2 ms·
> I think if anyone truly wants a home and is willing to do whatever they need to in order to get it, they can get it. Same goes for just about everything else,
by prirun 5y ago
> I think if anyone truly wants a home and is willing to do whatever they need to in order to get it, they can get it. Same goes for just about everything else, if you want something, and you're willing to do whatever it takes to get it, you can do it.
You may be right, but people come in a normal distribution, with most being just average. To "do whatever it takes" implies a person on the extreme right of the distribution, and most people aren't there. So while it may be possible to buy a home, if it takes extreme effort to do it, most people won't.
Whereas, when I grew up in the 60's, my dad worked as a bag boy at Kroger, then a meatcutter. We had a small 3br house, 2 kids, a car, a motorcycle, a boat, insurance on all this stuff, and mom worked out of the house doing babysitting and ironing. They were still in their early 20's and got married right out of high school. We eventually had 2 cars while still in this house, around '65. Nothing even remotely like this would be possible today.
- atweiden 5y agoSee: 1971 Cost of Living [1]. New House: $25,200.00 Average Income: $10,622.00 per year New Car: $3,560.00 Average Rent: $150.00 per month Tuition to Harvard University: $2,600.00 per year Movie Ticket: $1.50 each Gasoline: 40¢ per gallon United States Postage Stamp: 8¢ each Whether due to currency debasement, globalization, or overpopulation, the disparity in cost of living between the two eras is staggering. [1]: https://wtfhappenedin1971.com https://wtfhappenedin1971.com
- mjevans 5y agoSimilar (?) items based on near top results of google searches today: The greatest takeaway for me is that everyone is FAR worse off today and in my generation. US nationally (today 2021) about 85K is equivalent to the cited 25K 1971 numbers. :: ~10X cost of living (edited, I unconsciously compared to the wrong number.) Seattle is far more distorted, with housing beyond out of control (I don't know what kind of house was being looked at for the 1971 numbers, but it really doesn't matter, there's almost nothing even remotely near the national price within the region). :: Seattle's rent is completely out of control; beyond any rational measure. No wonder neither I nor my generation can make any savings; it's all being consumed by rent seeking land owners. Income 10600 %Income71 House 25200 237.736 Car 3600 33.962 RentYear 1800 16.981 UniYear 2600 24.528 Gas5000mi 100 0.943 Mail500invite 40 0.377 - USA 2021 Equiv71 House 269000 113151 Car 30500 89806 RentYear 14400 84800 UniYear 26100 106408 Gas5000mi 483.33 51233 Mail500invite 290 76850 - Seattle 2021 Equiv71 House 750000 315476 Car 30500 89806 RentYear 36000 212000 UniYear 31200 127200 Gas5000mi 533.33 56533 Mail500invite 290 76850