5 ms·

16,000 people in L.A. live in cars, vans and RVs. But safe parking is limited

26 points by ilamont 7y ago

Quequau 7y ago
I am in the midst of planning a major move and it looks like I am going to wind up in either a tiny home or a single-wide mobile home so that I can afford to build up the company I'm trying to get started. I think this article misses a major problem that people in precarious circumstances in their lives face when trying to secure housing that isn't either traditional residential mortgage or rental in corporate owned apartment complexes... and that is exploitation. Until exploitation of the working classes is reduced there are going to continue to be problems with housing.
- Scoundreller 7y ago
  Why not move to a low-cost of living country with good internet ?
  - Quequau 7y ago
    I am having to return to America to care for a family member. So I my choices are somewhat limited, at least for as long as my presence is required at their home. Also, I'll tell you that trying to start a business, even a side business, in a country you're not already really familiar with can be really painful.
- BubRoss 7y ago
  You aren't working class of you are trying to get your own company started.
  - ehvatum 7y ago
    It's perfectly possible to do on a coding salary... in Missouri. I did it, and in fact I still am doing it. I still have have my day job. My big expenses are heavy industrial equipment leases ($7k/mo), electricity ($2k/mo in the summer), and titanium ($1-10k/mo, depending on order volume). I mostly make pistol grips. The CNC machines run all day while I code, and I live in a camper inside an aircraft hangar at my factory. It's beautiful. I'm not an expert on LA, but I really don't think I could have made my dream a reality in that particular place. I think I'm working class... I certainly work a lot and I go to work during the day :-)
    - Quequau 7y ago
      This is amazingly close to my current game plan... though I don't do anything related to weaponry.
  - Quequau 7y ago
    Sorry to tell you that having a side business to get by is nothing but working class. Suffering from the delusion that you're not a member of the proletariat when the plain fact is that you are is the path to bankruptcy and poverty.
  - tomcam 7y ago
    What is your reasoning?
- Quequau 7y ago
  Hmmm. Perhaps folks are assuming that I live in LA, making a few hundred thousand a year, am trying to not pay out the needed cash for traditional housing even though I could easily afford it, and am trying to concoct the next pogostick / juice squeezing startup. I do not currently live in America and I have no plans or interest in living any where in or near California. I am leaving a part time job working on industrial sensor development and a full time income producing hobby of metal working to go to a small town in Tennessee to care for my remaining parent while she lives out what's left of her life.
goobynight 7y ago
> That leaves most people living in vehicles without a legal place to sleep. In LA, that is. For the estimated $20-30 per night the article states this might cost, we could get these people into actual housing in the midwest. Until they've tried that, I don't really care what problems people in LA have. These people are addicted to LA/California. We're eventually going to get over trying to let everyone live in the most popular cities in California and we'll be better for it.
- youeseh 7y ago
  There are a lot of lower wage earners hoping to make it big in Hollywood. They know what they're doing. They aren't going to go elsewhere until their Hollywood dream fades, if at least for a moment. The challenge is: how does a city figure out how to treat its car campers as first / second class citizens?
- britch 7y ago
  You're right. California is for the rich. If you grew up in LA and your parents grew up LA, but you can't afford it now, head to Michigan. Meanwhile new grad with a fancy degree from Northwestern, you can afford the rent, so they get to live in LA. ------------------------------------ I understand what you're saying. While many people would like to live in California, there's only so much room. At the same time I have a hard time swallowing the idea that "These people are addicted to LA" if they grew up there and spent their whole lives there. The US coasts have not been building enough new housing to keep up with demand [0] for the past several decades. We treat housing like an investment and restrict supply to increase property value to the point that it is difficult for people to find places they can afford to live. Some people may have to leave the town where they grew up to find somewhere to live and work. Some people may have shown up in LA with unrealistic dreams and should probably leave. I only ask that you don't discount the role housing policy has played in creating this situation. The issue is more nuanced than "people addicted to California." [0] - https://www.brookings.edu/research/cost-crowding-or-commuting-housing-stress-on-the-middle-class/ https://www.brookings.edu/research/cost-crowding-or-commutin...
  - goobynight 7y ago

26 points by ilamont 7y ago

I am in the midst of planning a major move and it looks like I am going to wind up in either a tiny home or a single-wide mobile home so that I can afford to build up the company I'm trying to get started. I think this article misses a major problem that people in precarious circumstances in their lives face when trying to secure housing that isn't either traditional residential mortgage or rental in corporate owned apartment complexes... and that is exploitation. Until exploitation of the working classes is reduced there are going to continue to be problems with housing.

Scoundreller 7y ago
Why not move to a low-cost of living country with good internet ?
- Quequau 7y ago
  I am having to return to America to care for a family member. So I my choices are somewhat limited, at least for as long as my presence is required at their home. Also, I'll tell you that trying to start a business, even a side business, in a country you're not already really familiar with can be really painful.
BubRoss 7y ago
You aren't working class of you are trying to get your own company started.
- ehvatum 7y ago
  It's perfectly possible to do on a coding salary... in Missouri. I did it, and in fact I still am doing it. I still have have my day job. My big expenses are heavy industrial equipment leases ($7k/mo), electricity ($2k/mo in the summer), and titanium ($1-10k/mo, depending on order volume). I mostly make pistol grips. The CNC machines run all day while I code, and I live in a camper inside an aircraft hangar at my factory. It's beautiful. I'm not an expert on LA, but I really don't think I could have made my dream a reality in that particular place. I think I'm working class... I certainly work a lot and I go to work during the day :-)
  - Quequau 7y ago
    This is amazingly close to my current game plan... though I don't do anything related to weaponry.
- Quequau 7y ago
  Sorry to tell you that having a side business to get by is nothing but working class. Suffering from the delusion that you're not a member of the proletariat when the plain fact is that you are is the path to bankruptcy and poverty.
- tomcam 7y ago
  What is your reasoning?
Quequau 7y ago
Hmmm. Perhaps folks are assuming that I live in LA, making a few hundred thousand a year, am trying to not pay out the needed cash for traditional housing even though I could easily afford it, and am trying to concoct the next pogostick / juice squeezing startup. I do not currently live in America and I have no plans or interest in living any where in or near California. I am leaving a part time job working on industrial sensor development and a full time income producing hobby of metal working to go to a small town in Tennessee to care for my remaining parent while she lives out what's left of her life.

goobynight 7y ago

> That leaves most people living in vehicles without a legal place to sleep. In LA, that is. For the estimated $20-30 per night the article states this might cost, we could get these people into actual housing in the midwest. Until they've tried that, I don't really care what problems people in LA have. These people are addicted to LA/California. We're eventually going to get over trying to let everyone live in the most popular cities in California and we'll be better for it.

youeseh 7y ago
There are a lot of lower wage earners hoping to make it big in Hollywood. They know what they're doing. They aren't going to go elsewhere until their Hollywood dream fades, if at least for a moment. The challenge is: how does a city figure out how to treat its car campers as first / second class citizens?
britch 7y ago
You're right. California is for the rich. If you grew up in LA and your parents grew up LA, but you can't afford it now, head to Michigan. Meanwhile new grad with a fancy degree from Northwestern, you can afford the rent, so they get to live in LA. ------------------------------------ I understand what you're saying. While many people would like to live in California, there's only so much room. At the same time I have a hard time swallowing the idea that "These people are addicted to LA" if they grew up there and spent their whole lives there. The US coasts have not been building enough new housing to keep up with demand [0] for the past several decades. We treat housing like an investment and restrict supply to increase property value to the point that it is difficult for people to find places they can afford to live. Some people may have to leave the town where they grew up to find somewhere to live and work. Some people may have shown up in LA with unrealistic dreams and should probably leave. I only ask that you don't discount the role housing policy has played in creating this situation. The issue is more nuanced than "people addicted to California." [0] - https://www.brookings.edu/research/cost-crowding-or-commuting-housing-stress-on-the-middle-class/ https://www.brookings.edu/research/cost-crowding-or-commutin...
- goobynight 7y ago