Subj : Re: New to this
To   : Dmxrob
From : boraxman
Date : Sat Apr 19 2025 11:53 am

On 18 Apr 2025 at 01:11p, Dmxrob pondered and said...
 
 Dm> BY: boraxman (21:1/101)
 Dm> On Friday,April 18, 2025 at 04:02 PM, Boraxman (21:1/101) wrote:
 Dm> 
 Dm> 
 Dm> b> 
 Dm> b> That doesn't cut it anymore.  Most people could not buy a house. Period
 Dm> b>  The prices are so out of kilter for most, its not worth scrimping and
 Dm> b> saving because unless they choose not to eat and not to pay tax, housin
 Dm> b> is not an option.
 Dm> b> 
 Dm> 
 Dm> It's the same in the US.  I feel fortunate we own our home, but we are
 Dm> in our early 50s now.  Young kids nowadays, 20s, 30s - they have next to
 Dm> no hope of owning a house.
 Dm> 
 Dm> Where I am, St. Louis, Missouri, houses can START at 350k - and anything
 Dm> below that is a dump. You want something decent be prepared to shell out
 Dm> at least 400-500k.  That is absolute ridiulousness and nobody can afford
 Dm> that.  Rents are no different.  Rental prices are $1800+ a month - on
 Dm> places that I very well remember used to be $250 a month.
 Dm> 
 Dm> Telling young people to just "watch their finances" and such isn't the
 Dm> solution.  I know plenty of young folks who work and sleep, spend next to
 Dm> nothing on outside activities, and are still scrimping.  How many jobs
 Dm> should they get to afford to eat and keep the rain off their heads?
 Dm> 
 Dm> It's a huge crisis and the orange felon we elected President isn't doing
 Dm> anything but making it worse.
 Dm> 
My mum is a Boomer, and she said people can just "Scrimp and Save" like she did.  I asked her how long it took to pay off the mortgage.  We grew up in a decent suburb.  The house wasn't a palace, but decent enough standard middle class suburban house, not too far from everything.  She responded "5 years".

Keep in mind that neither of my parents finished school, so they weren't professionals on high salary, nor did they pick up skills.  Just entry level jobs.  Five years...  She said she had help.  Even then...  Keep in mind, she had me when she was 22, and must have paid the house off before turning 30.  Imagine being able to pay off a house, near good jobs, in your 20s, while supporting 2-3 children.

I did the math, and compared MY salary with the price of the house that sold across the road from her.  I'm a working professional, a Manager, and if I put 100% of my salary, 100% of it, I'd pay it off on 10.  She would have had no hope at all buying a house today, with the kind of work she and my dad did.  I did the math in front of her, and well, I'm not sure the penny sunk...

The problem is that many just don't understand how things have changed.  Its a completely different.  The bigger issue is that people are putting off having children, which is having a detrimental demographic impact.  This is quite serious

Anyway, I've ranted enough.  I just think this issue is even bigger than most people think it is.

--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A48 (Linux/64)
 * Origin: Agency BBS | Dunedin, New Zealand | agency.bbs.nz (21:1/101)

.