Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 11-03-2014, 12:51 PM
 
Location: Syracuse, New York
3,121 posts, read 3,086,577 times
Reputation: 2311

Advertisements

Nobody ever talks about Williston, North Dakota. It's a very conservative town with outrageous housing costs.

As far as the PDX goes, the cost of living to wages ratio isn't as good as Greater Houston's, but last year's PDX median household income increase was 2.7% to Greater Houston's 1.4%, so there may be a little gold at the end of the rainbow.

Last edited by SyraBrian; 11-03-2014 at 01:26 PM..
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 11-03-2014, 01:49 PM
 
1,710 posts, read 1,458,263 times
Reputation: 2205
So you mean placing higher taxes on everything possible, forcing burger flippers to be paid $15/hr, increases the cost of living making it more difficult for the common middle class person to survive? huh.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-03-2014, 02:07 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
111 posts, read 171,297 times
Reputation: 151
Quote:
Originally Posted by Squidlo View Post
I think in order to realize your dream you need to see what is stopping you now. If the be all end all of your existence is to live in Portland, then struggle on brother. I do love my home town. I still visit my friends and family. I hit all the spots I liked when I was a resident. I just enjoy the rest of my life elsewhere.
I think you're right. Just to be clear, I'm new here, and identified this place with my wife as a place in which our "dreams" could be realized since it was clear that it wasn't going to happen in NYC. But again, I'm not worried so much about myself, I'm worried about the people that make certain places great to live in.

I'm not trying to downplay my contribution to society as a mechanical engineer, I'm just saying that if I'm finding it hard, how much harder is it for the baristas, servers, etc. who actually make things that directly impact people's happiness on a day to day basis. And if it's hard now, how much worse is it going to get as the stratification gets worse and spreads to new places?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-03-2014, 08:58 PM
 
Location: Houston
1,257 posts, read 2,646,562 times
Reputation: 1236
Quote:
Originally Posted by almostjay View Post
I think you're right. Just to be clear, I'm new here, and identified this place with my wife as a place in which our "dreams" could be realized since it was clear that it wasn't going to happen in NYC. But again, I'm not worried so much about myself, I'm worried about the people that make certain places great to live in.

I'm not trying to downplay my contribution to society as a mechanical engineer, I'm just saying that if I'm finding it hard, how much harder is it for the baristas, servers, etc. who actually make things that directly impact people's happiness on a day to day basis. And if it's hard now, how much worse is it going to get as the stratification gets worse and spreads to new places?
We are more or less on the same page. You have identified what I realized over time as a resident. I was making middleclass money and saw costs rising at an alarming pace. I owned a home already. The possibility of upgrading to a better neighborhood slipped away as home prices soared. It is tough for anyone not making good wages to buy a home in Portland. The cut off point is much lower in Houston. Its still tough in a low wage situation.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-03-2014, 09:31 PM
 
1,774 posts, read 2,303,616 times
Reputation: 2710
There was another study a couple years ago that did an alternate analysis and suggested that if you are working at median income, it's more 'affordable' to live in a place like NYC or DC than in places like Miami, Atlanta and Houston. The reason being is the median wage is very low in Miami and the transportation costs are high. In NYC the median wage is high and public transportation costs are very low. Unfortunately PDX was 10th on the "least affordable" list. It seems to place on the least affordable list no matter what methodology is used.

10 most expensive cities for middle class in US: And you thought New York was expensive! | Daily Mail Online
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2014, 06:49 AM
 
846 posts, read 607,003 times
Reputation: 583
Quote:
Originally Posted by rzzzz View Post
There was another study a couple years ago that did an alternate analysis and suggested that if you are working at median income, it's more 'affordable' to live in a place like NYC or DC than in places like Miami, Atlanta and Houston. The reason being is the median wage is very low in Miami and the transportation costs are high. In NYC the median wage is high and public transportation costs are very low. Unfortunately PDX was 10th on the "least affordable" list. It seems to place on the least affordable list no matter what methodology is used.

10 most expensive cities for middle class in US: And you thought New York was expensive! | Daily Mail Online

you are a witch!
Witch ! Witch!

BURN HIM. BUUURN HIIIIMMMM!!!
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2014, 01:27 PM
 
Location: Portland, OR
8,802 posts, read 8,881,188 times
Reputation: 4512
Quote:
Originally Posted by KJoe11 View Post



you are a witch!
Witch ! Witch!

BURN HIM. BUUURN HIIIIMMMM!!!
"Thou shalt not utter any criticism against Portland, regardless if thy criticism is well researched and reasonable."
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2014, 01:58 PM
 
Location: Portland, Oregon
46,001 posts, read 35,097,852 times
Reputation: 7875
Quote:
Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke View Post
Well, for a started, $62,000 a year is enough to buy a house.

People with lower incomes don't buy. People who can't save up a down payment, don't buy. They are tenants. People with really low incomes have roommates. Families with 2 minimum wage jobs rent apartments.

My experience with minimum wage workers, though, is that they are often coupled with people who make more. The girl who works in the coffee kiosk has a partner who works in construction. The clerk in New Seasons, who, by the way, is making more than minimum wage, is partnered with a bank teller, who is also making more than minimum wage.

The people who are making minimum wage and who really want to own a house figure out how to qualify themselves for a better higher paying job. A person has to really be lacking in any ambition at all to remain in a minimum wage job for their entire life. Those are supposed to be started jobs and people generally move up from there. Don't be surprised if people who remain in minimum wage jobs all their life are considered to be content where they are.
With two people working, that would mean they would only need to make at least $31K each which isn't that hard to do in Portland.

Portland really isn't that hard for someone who is middle class to own a home. Heck, a good portion of Portland is middle class. Obviously I am not saying Portland is a cheap city to live in, but it is easier to live here compared to other more expensive liberal cities.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-04-2014, 05:02 PM
 
892 posts, read 2,387,819 times
Reputation: 843
Quote:
Originally Posted by almostjay View Post
I really just don't get it. What are these people supposed to do? Where do all of the people who work in Whole Foods and New Seasons live? Is it simply time to abandon the "dream" of owning a home? Is communal living the model moving forward?
Please, by all means, educate us on what era of American history it was in which the clerk (not the owner, just some shelving clerk or cashier) at a retail store typically owned their own building and land...in a city no less?

What are you getting at, exactly? There are valid concerns to be addressed here but weird hyperbole helps nothing.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 11-05-2014, 12:26 AM
 
Location: Portland, OR
111 posts, read 171,297 times
Reputation: 151
Quote:
Originally Posted by khyron View Post
Please, by all means, educate us on what era of American history it was in which the clerk (not the owner, just some shelving clerk or cashier) at a retail store typically owned their own building and land...in a city no less?

What are you getting at, exactly? There are valid concerns to be addressed here but weird hyperbole helps nothing.
I'm not trying to educate anybody. I'm trying to educate myself. I legitimately do not understand how young and lower middle class people are working their way toward home ownership in places where jobs actually exist (read: cities).

I am also coming into a mindset where I'm questioning whether or not owning a home should even be a "dream" or focus for these people. There is a stigma against renting and living with roommates, particularly once you reach a certain age. This can put undue pressure on people, and make them feel unsuccessful even if they're doing well enough to be happy otherwise.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Oregon > Portland

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 04:30 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top