Why are the rents so high when wages don't support it?

[Leisesturm]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

Perhaps - What are we to do about that reality. Give away the farm because someone didn't get all the breaks someone else did?? That reality will NEVER go away despite all the Socialism naive Portlanders want to bring into existence.

Crackheads will still be here, homeless will still be here, People will still be making bad decisions and choices - except now all of us will be poorer but for the elite leadership.

No thanks. Keep your gov't solutions. The more gov't gets involved, the crappier life gets. Its a fact.
Can anyone name one thing city of Portland gov't has made "better"?

I can't be sure but is your post an example of a strawman argument? I'm not asking you. I expect you to cleave to the Conservative POV. Do you really believe we HAVE to have underperforming schools and homeless? Do you really believe that yourself and other middle and upper middle class Americans have to do all the heavy lifting of providing a reasonable standard of living for all Americans? Have you heard of the 'Alternative Minimum Tax'?

The martyrdom is not attractive. The crap life you are living is not the fault of gov't involvement in our lives. It is because the gov't, starved for revenue, uses most of it to line the pockets of the already quite wealthy and everyone gets what's left. Don't blame gov't. Blame Income and Wealth Inequality.

As distasteful as that is, if we do not help the crackheads, they will take us down with them. Things will get much better for all of us when, or if, we understand that. And not until then. America is unique on the planet in that the conflicts that are inevitable between populations with different physical and ideological instrinsics are man-made. They cannot be undone. They cannot be wished away or hidden from.

[PNW-type-gal]

Please discuss the topic at hand and avoid personal comments. You can disagree on principle and still be polite. Also generalized political comments ("all liberals this", "all conservatives that") belong in the Politics and Other Controversies forum, not the state forums.

[VintageGurl]

Originally Posted by xz2y

Living here in Michigan for the last 30 years, I can tell you definitively, that unless you are willing to live in Detroit or Flint, or some other less than desirable city (long list), the real estate isn't cheap here. Neither is rent. It's absurd how some places are raising rent in small cities in Michigan to the same levels as downtown Portland. And homes in some of these small cities that are kinda dumpy sell for 400k plus, totally not worth it. I have news for the mayors of those cities: There's nothing in Michigan that resembles Oregon, and exorbitant rent doesn't equal great downtown transit, being a couple hours from the coast, or the Columbia River Gorge.

"Less than desirable" is in the eyes of the beholder. I actually found some lovely smaller towns with cheaper rent and houses for sale that wasn't Detroit nor Flint. Sometimes an outsider can have different resources for researching a state, as well as a different perspective.
I don't like Portland, also don't live there, but in a Mini Portland that is about as expensive, and what I need for a good quality of life is different than for many, though I am sure I am not alone in my list. I consider Portland to be less than desirable, honestly, some is objective and some is personal opinion.
It is true though that housing is going up ridiculously in way too many cities.

[VintageGurl]

Originally Posted by ccjarider

The economy is doing pretty well all over. I would argue better than Oregon. Midwest is doing very well. I have people there who cannot hire. There are few qualified candidates for many good paying jobs. These jobs pay as well as here and COL is cheaper (Mostly due to housing). I ran several Depts. in the mid west (WI, IL and MN) The companies paid as well and in some cases better, than here.

I also note that when looking at Fidelity retirement acct. statistics. Midwest accts. on average, hold a lot more $ than accts. based in PNW. That tells me that people can save more in midwest.

I never heard so much about "life struggle" in the mid west, like I hear here. I do not understand struggling in one area when so many options exist for people. Some folks maybe need to consider doing the Oregon trail in reverse.

ccjarider, good point.
That is really interesting about the accounts, too.

Mmm, yes, I agree. I don't think "mountains, oceans and trees" are worth struggling for if you can't even access them often due to the struggle or other barriers. It may be worth it for a few but it's not for me and there are all of those elsewhere, too.

Right now I'm paying so much in rent, it would pay the mortgage and bills on a decent house in some of the states I listed, plus it'd have a porch so I can be outside instead of being in a big apartment complex renting just a room without even a balcony.

Repairing credit and health problems prevented me from moving this year and buying a house but I hope next spring/summer to move out of Oregon, unless I somehow get into one of the rare decent housing set-ups. I'm not even sure I'd want to stay for that, as the messed up housing situation affects so much of the culture here.

[pdxMIKEpdx]

I don't think "mountains, oceans and trees" are worth struggling for

For some it's worth the struggles.
For others, not so much.

You have to figure out for yourself what living in Portland, Oregon will do for you, other than giving you a cool address.

Living in Portland is not considered the pinnacle of success.

If you are young and just starting out, there are PLENTY of places in Oregon that are NOT Portland, and are much better places to live, whatever your life goals are.



You just got to figure out what it is exactly you want.

[VintageGurl]

Originally Posted by pdxMIKEpdx

For some it's worth the struggles.
For others, not so much.

You have to figure out for yourself what living in Portland, Oregon will do for you, other than giving you a cool address.

Living in Portland is not considered the pinnacle of success.

If you are young and just starting out, there are PLENTY of places in Oregon that are NOT Portland, and are much better places to live, whatever your life goals are.



You just got to figure out what it is exactly you want.

Not sure if you are referring to me or just people in general, haha.

[SyraBrian]

The BEA stated that for the second quarter of 2019, Oregon ranked 7th of all states with an annualized personal income growth of 6.2%.

Income growth may actually support the rent increases.

[PNW-type-gal]

Originally Posted by SyraBrian

The BEA stated that for the second quarter of 2019, Oregon ranked 7th of all states with an annualized personal income growth of 6.2%.

Income growth may actually support the rent increases.

I saw that report from the Oregon office (OEA) but it is slightly misleading - we've finally caught up to most of the rest of the country in income growth, we'd been lagging since the 'recovery" started. Oregon's economy tends to hit a reversal the same time as most other states, but we are much slower, especially outside the Portland metro area, to recover.

Edited to add a link: https://oregoneconomicanalysis.com/2...income-growth/

[ccjarider]

Originally Posted by Leisesturm

I can't be sure but is your post an example of a strawman argument? I'm not asking you. I expect you to cleave to the Conservative POV. Do you really believe we HAVE to have underperforming schools and homeless? Do you really believe that yourself and other middle and upper middle class Americans have to do all the heavy lifting of providing a reasonable standard of living for all Americans? Have you heard of the 'Alternative Minimum Tax'?

The martyrdom is not attractive. The crap life you are living is not the fault of gov't involvement in our lives. It is because the gov't, starved for revenue, uses most of it to line the pockets of the already quite wealthy and everyone gets what's left. Don't blame gov't. Blame Income and Wealth Inequality.

As distasteful as that is, if we do not help the crackheads, they will take us down with them. Things will get much better for all of us when, or if, we understand that. And not until then. America is unique on the planet in that the conflicts that are inevitable between populations with different physical and ideological instrinsics are man-made. They cannot be undone. They cannot be wished away or hidden from.

Note: I will try and adhere to guidelines from PNW Gal.

You did not name one thing city of Portland gov't has improved in terms of QOL. Can you think of any?

With regards to the topic (rent).
I believe there is plenty of data showing the uber busybody and incompetent City of Portland gov't drives rent INCREASES, not decreases.

Fees
Rules,
Limitations
Type of apartments
rent controls
on and on and on.

One needs to ensure a premium to compensate for additional work/cost in order to invest in such a wacky environ. Ultimatley the renter will pay this premium due to lack of inventory and higher cost.