[wanderintonc]

Originally Posted by JViello

BULLSH*T

You CAN rent a 3 bdrm place for $500.00 a month. Not in the best neighborhood, but you can. .

Show me where. That does not exist here (excluding, perhaps, family favors-and public housing, which often has long wait lists). You are simply wrong. Even $1500 isn't so much-my rent on my 3 bedroom just soared WAY past that!!!

It's expensive to rent or buy here. Where do you think people who don't make much, live? Where does the daycare worker, janitor, maintenance guy, cashier, landscaper, ect...live??? I know I rely on people like this to live my daily life. Should they not have a place to live?

I agree taxes are way too high here. But, where are working-class people supposed to live in the meanwhile? I am blessed to make good money, and I struggle with housing. Imagine making half of my income-I don't know what I'd do.

People on section 8 pay something like 30-33% of their gross income in rent-section 8 pays the difference. For some, it may be just a couple hundred dollars difference to market rate-but that money is gas, heat and food.

[KH02]

Criagslist currently has TONS of 3 bedrooms listings for anywhere from 650 - 900 a months in Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Norwich...and on and on. Many of which WILL probably take section 8.

A 3 bedroom for 1500+ will get you more sq footage and nicer updates in the house, but those aren't necessities.

[TiZZ]

This is ridiculous. Can a single discussion about low-income families go by on this board without somebody poor-bashing??

[TiZZ]

this person is looking for advice, not judgement. The world has enough *******s for that job.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by KH02

Criagslist currently has TONS of 3 bedrooms listings for anywhere from 650 - 900 a months in Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Norwich...and on and on. Many of which WILL probably take section 8.

A 3 bedroom for 1500+ will get you more sq footage and nicer updates in the house, but those aren't necessities.

$900 per month is nearly double the amount that JVIELLO specified. Having been in real estate for 5 years now, I can't think of a place where a 3-bedroom rental for $500/month exists or existed. I did see a one-bedroom basement apartment in Waterbury for $500 back in 2004. It was beyond description...

There are always two sides to this debate. A few years ago, a woman stopped by the office, in tears, looking for a place for herself and her two teenagers. Apparently, her husband of over 15 years met someone online, cleared out the bank account, and took off. The family property was scheduled for foreclosure, and she was desperate.

This situation is different from the 19-year-old with three children, no job, and no education, with a fourth on the way...

[wanderintonc]

Originally Posted by KH02

Criagslist currently has TONS of 3 bedrooms listings for anywhere from 650 - 900 a months in Hartford, New Britain, Bristol, Norwich...and on and on. Many of which WILL probably take section 8.

A 3 bedroom for 1500+ will get you more sq footage and nicer updates in the house, but those aren't necessities.

I just now looked at Craigslist-I did not see ANY three bedrooms for under 900, and most were well past 1200-closer to what I used in my personal example. I don't know where you're looking. I was looking in the Hartford section of Craigslist.

[old biddie]

When it comes to rentals, by housing law, everyone should accept section 8 as a viable form of income. If a landlord refuses housing because of section 8, you can sue. This is the law in Connecticut. Connecticut is more protective of the lesee than the lessor.
Connecticut may appear to be a snobish state, but it really has a lot of support for those who need it. If you are in need of medical look into the HUSKY medical program.
I know this will **** of Grazio del whatever... and I do understand and agree with the things he is saying, but I think it is dangerous to generalize when it comes to these issues...

[KH02]

classifieds - craigslist
here.
Put 3 bedrooms and 900 as the max price..a bunch came up

[Lincolnian]

There are several rents available here in Bristol in the $500 to $750 range. Madison, Branford, and Guilford are relatively upscale communities. Many people making a combined $100k salary would choose less expensive communities because of the comparatively higher costs of living there.

My wife and I considered moving to neighboring towns of Farmington and Avon or Simsbury but did not feel that the added cost of living there would outweigh our ability to have one of us stay home and work part-time to be more involved with our children.
We also find that Bristol requires a lot less driving around as most things are relatively close by.

We have a large number of Section 8 residents here but they are paying very low rents since they are working off of a smaller base rent. Our low base rents and numerous social services are stretching our city's resources very thin, especially in education because many of the children of those in the Section 8 rents are being raised by single mothers who are did not graduate from high school. These families are in constant transition and many new adults are filtering in and out of the household. Their children have a host of problems associated with learning gaps, lack of family role models, and low value of education.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by wanderintonc

It's expensive to rent or buy here. Where do you think people who don't make much, live? Where does the daycare worker, janitor, maintenance guy, cashier, landscaper, ect...live??? I know I rely on people like this to live my daily life. Should they not have a place to live?

EXCUSE ME sir but what do you think I do for a living? What do you think my wife does for a living? I'll give you a hint...they are both in your list of "lowly's.”

What do YOU do for a living that puts you in a place to "downgrade" those in that list to "poor working class"?

Liberal elitism as it's best right there. "Lets help the poor mindless janitor/daycare worker/maintenance guy etc. Perhaps he was disadvantaged as a child or just not as smart as the rest of us to make it."

I actually left a corner office on the 58th floor of the Bank of America building in Charlotte and pursued what I do now. To me working in the big corporate machine was a bit mind numbing and penguin like.

Originally Posted by wanderintonc

I agree taxes are way too high here. But, where are working-class people supposed to live in the meanwhile? I am blessed to make good money, and I struggle with housing. Imagine making half of my income-I don't know what I'd do.

Not all of us need a 3000sf home, two new SUV's, a BMW in the garage, dinner out 2-3 times a week etc. Need and WANT are so confused these days, but I digress...

BUT to answer your question...WE live where we have to while we get ahead and make the adjustments we have too also. I've already told you my story. I too am "blessed" to make good money now. I worked my tail off to get here. I started off making about $300 a week back in 1999 as it was all I could afford to pay myself.

My wife spent several years in night school at Central to get her degree and now RUNS one of those daycare centers she used to work at as a director.

That's how. It's America and the American dream. Hard work, determination and responsible decisions get you ahead. NOT a handout so you can live more comfortable because you deserve it.

People on section 8 pay something like 30-33% of their gross income in rent-section 8 pays the difference. For some, it may be just a couple hundred dollars difference to market rate-but that money is gas, heat and food.

You are so clueless with section 8 it's not even funny. Let me share a real world example. My “brother” (remarried) lives right down the road and owns a very nice two family home in a nice section of town. His "step daughter" - single parent with a young boy lives in the apartment downstairs. Long story short, he married into a section 8 deal in that home.

$1000.00 rent for the apartment with a check for $750.00 coming in every month. When I asked him what his oil bill looks like this year he said "Oh I don't know ‘D’ (step daughter) gets it filled (shared tank) by the state."

He was visibly upset so I pressed and we talked some more. "D" has digital cable with all the channels, high speed internet service, big cellular plan with Vcast etc, new Accord (Okay 1.5 years old), is always shopping for clothes etc and spending money like water. My brother drives for Fowler in Hartford and makes a decent wage. D lives with more luxuries than my brother does. No really, she does.

She has NO intention of furthering her life. If you ask her about saving, school etc she says "whatever, I don't care". She works one of those “menial jobs” and makes about $500.00 a week and blows every bit of it on "stuff" while the state picks up the tab for healthcare, heating assistance, utility assistance, daycare assistance, $750.00 of a $1000.00 rent, food and more. Why WOULD she care? That is a real world example that lives 1 mile down the road from me.

You can't cry that your taxes are too high and then say give the house away.

Socialism has never worked. Never. Find a prosperous nation in the last few hundred years that has tried it and prospered well. The greatest nations on this earth are free enterprise markets. We in CT better wake up or it's going to be a MESS. The longer it takes the worse it will be to correct.