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I live in Denver, like any other metropolitan area there has always been a homeless population. What has been different is since 2016 there has been a staggerin

I live in Denver, like any other metropolitan area there has always been a homeless population. What has been different is since 2016 there has been a staggering growth in the number of tents and so called tent cities. This isn't a problem just downtown either even if it is most visible there. The issue has expanded outside downtown and is filling in vacant properties in suburbia as well. Places like Aurora, almost every open space park, bike paths, bridges, everywhere you can fit a tent is turning into a homeless encampment. The worse part is I feel helpless, I'm making good money and barley able to pay rent. I feel powerless to help even if I could.

chii 5y ago
> I'm making good money and barley able to pay rent. How can this be both true? If you can barely make rent, it must be that you're not making good money. Surely good money means you have excess after paying all necessities. If you mistakenly believe you're making good money, but is in actual fact struggling, you must start looking for a higher paying job, lest you end up homeless due to a sudden economic shock or accident causing you to lose your income.
- tristor 5y ago
  It's possible because pay rates in Colorado haven't risen in line with housing costs going up. Colorado has suffered more than most states with an absolute influx of people moving there from California and driving up housing costs. Often not discussed when talking about homelessness is that the alternative for many people who can no longer afford to live in a particular area isn't to end up on the street, but to go elsewhere which if done in large enough scales can displace residents there in a cyclical path. California has had net outflows of US citizen residents for many years, but net inflows overall due to high levels of immigration. As the housing shortage becomes even more of a crisis in California, it's driving many people out to other states, and this mostly people who are fully employed, not at risk of living on the street, but also not able to afford housing at a reasonable percentage of their income in California. Colorado housing costs now average roughly half what Bay Area housing costs, when a decade ago it was closer to 1/6th. Some cities in Texas like Austin are experiencing this as well. The population between 2010 and 2020 in Austin QUADRUPLED, and the vast majority of new residents came from California. Housing prices also have nearly quadrupled at the same time, but not quite thanks to it being very easy to build in Austin and lots of new housing being constructed. What you could buy for $250k in 2010 now costs closer to $650k in Austin. What you could buy in the Denver metro for $400k in 2010 now costs around $1M. So it is absolutely true that in raw dollars, compared to median household income in the US, you could be "making good money" and now be barely able to pay rent if you live in a place that's had a mass influx of Californians over the last decade causing housing costs to skyrocket.
- stillbourne 5y ago
  The apartment I rented for $1400 a month in 2015 is now $2200. It's still the cheapest in my neighborhood. Meanwhile I'm still making the same amount of money, I've hopped a couple jobs but the wages are stagnant. Also I don't like the tone of your voice you seem to be accusing me of some sort of moral failing for not making enough money. I make what's average for a developer in Denver. I'm putting as much as I can into my savings account but even then I have had to put less in each year to make up for the deficit I lose in rent.
  - chii 5y ago
    I don't mean to accuse you of any failings (moral or otherwise). I meant to argue that a lot of people may mistakenly believe they're well paid, because in the past when they started their job, they were indeed well paid. But as time goes by, the situation changes, but the person doesn't make any changes and thus, get into a situation where they cannot fix themselves. So diagnosing a problem early, and making corrections early, before the problem becomes insurmountable, is the right way to fix it.
    - stillbourne 5y ago
      You are still arguing this point like its my fault.
      - rufus_foreman 5y ago
        Does fault matter? Whose responsibility is it?
        stillbourne 5y ago
        Of course fault matters, cost of rent going up so high no one can afford an apartment. Do you blame the residents, like chii is doing, for not making enough? Or do you blame the fucking assholes raising the god damn rent?
        5y ago

chii 5y ago

> I'm making good money and barley able to pay rent. How can this be both true? If you can barely make rent, it must be that you're not making good money. Surely good money means you have excess after paying all necessities. If you mistakenly believe you're making good money, but is in actual fact struggling, you must start looking for a higher paying job, lest you end up homeless due to a sudden economic shock or accident causing you to lose your income.

tristor 5y ago
It's possible because pay rates in Colorado haven't risen in line with housing costs going up. Colorado has suffered more than most states with an absolute influx of people moving there from California and driving up housing costs. Often not discussed when talking about homelessness is that the alternative for many people who can no longer afford to live in a particular area isn't to end up on the street, but to go elsewhere which if done in large enough scales can displace residents there in a cyclical path. California has had net outflows of US citizen residents for many years, but net inflows overall due to high levels of immigration. As the housing shortage becomes even more of a crisis in California, it's driving many people out to other states, and this mostly people who are fully employed, not at risk of living on the street, but also not able to afford housing at a reasonable percentage of their income in California. Colorado housing costs now average roughly half what Bay Area housing costs, when a decade ago it was closer to 1/6th. Some cities in Texas like Austin are experiencing this as well. The population between 2010 and 2020 in Austin QUADRUPLED, and the vast majority of new residents came from California. Housing prices also have nearly quadrupled at the same time, but not quite thanks to it being very easy to build in Austin and lots of new housing being constructed. What you could buy for $250k in 2010 now costs closer to $650k in Austin. What you could buy in the Denver metro for $400k in 2010 now costs around $1M. So it is absolutely true that in raw dollars, compared to median household income in the US, you could be "making good money" and now be barely able to pay rent if you live in a place that's had a mass influx of Californians over the last decade causing housing costs to skyrocket.
stillbourne 5y ago
The apartment I rented for $1400 a month in 2015 is now $2200. It's still the cheapest in my neighborhood. Meanwhile I'm still making the same amount of money, I've hopped a couple jobs but the wages are stagnant. Also I don't like the tone of your voice you seem to be accusing me of some sort of moral failing for not making enough money. I make what's average for a developer in Denver. I'm putting as much as I can into my savings account but even then I have had to put less in each year to make up for the deficit I lose in rent.
- chii 5y ago
  I don't mean to accuse you of any failings (moral or otherwise). I meant to argue that a lot of people may mistakenly believe they're well paid, because in the past when they started their job, they were indeed well paid. But as time goes by, the situation changes, but the person doesn't make any changes and thus, get into a situation where they cannot fix themselves. So diagnosing a problem early, and making corrections early, before the problem becomes insurmountable, is the right way to fix it.
  - stillbourne 5y ago
    You are still arguing this point like its my fault.
    - rufus_foreman 5y ago
      Does fault matter? Whose responsibility is it?
      - stillbourne 5y ago
        Of course fault matters, cost of rent going up so high no one can afford an apartment. Do you blame the residents, like chii is doing, for not making enough? Or do you blame the fucking assholes raising the god damn rent?
        5y ago