@3puppies, I didn’t read massmomm’s post the way you describe, but she did say bad financial decisions. You’re right. Your post is excellent. Great highlight from the Grapes of Wrath. Good luck to you.
I don’t much buy the thought that people have the right to live in the communities they work in at someone else’s expense. They are trying to do that stuff in Seattle, and it’s ridiculous. There are towns closer to some jobs in Seattle that are closer than areas of Seattle itself. Just because you work in an expensive area shouldn’t mean you’re entirled to live there if you can’t afford it. People change jobs all the time, nothing is permanent. We have buses, great transportation, and most people don’t walk to their jobs from their homes anywhere around here.
Many of these people live in multi-generational situations, with their parents or in-laws in HI. Yes, it is partly Asian culture but also partly because that’s the only way they can pay the bills with such high expenses and low wages. Some commute great distances or live with multiple room mates. Every time there is a fire on Oahu, it amazes me to see how many people are displaced–sometimes 17 people for ONE small home!
My relative lives with her H, S and MIL in a tiny home because it’s so much cheaper that way than getting their own place. She works full time in a clerical position and her H is a former principal and now helps the school district with special ed matters. Her inlaws live with the SisIL’s folks to save money. The H is an attorney and the W is a state white collar employee at the flagship U.
When people find a decent place for low rent, they stay and stay because they can’t afford to move. We have tenants who have remained for decades because they can’t find such reasonable rent anywhere nearby for such low rates and we rarely raise the rents.
@3puppies, I don’t need to be schooled in compassion for people who are struggling. I know many people, including some in my own family, who are in situations not of their own making. And I have lived long enough to know how fleeting wealth is and what an idiot I’d have to be to put my trust in it. But it is also true that many people are not financially literate enough to know how to manage their resources and end up in situations like Gabler’s.
@Pizzagirl, look for the 20 minute video called “Million Dollar Shack” about the housing crisis in the Bay Area. People in the service economy (as well as many teachers and lawyers) rent crappy houses very far from their work because they can’t buy anything. I grew up near there and would never move back. It’s just not worth it.
@busdriver11, has Seattle built a lot of new housing? Are the vast majority of people renters in Seattle? Any idea?
So what makes SF worth it? Why isn’t there a mass exodus? I mean, I like SF plenty as a city but get real - it’s not nirvana.
@busdriver11 The area I live in isn’t served by buses or local transport. It’s not really suburban and not really rural. I’m totally ok with providing options for those who service my community to be able to live here - teachers, EMTs, firemen, etc. Obviously the developers don’t mind. They are still making a profit otherwise they’d pass on the project, right?
@Himom, aren’t there fire code regulations that limit the amount of residents allowed in a dwelling?
I’m not sure, dstark. Seattle encompasses a huge area, many people. A lot of homeowners, but many multi-family units being rented. There had been a lot of building lately, prices going up quite a bit. However there are easy commutes that aren’t too far, that are so much cheaper. Seattle is also very highly taxed, driving the costs up further.
@busdriver11, I read that Seatlle has more new housing than SF so I was wondering if the new housing was noticeable. Is there any talk about rent control in Seattle?
“@busdriver11 The area I live in isn’t served by buses or local transport. It’s not really suburban and not really rural. I’m totally ok with providing options for those who service my community to be able to live here - teachers, EMTs, firemen, etc. Obviously the developers don’t mind. They are still making a profit otherwise they’d pass on the project, right?”
It may make sense for certain areas, definitely not ours. However, I think some places they want the taxpayers to subsidize, not the developers. And how do they decide who gets to live there? What if they change jobs?
I generally don’t like rent control, but I can see a case for a one-time, one-year limited increase to give people time to make other arrangements.
PG - There is a crisis in SF with no one except the very affluent being able to afford new housing, and I don’t think the full effects have been felt yet. From my experience, most of the under-average wage earners I know have been here a while, and have bought or rented places that would not be affordable today. I live in a neighborhood in SF where most people are still of modest means, some are middle-class like myself, and just now very rich people are buying in. There are still teachers, and clerks who have been here a while. But the florist and the blind couple across the street had to leave SF when their houses were sold. I’m afraid that as the current residents age, and more houses sell, there won’t be teachers, clerks, florists…, and it won’t work, and yes, many people will leave. i guess it’s the circle of life in the city.
Some other people - like most of the secretaries at work, and medical receptionists I know- commute more than an hour from more affordable suburbs. I actually pay on my property tax a special line item just for teacher housing - in order to try to make it more affordable. I think that’s a bit unfair, since many are much worse off than teachers, and many people paying this tax can’t really afford to live here anymore. It kills me because I moved here from NY largely because it was affordable. I wanted my kids to be able to stay, but they may not be able to.
Boston has a program for affordable housing. It’s done by lottery. There are limits on income and assets. My S gets daily listings and thought about putting in an app on a great studio for $265k. Then he saw he needed to complete a 17 page application by the next day and that was the end of that. Plus, he’s only 22 and so no need to be in rush.
RE @garland #598
I am not trying to conflate my situation with NG - and I am actually getting defensive about posts like @Massmomm when I feel that they are accepting of NG’s attempt to conflate his situation with mine.
You kindly recognize that the article should have been written about families like mine instead of the author’s. I am grateful for those that are sympathetic and supportive of my story. But why is it that some will say they are sympathetic of me and my family but not the millions of other American families with different stories? Because I wrote down that I am trying to do the best with what I have been dealt? Is it far easier to believe that the problems of others are purely a result of their own bad choices, because if so, we are relieved of the burden to actually go do something about it.
Is it easier to think that the person in the line at the soup kitchen is just a drunk or a drug addict, that they have wasted their opportunities and are getting what they deserve? If we think that, as a society, we can more easily rationalize that we really don’t have to do anything about it.
For those that have made bad choices, and I accept that there are plenty of them, the underlying issue to me boils down to whether or not the cost of making a bad decision or having a run of bad luck is fair or not. Is the cost of getting stuck with two mortgages worth a lifetime of ruined credit? Is the cost of a being teenage drug experimenter worth a lifetime of limited job opportunities? Is the cost of not getting a college education worth a lifetime of living near poverty? Is the cost of a single teenage girl having a baby worth a lifetime near poverty? Is the cost of one person having a medical condition worth the restrictions on a family’s lifestyle for generations?
There are real problems in this country. To me, far too many people are working far below a living wage. If we accept the reasoning that so many of these jobs are not worth a living wage, it must be because we as a society are too greedy. We want low prices, so we can consume more and more. We have accepted the big corporations telling us that corporate profits are more important than corporate citizenship.
As a have-not, it is easy for me to say the haves are the problem. Just like the haves wish to blame the problem on the have-nots.
The only solution can be found when there is a better understanding of the complexity of the problems, with everyone getting a voice at the table. But since too many are working too hard for too little, it seems more likely that only the privileged get a meaningful voice, while the marginalized get dismissed.
@3puppies, that’s another great post.
@massmomm, I watched the video. Thanks for mentioning it. I don’t know what is going to happen here. I do think the realtor is kind of a xx. Just work harder and you too can pay $1,000 to $5,000 a sq ft. for a house. (Ok. Those are my words).
The bay area is not cheap anywhere but Silicon Valley and SF are the most expensive. I think you can get a place in Daly City or South San Francisco for $700 to $850 a sq ft.
In Marin County…Novato is closer to $400 a sq ft…San Rafael is $600 to $700 a sq ft. Commutable to SF but not Silicon Valley.
Rent control in SF is helping a lot of middle class people. My friend owns an apartment builiding a block or two from the real nice area of Pacfic Heights. Vacancies for a 1 bedroom are about $4,000 a month. However, in the same building, there is a person living in a rent control apartment paying $1,000 a month. Landlords occassionally pay tenants in rent control apartments to move so they can raise the rent.
I find this interesting…I am trying to get my head around this…
Somebody works hard his or her whole life, and never gets anywhere financially.
Somebody buys a nothing house in Cupertino 40 years ago …and now they may be rich.
And people don’t believe in luck. 
“So what makes SF worth it? Why isn’t there a mass exodus? I mean, I like SF plenty as a city but get real - it’s not nirvana.”
What??? If SF ain’t nirvana, what is? 
I really, truly love that area.
“@busdriver11, I read that Seatlle has more new housing than SF so I was wondering if the new housing was noticeable. Is there any talk about rent control in Seattle?”
Well, they’ve always been building in Seattle since I’ve been here, but the area is kind of limited to build in. I’ve noticed a number of new apartments and condos going up. What was the joke I’d heard…building in Seattle is limited by three things. Water, mountains, and liberals (who want to keep their green spaces). So I want to keep the green spaces, too.
There has been some muttering from our idiot mayor about rent control in certain apartment buildings, but I don’t know that it will get much traction. It’s less of trying to do something than actually pretend that you’re trying to take care of a problem.
One of our friends said their son lives in a rent control apartment in SF and pays something like 1000. It was quite surprising based on all the stories about google employees having to rent airbnb tents to live in.