3 ms·
Sigh..no thanks. A "Vienna model" of 80% living in subsidized apartments is quite a bit different from the American dream of owning one's own private property.
by TurkishPoptart 3y ago
Sigh..no thanks. A "Vienna model" of 80% living in subsidized apartments is quite a bit different from the American dream of owning one's own private property.
- eliaspro 3y agoWhy spend 5-10% on subsidized rent when you can easily spend 30-40% on the American dream of car-dependent cookie-cutter suburbia?
- sempron64 3y agoHaving lived in an affordable apartment and a house I don’t understand how living in a rented box in a building which you have no right to significantly modify is less cookie-cutter than owning a home which you can renovate and decorate to your liking, inside and outside, have a garden, host guests, etc.
- sempron64 3y ago(Before you talk about homeowner’s associations restricting decoration: they are the problem, not the homes. I live somewhere without one)
- morsch 3y agoYou think people in Vienna don't decorate their homes to their liking or host guests?
- preisschild 3y agoI'm from Vienna, and stuff like getting a permit for a mini split AC is a pain.
- morsch 3y agoSure. But it's reductive to make this an either/or situation. Renters are more limited in what they can do; they can still do plenty of things. Owners are also limited in what they can do, I'm sure Vienna has zoning regulations. Try adding a balcony to the house you own without getting a permit.
- xxpor 3y agoIn NYC, it's straight up illegal.
- pedalpete 3y agoBut the American dream, is just that for the majority of people. Just a dream that they will never reach. I'm not suggesting that subsidized housing is the answer, but it is a reality which seems to be working for Vienna (if the article is to be believed).
- xyzelement 3y ago// But the American dream, is just that for the majority of people. Just a dream that they will never reach. Almost 70 percent of Americans own their own home[0]. [0]https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/homeownership-statistics/ https://www.thezebra.com/resources/research/homeownership-st...
- rekabis 3y ago> Almost 70 percent of Americans own their own home But at what cost? To own a home, but to be grindingly poor in all other respects? To barely be able to make ends meet, to see retirement as a pipe dream, or only achievable in the final few years of life? The Vienna model looks like paradise. And this, coming from someone who _does_ own a home, and from that, can see opportunities that have been taken from me by stratospheric home valuations and insane levels of rent.
- brnaftr361 3y agoLooks like about 23% to me. [1] And even then, I'd hardly call it ownership. You still pay tax, you have to do [lawn, sidewalk, building] upkeep, you're still beholden to the law of the land (e.g. no laying chickens in your yard), you're subject to eminent domain... And sometimes the state will come in and condemn your land and enforce a no-amendment policy. [1]: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwake/2023/03/31/us-has-3rd-lowest-percentage-of-households-that-own-their-homes-without-mortgages/?sh=41af6d263124 https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnwake/2023/03/31/us-has-3rd-...
- red-iron-pine 3y agoDon't forget the nightmare that is HOAs
- Turskarama 3y agoYou say that as if the alternative to subsidised rentals is buying, but for most people these days the alternative is non subsidised apartments. Yes (nearly) everyone would prefer to own their own home, but it's becoming more and more unaffordable and it's largely to do with rent seeking.