How do people in Los Angeles afford it? (mortgages, townhouse)

[Escort Rider]

Supply and demand is usually the biggest factor in how much something costs. So when we talk about the cost of housing in Los Angeles and in Detroit, it becomes a no-brainer. There are thousands of empty houses sitting there decaying in Detroit, so of course housing is going to be cheap. Who would want to live in Detroit anyway? Yes, the cost of living is high in Los Angeles, and a lot of it is housing. But that, too, is a no-brainer: Lots of people want to live here.

[yoyoma02]

I am probably one of the young ones who “scrape by’ – meaning I make about $32k a year. But, I live a pretty simple lifestyle and I am still able to afford rent (with roommates), save for retirement, spend about $12 on food every day, and enjoy nightlife on the weekends. It’s all about budgeting – LA is expensive, but it’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by LABornandRaised

I happen to know a handful of below poverty folks and quite simply, they cram as many people into a home as possible to reduce the rent for each person. It's the sad truth that they will do whatever it takes to stay in LA. They will forgo some meals everyday just to make sure they pay rent.

i am wondering why you consider this a sad truth- it is the way that many, many, many now-successful people have made it in whatever industry they are in, and people like those who are willing to go the extra mile are always going to be the ones who survive and eventually prosper. whether they are illegal immigrants or young hepsters playing on the boardwalk (or both) tenacity is a necessary component to experiencing poverty with GRACE- and also rising above it and becoming successful. madonna used to go through garbage cans and find leftover french fries outside mcdonalds. many now famous actors used to sleep in their cars. i myself have been homeless and know loads of young hopefuls who slept in their cars- under bridges- i only consider it sad when people become STUCK in that situation because of addiction or mental illness. i think you really aren't worth much as a person unless you have at least ONE day in your life when you don't know where you will sleep that night, or where your next meal is coming from. the person who "sadly" lived with four people in a living room splitting a bowl of Ramen is gonna enjoy his success so much more deeply than a spoon-fed princess. poverty doesn't equal pity. save the sadness for those on skid row, not those with four cents and a dream, so to speak.

[John23]

Originally Posted by Troof

To the topic starter... IMHO (and from conversations with many), it's a matter of a LOT of people being disconnected from reality. And by "disconnected", I'm referring to their pocketbooks being disconnected from the style of life they think they are expected to live.

You've got people who have become accustomed to thinking its the norm to allocate 60-70% of their net income on housing. It's twisted. Living up to their eyeballs in debt to keep up with everyone else. In their mid to late 30's with no fluid cash savings accumulated, and don't even think about any type of retirement accounts.

Probably in for the shock of their lives in 20 years when they realize they'll have to work until they die. Or maybe they'll get the last laugh and we'll all be on welfare by then... seems we're headed that way at the moment anyhow. Half tempted myself to start burning through my savings and join the hedonistic party...

LA is very odd in that regard. Whenever I travel, I notice how odd and disconnected so many people are in LA with "reality". Travel to the midwest or east coast, and people there live in "reality". They get up everyday. They do their routine. They spend pretty much what they have. Repeat. They don't live so disconnected for 20 or 30 years.

Maybe its the sunshine and weather. People can stay indoors so long. They get completely disconnected with reality. Also LA's schools disconnect people from reality. Plus hollywood and the entertainment industry. Plus there's this self help factor. Oprah, "The Secret". Just keep watching Oprah, keep "thinking positive". Think positive enough and you won't need cash savings!

It's odd. People in lother parts of the country live normally. They don't spend 70% of their budget on housing. People here almost operate on another plane.

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by John23

LA is very odd in that regard. Whenever I travel, I notice how odd and disconnected so many people are in LA with "reality". Travel to the midwest or east coast, and people there live in "reality". They get up everyday. They do their routine. They spend pretty much what they have. Repeat. They don't live so disconnected for 20 or 30 years.

Maybe its the sunshine and weather. People can stay indoors so long. They get completely disconnected with reality. Also LA's schools disconnect people from reality. Plus hollywood and the entertainment industry. Plus there's this self help factor. Oprah, "The Secret". Just keep watching Oprah, keep "thinking positive". Think positive enough and you won't need cash savings!

It's odd. People in lother parts of the country live normally. They don't spend 70% of their budget on housing. People here almost operate on another plane.

I really disagree with this. Saying that reality is more "real" on the East Coast is a bit weird to me. I think people have more a sense of the possibilities in the West, but I would not equate that with disconnection. I think reality in a place like Los Angeles is just as much "in your face" as it would be in any urban area. Los Angeles does have a surreality about it- as any place that had been so mythologized and filmed naturally would. Is LA a somewhat freaky place? Sure. But i don't believe our reality is any more disconnected than any other American. I think we simply have alot MORE of it, and alot more choices than you would have in a place like Atlanta. In fact, I would say that Atlanta and its suburbs are far, far FAR more likely to be behind gates and shoved into subdivisions than Los Angeles. Go up into the Hollywood Hills. Yeah, there are plenty of gated homes, but few gated communities- and there are EXTREMELY nice homes in places like Nichols Canyon that are a few feet from the roadside that in a place like Atlanta, would be behind gates. Property is all chock-a-block here, mixed up. You can have apartment buildings right next to multimillion dollar homes. In other cities it seems much more segregated.

One could even argue that America as a whole lives vicariously through television and media and determine their so-called "reality" on that basis. If you want reality, go to Mexico. Go to Colombia. Don't try and tell me that the East is more "real" than we are. Grimmer? Gloomier? Less positive? Yes. Absolutely. Do the self-styled gurus and "Secret" obsessives get on my nerves at times? Yup. Would I rather sit next to one of those guys on the bus or a doomsayer? The former, every time.

[Ceece]

i think you really aren't worth much as a person unless you have at least ONE day in your life when you don't know where you will sleep that night, or where your next meal is coming from.

oh geeze..
I guess that makes me worthless. I always plan ahead.

[nighthouse66]

Originally Posted by Ceece

oh geeze..
I guess that makes me worthless. I always plan ahead.

perhaps i over-exaggerate, but in the context of the above quote i was trying to illustrate that if you are trying for a dream and don't have a nickel at times, it doesn't mean one should necessarily look at it as a sad situation. again, unless you are addicted or mentally ill, and even then one could argue (outside of the context of this thread, naturally) that it doesn't have to be a tragedy that defines one's life, but something that can serve you well by building tenacity and character.

[Lmasters]

They don't pay taxes..........

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by Ceece

oh geeze..
I guess that makes me worthless. I always plan ahead.

I'm glad someone else said it.

Who would want to be VOLUNTARILY homeless on purpose? Sounds ridiculous, but hey, that's LA.

[marilyn220]

Originally Posted by nighthouse66

perhaps i over-exaggerate, but in the context of the above quote i was trying to illustrate that if you are trying for a dream and don't have a nickel at times, it doesn't mean one should necessarily look at it as a sad situation. again, unless you are addicted or mentally ill, and even then one could argue (outside of the context of this thread, naturally) that it doesn't have to be a tragedy that defines one's life, but something that can serve you well by building tenacity and character.

I disagree with you. Allowing yourself to be homeless on purpose is stupid and always will be. I don't care what "dream" your chasing, it's DUMB.

At least the mentally ill, drug addicted and teenage runaways have an excuse for why they're on the streets, but a "normal" grown adult who doesn't plan ahead when they see themselves heading for this eventuality is "disconnected" from reality.

If you're going to make yourself homeless on purpose, I hope there is a "plan" for the "next step" (if there is one).