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When I see people complaining about never being able to purchase a house my response is always the same. move. $1,100 is considered "well below market rates"

When I see people complaining about never being able to purchase a house my response is always the same. move. $1,100 is considered "well below market rates" for a 1 bedroom apartment in NYC? That's _nuts_ to me. I'm paying $1,600 for a 3 bed, 2 bath 1800 sq ft house with a 2 car garage. Vaulted ceilings, my neighbor is a police officer and I'm on a corner lot across from a park. fire department is literally 3 blocks away. IOW, I pay more because of the neighborhood. Granted, I live in a LCOL area, but that's kind of the point. If you feel you don't have the buying power, move. Hell, I know a woman who has a mortgage that she pays off of a fixed income and a bit of side work (600/month I think? in that ballpark) and she's buying more house than that.

thebruce87m 3y ago
Edit: rethought this but can’t delete
cpuguy83 3y ago
Moving doesn't tend to change much. Yes housing prices go down but so do wages. Also you'll have the added expense of a car (and all the stress that brings along with it).
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  that's true in theory, but not practice. It assumes housing availability is a constant across the US As I mentioned, I know a woman who is buying more house than that and her income is technically below the poverty line. In addition, I work remote in tech and looking up the average salary in NYC, I'm making more and it's not close. Not everyone can do that and I understand that, but my point is that people around here don't feel as though house ownership is out of their power.
  - bosie 3y ago
    House ownership statements are always with a location in mind. I want to walk or take public transport for 15-20 minutes to have most medical docs around, multiple different cuisines, park etc. What i do not care is a 2 car garage. That already implies a lifestyle i really do not want. So where wpuld i move to in the US?
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      Move to a less expensive neighborhood of a dense city? Looking at the northeast US, where cities are denser - Baltimore? Philadelphia?
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      here? if you don't want a 2 car garage then fine, move downtown. You can get _anywhere_ in this town in 20 minutes or less. We flat don't have the traffic that places like NYC does. rush hour might be a bit slower depending on where you go, but not appreciably slow. I feel like people who don't live in these areas have a lot of misconceptions.
      - bradlys 3y ago
        This might be an exceptional town, not sure what kind of place you're talking about, but most places don't have public transit or much in the way of walkability in the USA. He's talking of not using a car and doesn't want to drive at all.
        PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
        considering how infamously bad traffic is in NYC I find it difficult to believe that you can actually just not own a vehicle in NYC. who knows, maybe it's not really that bad and I'm ignorant here, it's possible. But my point is that if you don't own a car there's automatically a limited range of movement that you have. It might be better in NYC (it probably is), but we have areas like that too. We also have public transportation in the form of buses rather than subways and they stop a lot so it can take longer but you can get anywhere in this city via bus, including the suburbs. You can absolutely pick an area for its walkability and use the bus transport to move around the rest of the city. But to leave the city will require a vehicle or a greyhound.
        bradlys 3y ago
        > considering how infamously bad traffic is in NYC I find it difficult to believe that you can actually just not own a vehicle in NYC. > who knows, maybe it's not really that bad and I'm ignorant here, it's possible. You answered your own question.
the_gipsy 3y ago
People move to dense areas because that's where job opportunities are. It's a vicious cycle. For software devs tho, you are right. Just get a remote job.
- pas 3y ago
  people are extremely bad at coordinating/advocating for their interests, ie. to get more housing built. it's learned helplessness, and crazy memes (like conservation of neighborhood character)
  - switch007 3y ago
    What examples of coordination do you have? That have resulted in eg 1,000-100,000 dwellings being built? Honestly confused what it is you’re suggesting
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      I read their post as meaning people will sit in the same HCOL area rather than make decisions for themselves that would improve their lives, such as moving to a LCOL area. And that they also won't organize to try and fix the issues with the housing in the HCOL area. I agree with the sentiment personally, it's why I always tell people to move. I was watching a youtube video earlier this week about a couple who did exactly that. They lived in portland oregan. they bought a rundown old trailer that no one wanted, put the elbow grease in to clean it up and rented out a space for it. They then realized that with their income it was going to take many more years than they wanted to become financially independent. So they moved out of state and w/i 2 years had paid off a 2 bedroom home (they had savings and sold the trailer) and were living in it and considered themselves financially independent (they no longer had to work to live). They talked about how their family shunned them when they moved away and they've learned not to talk to friends about it because it just causes friction. some people do it, it's just most won't.
  - bosie 3y ago
    Denser housing only helps so much though. You need to increase street capacity, increase public transport, more doctors in the area etc. And yes, neighnorhood character is real.
TylerE 3y ago
Why would people pay hundred a month for complicated broadband internet? All you need is a modem and AOL. That’s basically your argument. Living in a LCOL area is not comparable to living in NYC. There is a reason millions want to live in NYC and almost no one actually wants to live in, say, Iowa.
- deegles 3y ago
  And it's a reason why "just build denser housing" is not a complete solution. More density makes an area more desirable, so prices will remain flat or in rare cases increase since the demand continues to outstrip supply. I believe the solution involves dramatically looser building regulations and major investment in public transit (essentially, get to Tokyo levels of density). Places like SF or NYC are in that uncanny valley of building just enough to keep demand high but not enough to drop prices.
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    Which regulations would you cut? Safety? Basic serivces like kitchen and bathroom? Light?
    - bhchance 3y ago
      Parking minimums.
      - wolverine876 3y ago
        I could support that, though maybe not in a place that's unavoidably car-dependant. As you probably know, parking eats up real estate and drives up prices.
    - satvikpendem 3y ago
      Zoning laws that discourage mixed use developments. One of the only cities in the US that works well with the more European style model of mixed use developments with apartments and businesses all next to or on top of each other is NYC.
TheBlight 3y ago
[flagged]
- odessacubbage 3y ago
  i just want to be able to live in the town i was born in.
  - TheBlight 3y ago
    Apparently many other people now do too.
- undersuit 3y ago
  Why is their job in the ultra-hip trendy fashionable market not paying them enough?
- _annum 3y ago
  Not all industries are as location agnostic as tech. Cities offer jobs, clients, and collaborators that may be thinly distributed elsewhere.
cooper_ganglia 3y ago
I pay $500/month for a very similar setup, but mine is a 2 bed, 1 bath with a 1 car garage, lol. The corner lot, cop neighbor, and close fire department are all familiar though! Moving to a LCOL is always my recommendation as well.
- machiaweliczny 3y ago
  I rent single room for $500 in Poland. Seems like we’ve buble here.
  - cooper_ganglia 3y ago
    Before moving into my house, I rented a 2 bedroom apartment in the same town for $700/month. Low interest rates during Covid meant I could get a 30-yr fixed mortgage at 2.25%, and the mortgage payments would end up being cheaper than my rent. Rural development grants introduced a few restrictions on what houses I could choose, but made it possible to buy a house in my 20s with no down payment at all. Seemed like a no-brainer!
BugsJustFindMe 3y ago
There's a reason why low cost of living areas are low cost of living, and it's not because they're self-sustaining futuristic arcologies. It's because people who can afford otherwise generally don't want to live there. I want to walk, not drive, out my front door, and be within 15 minutes, on foot, from entertainment and dining and friends and shopping and groceries and pharmacies and salons and cafes. And I want those things because I have social/communal living desires, not antisocial/isolated ones, and because I've lived in many different kinds of environments and seen just how much nicer it is to live in a walking city. The problem is that many walkable cities continue to refuse to build upwards. NYC, Philadelphia, Boston...they're all vastly 2-4 story construction from 100 years ago. Paris generally goes up to 7 or 8, but has restrictions preventing much more. So they get more and more expensive. But they only get more and more expensive because they continue to be more desirable places to live despite the expense.
- ltbarcly3 3y ago
  And presumably you can afford to out bid all the other people who want what you want. Its great that you are wealthy and/or able and willing to spend a very high fraction of your income on non essentials like walking to nice restaurants and being near cool people you want to be near. The problem is that people who can't afford that think it is a hate crime if they can't afford to live in Brooklyn with the rest of the hipsters.
  - kredd 3y ago
    Your “non-essential” is someone else’s “essential”. Everyone has different needs and wants, and it’s just a useless flamewar. It’s the same as the discussion of whether the cities should stop subsidizing suburbs and other areas. Absolutely useless as everyone have their preferences and we have to find some sort of compromise.
    - ltbarcly3 3y ago
      > Your “non-essential” is someone else’s “essential”. I don't think this word means what you think it means.
whycome 3y ago
> my neighbor is a police officer What's the implication here? That you're extra safe? Or that it's a neighborhood that they would also choose?
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  both, the park regularly has kids playing in it from the neighborhood. Kids run up and down the streets not worrying about violence, etc.
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    Is the area dangerous enough that they would not be safe without the police officer neighbor? What if the officer isn't home or is sleeping?
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - TylerE 3y ago
        You’re the one playing bad faith word games and being incredibly rude and obnoxious.
        wolverine876 3y ago
        It was really a genuine question. I was not attacking them; I think they offer a valuable perspective.
        PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
        oh yeah, they love me and my views so much! if only I weren't so terrible they could love me even more!
  - 3y ago
drewcoo 3y ago
Police officers aren't exactly high income. I'd expect living next to a cop to be cheaper, not more expensive.
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  I just looked it up, police officers in this area will make 70k first year up to 100k or more depending on experience, etc. The point is that here, a 70k salary is easily good enough to buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Are there nicer houses in nicer neighborhoods? We have a lot of old money here, gated mansions with groundskeepers, and so forth. That wasn't my point.
wolverine876 3y ago
> When I see people complaining about never being able to purchase a house my response is always the same. move. People generally care where they live more than they care about the things you describe. Location is the most important factor for most people in real estate purchases - so much so, that it's a cliche. You are free to have your own preferences, and I'm glad it has worked out well for you. But let's not be incredulous that others have different priorities - that's the human interaction baseline.
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  then they should stop complaining about the result of their choices. what I'm incredulous about is the constant complaints followed by an obvious solution but no action towards it.
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    That's not a solution for them, with their preferences and needs. You don't seem to grasp a fundamental issue: Your needs are not a universal truth; they are only yours (and whoever happens to share them). New Yorkers really have different preferences; they don't want what you want, any more than vice-versa. And while they make the best choice they can, they can still have problems with it - what in the world works out otherwise? Jobs? Elections? Anything?
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      for a multi-millionaire, living off of 500k is not a solution for them. no one gives a shit, seriously. This is the worlds tiniest violent playing for those who refuse to adjust to not having as much resources as they'd like to have. oh man, I'm so turrble, telling them they should probably live as if they're only half-millionaries. offly enough, reality doesn't give a shit.
      - wolverine876 3y ago
        I have no idea what you are talking about. You seem to be responding to a person or counterpoint you are thinking about, but I don't see here on HN. Anyway, have a good one!
tubignaaso 3y ago
It’s not always so easy to move. People form community. That’s hard to replicate. People have jobs. Those can’t necessarily move with them. People need connections. They tend to congregate near larger areas with high costs of living. It’s really a trade off between paying for what’s more valuable to you.
Beijinger 3y ago
$1,100 is considered "well below market rates" 1,1k gets you a room. If you are lucky.
notyourwork 3y ago
This is just naively and ignorantly ignoring supply and demand. If everyone moved to your LCOL area costs will rise. If ever leaves the city (HCOL), city living will decrease in cost. Not sure how your proposed solution works while also defying basic economics.
- PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
  stop making excuses, an individual can make an individual decision or they can bitch about their situation but refuse to explore their alternatives. "oh, but market forces so I'm just going to stay here and continue posting online about how horrible it is that I'll never be able to afford a house!". You do you I guess.
  - notyourwork 3y ago
    I’m not making excuses. I’m highlighting what reality is. Big cities are big because of people population. Why are a lot of people there? Because of work, lifestyle preference or both. That’s not an excuse, that is reality. I don’t want to live in the middle of no where even if the entire mortgage is less then my 20% down payment for something closer to a big city. Economics speak for themselves. Stop pretending demand for a city is artificial.
    - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
      > I don’t want to live in the middle of no where even if the entire mortgage I think you should start visiting these areas before you say that. It takes me less than 5 minutes to get to 2 different grocery stores, a theater, a market dedicated to fish, a greek restaurant, a Mediterranean bar, a mexican restaurant (very good btw), Target supercenter, Lowes, various stores dedicated to clothes, one dedicated to hobbies (not hobby lobby), and more I could go on about. In 20 minutes I can be sitting on a dock by the side of the river enjoying the breeze and fishing. In 30 minutes I can be standing at an orchard purchasing peaches, in 45 minutes I can be standing at a lake enjoying the fishing there. In the summer we have a farmers market that's probably 10 minutes away and is amazing, they generally have someone there playing music live. Which, btw, this area is _known_ for (it's independent artists). It feels like too many people here imagine LCOL means living in the middle of fields with cows milling about. rural areas are even cheaper but what you're imagining and reality do not match. It may not ultimately be what you prefer, but to call it in the middle of nowhere is just vastly ignorant. I live in a city.
JBlue42 3y ago
I work at a 50,000 person company. The powers that be want everyone to be in the office at least 3 days a week. Those offices are in expensive major cities in the US. Some people 'make it work' by living an 1+ hr commute away from the offices. I'm sure this is rinse and repeat around the country for people that a) might like the work they're doing and b) have it dictated from above that they have to be close to a major metro area. Congrats on whatever opportunities you've made work for you but many people are tied to where they are due to onerous management, community, family etc. We are not the highly mobile society of even two decades ago and the false promises of mobile technology haven't truly been fulfilled. We got close during COVID but business interests and human nature got in the way of fulfilling what people on this forum have been touting for a decade or more with remote work.

thebruce87m 3y ago

Edit: rethought this but can’t delete

cpuguy83 3y ago

Moving doesn't tend to change much. Yes housing prices go down but so do wages. Also you'll have the added expense of a car (and all the stress that brings along with it).

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
that's true in theory, but not practice. It assumes housing availability is a constant across the US As I mentioned, I know a woman who is buying more house than that and her income is technically below the poverty line. In addition, I work remote in tech and looking up the average salary in NYC, I'm making more and it's not close. Not everyone can do that and I understand that, but my point is that people around here don't feel as though house ownership is out of their power.
- bosie 3y ago
  House ownership statements are always with a location in mind. I want to walk or take public transport for 15-20 minutes to have most medical docs around, multiple different cuisines, park etc. What i do not care is a 2 car garage. That already implies a lifestyle i really do not want. So where wpuld i move to in the US?
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    Move to a less expensive neighborhood of a dense city? Looking at the northeast US, where cities are denser - Baltimore? Philadelphia?
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    here? if you don't want a 2 car garage then fine, move downtown. You can get _anywhere_ in this town in 20 minutes or less. We flat don't have the traffic that places like NYC does. rush hour might be a bit slower depending on where you go, but not appreciably slow. I feel like people who don't live in these areas have a lot of misconceptions.
    - bradlys 3y ago
      This might be an exceptional town, not sure what kind of place you're talking about, but most places don't have public transit or much in the way of walkability in the USA. He's talking of not using a car and doesn't want to drive at all.
      - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
        considering how infamously bad traffic is in NYC I find it difficult to believe that you can actually just not own a vehicle in NYC. who knows, maybe it's not really that bad and I'm ignorant here, it's possible. But my point is that if you don't own a car there's automatically a limited range of movement that you have. It might be better in NYC (it probably is), but we have areas like that too. We also have public transportation in the form of buses rather than subways and they stop a lot so it can take longer but you can get anywhere in this city via bus, including the suburbs. You can absolutely pick an area for its walkability and use the bus transport to move around the rest of the city. But to leave the city will require a vehicle or a greyhound.
        bradlys 3y ago
        > considering how infamously bad traffic is in NYC I find it difficult to believe that you can actually just not own a vehicle in NYC. > who knows, maybe it's not really that bad and I'm ignorant here, it's possible. You answered your own question.

the_gipsy 3y ago

People move to dense areas because that's where job opportunities are. It's a vicious cycle. For software devs tho, you are right. Just get a remote job.

pas 3y ago
people are extremely bad at coordinating/advocating for their interests, ie. to get more housing built. it's learned helplessness, and crazy memes (like conservation of neighborhood character)
- switch007 3y ago
  What examples of coordination do you have? That have resulted in eg 1,000-100,000 dwellings being built? Honestly confused what it is you’re suggesting
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    I read their post as meaning people will sit in the same HCOL area rather than make decisions for themselves that would improve their lives, such as moving to a LCOL area. And that they also won't organize to try and fix the issues with the housing in the HCOL area. I agree with the sentiment personally, it's why I always tell people to move. I was watching a youtube video earlier this week about a couple who did exactly that. They lived in portland oregan. they bought a rundown old trailer that no one wanted, put the elbow grease in to clean it up and rented out a space for it. They then realized that with their income it was going to take many more years than they wanted to become financially independent. So they moved out of state and w/i 2 years had paid off a 2 bedroom home (they had savings and sold the trailer) and were living in it and considered themselves financially independent (they no longer had to work to live). They talked about how their family shunned them when they moved away and they've learned not to talk to friends about it because it just causes friction. some people do it, it's just most won't.
- bosie 3y ago
  Denser housing only helps so much though. You need to increase street capacity, increase public transport, more doctors in the area etc. And yes, neighnorhood character is real.

TylerE 3y ago

Why would people pay hundred a month for complicated broadband internet? All you need is a modem and AOL. That’s basically your argument. Living in a LCOL area is not comparable to living in NYC. There is a reason millions want to live in NYC and almost no one actually wants to live in, say, Iowa.

deegles 3y ago
And it's a reason why "just build denser housing" is not a complete solution. More density makes an area more desirable, so prices will remain flat or in rare cases increase since the demand continues to outstrip supply. I believe the solution involves dramatically looser building regulations and major investment in public transit (essentially, get to Tokyo levels of density). Places like SF or NYC are in that uncanny valley of building just enough to keep demand high but not enough to drop prices.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Which regulations would you cut? Safety? Basic serivces like kitchen and bathroom? Light?
  - bhchance 3y ago
    Parking minimums.
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      I could support that, though maybe not in a place that's unavoidably car-dependant. As you probably know, parking eats up real estate and drives up prices.
  - satvikpendem 3y ago
    Zoning laws that discourage mixed use developments. One of the only cities in the US that works well with the more European style model of mixed use developments with apartments and businesses all next to or on top of each other is NYC.

TheBlight 3y ago

[flagged]

odessacubbage 3y ago
i just want to be able to live in the town i was born in.
- TheBlight 3y ago
  Apparently many other people now do too.
undersuit 3y ago
Why is their job in the ultra-hip trendy fashionable market not paying them enough?
_annum 3y ago
Not all industries are as location agnostic as tech. Cities offer jobs, clients, and collaborators that may be thinly distributed elsewhere.

cooper_ganglia 3y ago

I pay $500/month for a very similar setup, but mine is a 2 bed, 1 bath with a 1 car garage, lol. The corner lot, cop neighbor, and close fire department are all familiar though! Moving to a LCOL is always my recommendation as well.

machiaweliczny 3y ago
I rent single room for $500 in Poland. Seems like we’ve buble here.
- cooper_ganglia 3y ago
  Before moving into my house, I rented a 2 bedroom apartment in the same town for $700/month. Low interest rates during Covid meant I could get a 30-yr fixed mortgage at 2.25%, and the mortgage payments would end up being cheaper than my rent. Rural development grants introduced a few restrictions on what houses I could choose, but made it possible to buy a house in my 20s with no down payment at all. Seemed like a no-brainer!

BugsJustFindMe 3y ago

There's a reason why low cost of living areas are low cost of living, and it's not because they're self-sustaining futuristic arcologies. It's because people who can afford otherwise generally don't want to live there. I want to walk, not drive, out my front door, and be within 15 minutes, on foot, from entertainment and dining and friends and shopping and groceries and pharmacies and salons and cafes. And I want those things because I have social/communal living desires, not antisocial/isolated ones, and because I've lived in many different kinds of environments and seen just how much nicer it is to live in a walking city. The problem is that many walkable cities continue to refuse to build upwards. NYC, Philadelphia, Boston...they're all vastly 2-4 story construction from 100 years ago. Paris generally goes up to 7 or 8, but has restrictions preventing much more. So they get more and more expensive. But they only get more and more expensive because they continue to be more desirable places to live despite the expense.

ltbarcly3 3y ago
And presumably you can afford to out bid all the other people who want what you want. Its great that you are wealthy and/or able and willing to spend a very high fraction of your income on non essentials like walking to nice restaurants and being near cool people you want to be near. The problem is that people who can't afford that think it is a hate crime if they can't afford to live in Brooklyn with the rest of the hipsters.
- kredd 3y ago
  Your “non-essential” is someone else’s “essential”. Everyone has different needs and wants, and it’s just a useless flamewar. It’s the same as the discussion of whether the cities should stop subsidizing suburbs and other areas. Absolutely useless as everyone have their preferences and we have to find some sort of compromise.
  - ltbarcly3 3y ago
    > Your “non-essential” is someone else’s “essential”. I don't think this word means what you think it means.

whycome 3y ago

> my neighbor is a police officer What's the implication here? That you're extra safe? Or that it's a neighborhood that they would also choose?

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
both, the park regularly has kids playing in it from the neighborhood. Kids run up and down the streets not worrying about violence, etc.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Is the area dangerous enough that they would not be safe without the police officer neighbor? What if the officer isn't home or is sleeping?
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - TylerE 3y ago
      You’re the one playing bad faith word games and being incredibly rude and obnoxious.
      - wolverine876 3y ago
        It was really a genuine question. I was not attacking them; I think they offer a valuable perspective.
        PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
        oh yeah, they love me and my views so much! if only I weren't so terrible they could love me even more!
- 3y ago

drewcoo 3y ago

Police officers aren't exactly high income. I'd expect living next to a cop to be cheaper, not more expensive.

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
I just looked it up, police officers in this area will make 70k first year up to 100k or more depending on experience, etc. The point is that here, a 70k salary is easily good enough to buy a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Are there nicer houses in nicer neighborhoods? We have a lot of old money here, gated mansions with groundskeepers, and so forth. That wasn't my point.

wolverine876 3y ago

> When I see people complaining about never being able to purchase a house my response is always the same. move. People generally care where they live more than they care about the things you describe. Location is the most important factor for most people in real estate purchases - so much so, that it's a cliche. You are free to have your own preferences, and I'm glad it has worked out well for you. But let's not be incredulous that others have different priorities - that's the human interaction baseline.

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
then they should stop complaining about the result of their choices. what I'm incredulous about is the constant complaints followed by an obvious solution but no action towards it.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  That's not a solution for them, with their preferences and needs. You don't seem to grasp a fundamental issue: Your needs are not a universal truth; they are only yours (and whoever happens to share them). New Yorkers really have different preferences; they don't want what you want, any more than vice-versa. And while they make the best choice they can, they can still have problems with it - what in the world works out otherwise? Jobs? Elections? Anything?
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    for a multi-millionaire, living off of 500k is not a solution for them. no one gives a shit, seriously. This is the worlds tiniest violent playing for those who refuse to adjust to not having as much resources as they'd like to have. oh man, I'm so turrble, telling them they should probably live as if they're only half-millionaries. offly enough, reality doesn't give a shit.
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      I have no idea what you are talking about. You seem to be responding to a person or counterpoint you are thinking about, but I don't see here on HN. Anyway, have a good one!

tubignaaso 3y ago

It’s not always so easy to move. People form community. That’s hard to replicate. People have jobs. Those can’t necessarily move with them. People need connections. They tend to congregate near larger areas with high costs of living. It’s really a trade off between paying for what’s more valuable to you.

Beijinger 3y ago

$1,100 is considered "well below market rates" 1,1k gets you a room. If you are lucky.

notyourwork 3y ago

This is just naively and ignorantly ignoring supply and demand. If everyone moved to your LCOL area costs will rise. If ever leaves the city (HCOL), city living will decrease in cost. Not sure how your proposed solution works while also defying basic economics.

PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
stop making excuses, an individual can make an individual decision or they can bitch about their situation but refuse to explore their alternatives. "oh, but market forces so I'm just going to stay here and continue posting online about how horrible it is that I'll never be able to afford a house!". You do you I guess.
- notyourwork 3y ago
  I’m not making excuses. I’m highlighting what reality is. Big cities are big because of people population. Why are a lot of people there? Because of work, lifestyle preference or both. That’s not an excuse, that is reality. I don’t want to live in the middle of no where even if the entire mortgage is less then my 20% down payment for something closer to a big city. Economics speak for themselves. Stop pretending demand for a city is artificial.
  - PH95VuimJjqBqy 3y ago
    > I don’t want to live in the middle of no where even if the entire mortgage I think you should start visiting these areas before you say that. It takes me less than 5 minutes to get to 2 different grocery stores, a theater, a market dedicated to fish, a greek restaurant, a Mediterranean bar, a mexican restaurant (very good btw), Target supercenter, Lowes, various stores dedicated to clothes, one dedicated to hobbies (not hobby lobby), and more I could go on about. In 20 minutes I can be sitting on a dock by the side of the river enjoying the breeze and fishing. In 30 minutes I can be standing at an orchard purchasing peaches, in 45 minutes I can be standing at a lake enjoying the fishing there. In the summer we have a farmers market that's probably 10 minutes away and is amazing, they generally have someone there playing music live. Which, btw, this area is _known_ for (it's independent artists). It feels like too many people here imagine LCOL means living in the middle of fields with cows milling about. rural areas are even cheaper but what you're imagining and reality do not match. It may not ultimately be what you prefer, but to call it in the middle of nowhere is just vastly ignorant. I live in a city.

JBlue42 3y ago

I work at a 50,000 person company. The powers that be want everyone to be in the office at least 3 days a week. Those offices are in expensive major cities in the US. Some people 'make it work' by living an 1+ hr commute away from the offices. I'm sure this is rinse and repeat around the country for people that a) might like the work they're doing and b) have it dictated from above that they have to be close to a major metro area. Congrats on whatever opportunities you've made work for you but many people are tied to where they are due to onerous management, community, family etc. We are not the highly mobile society of even two decades ago and the false promises of mobile technology haven't truly been fulfilled. We got close during COVID but business interests and human nature got in the way of fulfilling what people on this forum have been touting for a decade or more with remote work.