Having a $300k/yr job means nothing if Rent is 250k/yr…there are PLENTY of jobs out there. Most places are minimum $15 any more. And with a median home price in the 250k-400k in the green areas, you can make it work. First time home buyers programs exist which will cough up the down payment for you in some instances.
I think you may be overestimating the average person’s financial capacity to uproot their lives and relocate themselves to somewhere more affordable. People who are already living paycheck to paycheck tend to struggle to save up enough money to cover the costs of moving down the street, let alone across the country.
Salaries aren’t matching the cost of living ANYWHERE.
And remote workers moving to cheaper areas prices out the locals. I wish ppl would stop acting like navigating the housing market is as simple as finding a parking spot. Chuckleheads
That chart is stupid. It’s comparing housing prices to the average income for the entire US. Income is higher in the red areas and lower in the green areas. It’s not the same in every county or state.
If you compare local housing prices to local pay you get a different map. A lot of those colors flip.
Another brilliant suggestion no one else thought of! Just leave my family, friends, significant other, home town, and employer to live cheaper in a Red State hellhole… It’s so easy!
I’m in one of those dark red areas and I’ve never seen anything costing 20k a month unless its a huge swanky house on giant piece of land. One like this, in the rich part of Palo Alto. Most I’ve seen are around 5-10k for a 5-bed, even in Atherton. Rent for a single-bed apartment is between 2-5k depending on the lavishness.
Pay range generally has followed housing cost within the region. Meaning an engineer may be able to make >200k in one of the higher cost areas, but then make 80k in one of the lower cost, all while doing the same work. The problem is more that house prices almost everywhere cost beyond what most people can afford. Moving to a completely different region also may work for some people that have more universal jobs or are WFH, but a lot of people in those expensive regions have specialized experience/education that are hard to find jobs for outside. So, an electronics engineer with a specialty in EVs and battery cell physics wouldn’t be of much use in Nebraska.
Let’s do some hypothetical scenarios. If you’re making $80k a year, your take home pay is roughly $5k a month. Spending $2k a month on rent leaves you with $3k for everything else. If you make $200k+, your take home pay is closer to $10k a month or more. If your rent is $4k a month, that leaves you with $6k for everything else that pretty much costs the same as the area where you’re only making $80k. Even at $6k/month for rent, you still have more money. Automatically, it’s better to take the higher paying job with the higher rent.
First time home buyers programs exist which will cough up the down payment for you in some instances.
We used to have incentives like this here in Flanders but they were axed completely over half a decade ago, with the promise that “it would make house prices fall”.
Fucking read the comments, are you dense? Why the fuck would I want to live in a place where my wife might be forced to carry a terminal pregnancy? Or somewhere lacking employment opportunities other than fucking Walmart? Jfc.
What’s actually entitled is thinking that people should just shut up and accept shit choices to preserve your property value (and commodified housing in general <.<) instead of building more goddamned dense housing and infrastructure.
“Suck it up” is one of the worst phrases invented. I’ve only ever seen it used to justify hierarchy, subjugation, abuses of power, and not changing things for the better. Its existence primarily serves the interests of those with power.
“I could move to Bumfuck Montana where the rent is cheaper, or I could stay here and take care of my elderly mother with dementia. Yep. Montana it is because I’m not an entitled child.”
Hint: Stop living in places like that.
I.E. Stop living in the red:
Having a $300k/yr job means nothing if Rent is 250k/yr…there are PLENTY of jobs out there. Most places are minimum $15 any more. And with a median home price in the 250k-400k in the green areas, you can make it work. First time home buyers programs exist which will cough up the down payment for you in some instances.
I think you may be overestimating the average person’s financial capacity to uproot their lives and relocate themselves to somewhere more affordable. People who are already living paycheck to paycheck tend to struggle to save up enough money to cover the costs of moving down the street, let alone across the country.
What about living in hickledickle fuck Oklahoma for 1/3 the salary though? Maybe you ain’t thoughta that.
Salaries aren’t matching the cost of living ANYWHERE.
And remote workers moving to cheaper areas prices out the locals. I wish ppl would stop acting like navigating the housing market is as simple as finding a parking spot. Chuckleheads
I wonder if it’s always been like this. That the economy traps many people in the place they were born essentially.
It used to be that most people were serfs or slaves and couldn’t go anywhere.
… Used to be…
The serfs are allowed to travel now.
That chart is stupid. It’s comparing housing prices to the average income for the entire US. Income is higher in the red areas and lower in the green areas. It’s not the same in every county or state.
If you compare local housing prices to local pay you get a different map. A lot of those colors flip.
Another brilliant suggestion no one else thought of! Just leave my family, friends, significant other, home town, and employer to live cheaper in a Red State hellhole… It’s so easy!
It’s a bit more to than just that.
I’m in one of those dark red areas and I’ve never seen anything costing 20k a month unless its a huge swanky house on giant piece of land. One like this, in the rich part of Palo Alto. Most I’ve seen are around 5-10k for a 5-bed, even in Atherton. Rent for a single-bed apartment is between 2-5k depending on the lavishness.
Pay range generally has followed housing cost within the region. Meaning an engineer may be able to make >200k in one of the higher cost areas, but then make 80k in one of the lower cost, all while doing the same work. The problem is more that house prices almost everywhere cost beyond what most people can afford. Moving to a completely different region also may work for some people that have more universal jobs or are WFH, but a lot of people in those expensive regions have specialized experience/education that are hard to find jobs for outside. So, an electronics engineer with a specialty in EVs and battery cell physics wouldn’t be of much use in Nebraska.
Let’s do some hypothetical scenarios. If you’re making $80k a year, your take home pay is roughly $5k a month. Spending $2k a month on rent leaves you with $3k for everything else. If you make $200k+, your take home pay is closer to $10k a month or more. If your rent is $4k a month, that leaves you with $6k for everything else that pretty much costs the same as the area where you’re only making $80k. Even at $6k/month for rent, you still have more money. Automatically, it’s better to take the higher paying job with the higher rent.
We used to have incentives like this here in Flanders but they were axed completely over half a decade ago, with the promise that “it would make house prices fall”.
Which of course never happened…
You’re correct, but these entitled children will downvote you and throw their mental gymnastics at you anyways.
Getting older is really showing me how stupid this generation is. Oh well, at least it’s easier for me to compete.
TIL wanting to afford living near family/friends means I’m entitled.
Take your pills, Grandpa.
Fucking read the comments, are you dense? Why the fuck would I want to live in a place where my wife might be forced to carry a terminal pregnancy? Or somewhere lacking employment opportunities other than fucking Walmart? Jfc.
It’s not about wants, it’s about needs.
If you can’t afford to live somewhere, you have to move somewhere else. Thinking otherwise is textbook entitlement.
If these places aren’t good enough for you, then you need to make more money to live somewhere else or do your part to make them better.
Thinking otherwise is textbook entitlement.
What’s actually entitled is thinking that people should just shut up and accept shit choices to preserve your property value (and commodified housing in general <.<) instead of building more goddamned dense housing and infrastructure.
“Suck it up” is one of the worst phrases invented. I’ve only ever seen it used to justify hierarchy, subjugation, abuses of power, and not changing things for the better. Its existence primarily serves the interests of those with power.
No, what’s entitled is thinking you deserve more before others who have less without being able to afford it yourself.
That’s textbook entitlement, lol.
“I could move to Bumfuck Montana where the rent is cheaper, or I could stay here and take care of my elderly mother with dementia. Yep. Montana it is because I’m not an entitled child.”
I don’t get it. If Bumfuck Montana isn’t good enough for you, then what about the people who are forced to live their because they can’t afford more?
Why should you get more before them? You already have more! Lol.