatives.
    - taysic 8y ago
      Countries you could outright permanently move to? Which ones?
      - pier25 8y ago
        You mean countries that you can simply land and live forever without a visa? I doubt that exists. But it should be easy to get a visa to live in Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, etc. Thailand and India are more complicated, yes, but getting out for a couple of days every and year and coming back is not such a big issue.
- lutorm 8y ago
  I think it's funny that Americans (I assume you're American, just based on statistics) thinks that moving to another country is just a thing you can decide to do, given the current immigration debate in the U.S...
  - pier25 8y ago
    I'm not American. I'm Spanish and have been living in Mexico for close to a decade.
- dogma1138 8y ago
  Good luck being old (not 40-50’s) in Thailand with some money you’ll be taken advantage off to death and that is putting it mildly. Moving to countries which are objectively unsafe outside of a few protected tourist hotspot areas isn’t a good idea for anyone who’s vulnerable.
DoreenMichele 8y ago
I say this as someone with a bit more alimony than the $10k frequently cited as the expected figure for basic income who also has portable earned income who was willing to move to almost anywhere in the Western US to get back into housing. Finding something under $550 almost anywhere I'm the US that isn't senior housing or a trailer is challenging. They exist, but it's not as readily available as many people seem to imagine. There are places for less than that, but if you expect some kind of decent housing on a budget, it's a tough thing to find. I live without a car and that complicated things. A lot of places don't have walkable neighborhoods or good transit. If you need a car to get around, that substantially increases your real cost of living. I get really tired of repeating myself on this topic. I also worry that I will get viewed as someone harping on it or with a political agenda for simply trying to rebut the endless statements about how poor people can just move someplace cheap. I'm poor. I have portable income. I'm a former military wife who doesn't mind moving. And I found it incredibly challenging to find someplace to move that I could afford and where I could readily access basic essentials like groceries and good internet service without a car. If "just move someplace cheap" was all it took, I would have shut up about my problems years ago and just sat around humming to myself about how slick I am and how all the other poor Americans are just dummies who are doing it wrong. It's really not that simple. Even if you have portable income, finding an affordable, livable place in the US is challenging.
- soared 8y ago
  I mean its absurd to think you could find what you're looking for. The US is very obviously not built for cars, so if you want to go against that you'll need to pay more. Or just find a place for $450 that isn't walkable, and pay $100/mo for a car.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    Nice theory, but I am no longer capable of driving. As the American population ages, this is increasingly becoming an issue. If you need to drive to maintain your independence, you lose your independence when you can no longer safely drive, possibly because you simply don't see well enough anymore, even if you are otherwise competent. My sucktastic eyesight is part of why I no longer drive.

pier25 8y ago

Or move to another country like Mexico or Thailand.

taysic 8y ago
You can't outright move to Thailand at least. You'd need to do visa runs in neighboring countries but couldn't live there 365 days a year.
- pier25 8y ago
  Those were just examples. There are dozens of alternatives.
  - taysic 8y ago
    Countries you could outright permanently move to? Which ones?
    - pier25 8y ago
      You mean countries that you can simply land and live forever without a visa? I doubt that exists. But it should be easy to get a visa to live in Mexico, Costa Rica, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, etc. Thailand and India are more complicated, yes, but getting out for a couple of days every and year and coming back is not such a big issue.
lutorm 8y ago
I think it's funny that Americans (I assume you're American, just based on statistics) thinks that moving to another country is just a thing you can decide to do, given the current immigration debate in the U.S...
- pier25 8y ago
  I'm not American. I'm Spanish and have been living in Mexico for close to a decade.
dogma1138 8y ago
Good luck being old (not 40-50’s) in Thailand with some money you’ll be taken advantage off to death and that is putting it mildly. Moving to countries which are objectively unsafe outside of a few protected tourist hotspot areas isn’t a good idea for anyone who’s vulnerable.

DoreenMichele 8y ago

I say this as someone with a bit more alimony than the $10k frequently cited as the expected figure for basic income who also has portable earned income who was willing to move to almost anywhere in the Western US to get back into housing. Finding something under $550 almost anywhere I'm the US that isn't senior housing or a trailer is challenging. They exist, but it's not as readily available as many people seem to imagine. There are places for less than that, but if you expect some kind of decent housing on a budget, it's a tough thing to find. I live without a car and that complicated things. A lot of places don't have walkable neighborhoods or good transit. If you need a car to get around, that substantially increases your real cost of living. I get really tired of repeating myself on this topic. I also worry that I will get viewed as someone harping on it or with a political agenda for simply trying to rebut the endless statements about how poor people can just move someplace cheap. I'm poor. I have portable income. I'm a former military wife who doesn't mind moving. And I found it incredibly challenging to find someplace to move that I could afford and where I could readily access basic essentials like groceries and good internet service without a car. If "just move someplace cheap" was all it took, I would have shut up about my problems years ago and just sat around humming to myself about how slick I am and how all the other poor Americans are just dummies who are doing it wrong. It's really not that simple. Even if you have portable income, finding an affordable, livable place in the US is challenging.

soared 8y ago
I mean its absurd to think you could find what you're looking for. The US is very obviously not built for cars, so if you want to go against that you'll need to pay more. Or just find a place for $450 that isn't walkable, and pay $100/mo for a car.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  Nice theory, but I am no longer capable of driving. As the American population ages, this is increasingly becoming an issue. If you need to drive to maintain your independence, you lose your independence when you can no longer safely drive, possibly because you simply don't see well enough anymore, even if you are otherwise competent. My sucktastic eyesight is part of why I no longer drive.