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I have two friends who work at Sears. One at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria and she makes about $8.00 an hour. Another works at Sears in Raleigh NC. Sge also makes $8.00 an hour. The friend who works at Sears in Virginia pays about $1700 for a pretty plain looking apartment in Alexandria. One one who works in Raleigh NC lives in a brand new apartment that is larger and only pays about $800 a month in rent.
This is an example of the challenges low wage labor face in the DC area. No matter the job if you don't have strong technical skills you are going to make very little money even in the booming DC area. If you make under $10 an hour in a full time job why would you move to the DC area when you could almost double your standard of living in a regular town?
I have two friends who work at Sears. One at the Landmark Mall in Alexandria and she makes about $8.00 an hour. Another works at Sears in Raleigh NC. Sge also makes $8.00 an hour. The friend who works at Sears in Virginia pays about $1700 for a pretty plain looking apartment in Alexandria. One one who works in Raleigh NC lives in a brand new apartment that is larger and only pays about $800 a month in rent.
This is an example of the challenges low wage labor face in the DC area. No matter the job if you don't have strong technical skills you are going to make very little money even in the booming DC area. If you make under $10 an hour in a full time job why would you move to the DC area when you could almost double your standard of living in a regular town?
How does your friend afford a $1700/mo apt if she only makes $8/hr is the real question.
This is an example of the challenges low wage labor face in the DC area. No matter the job if you don't have strong technical skills you are going to make very little money even in the booming DC area. If you make under $10 an hour in a full time job why would you move to the DC area when you could almost double your standard of living in a regular town?
No, that's an example of your friend being financially irresponsible. If you make under $10 an hour in a full time job, why would you rent a $1,700 apartment in one of the nicest suburbs in the area?
Every poster incessantly whining about affordability in this city, acts as if DC only consists of the top 10 best neighborhoods. It's so stupid.
Assuming she makes $8 an hour and assuming she works 8 hours a day 5 days a week and there are 30 days in a month, then her earnings are $8 x 8 x (5/7 x 30) = $1371. She is spending more than 100% of her salary on an apartment. Is she living with a significant other who makes more money or receiving a parental subsidy?
Last edited by movinghere; 02-06-2012 at 11:23 AM..
No, that's an example of your friend being financially irresponsible. If you make under $10 an hour in a full time job, why would you rent a $1,700 apartment in one of the nicest suburbs in the area?
Every poster incessantly whining about affordability in this city, acts as if DC only consists of the top 10 best neighborhoods. It's so stupid.
To be fair, if the person is renting an apartment near the area around Landmark Mall, that isn't what I would consider to be "one of the nicest suburbs in the area". That's not Old Town we're talking about, that's strip mall city. Nothing really wrong with it, but there are far more prestigious addresses.
That said, paying $1700/mo when you make $10/hour is financial idiocy. There are far cheaper apartments to be had.
DC is a bubble and with plenty of people with good jobs, there are always lots of low skilled service jobs to be had. This isn't the case in a lot of regular towns. Better to be here with a job than some small town without one...at least here you don't necessarily have to have the added expense of a car (which eats up a tone of money) and their are plenty of people around so you can find a roommate.
To be fair, if the person is renting an apartment near the area around Landmark Mall, that isn't what I would consider to be "one of the nicest suburbs in the area". That's not Old Town we're talking about, that's strip mall city. Nothing really wrong with it, but there are far more prestigious addresses.
That said, paying $1700/mo when you make $10/hour is financial idiocy. There are far cheaper apartments to be had.
The stupidity of someone making $8/hr paying $1,700/mo on an apartment in the nicer parts of Alexandria is only surpassed by the stupidity of that person paying $1,700/mo for an apartment right next to the mall. $1,700/mo lands you a two bedroom without even looking hard near landmark. You can get a one bedroom for hundreds less, or a studio for less than $1,000.
However you want to parse it; these examples are being laid out as if there is some vast and dire injustice going on throughout the region, when in reality, these examples (if they aren't made up) are pure stupidity on the part of the individual.
This is nothing new, illegal immigrants have been moving to the DC area for years. A lot of the areas they move are not all that expensive, like Langley Park. They also live a few to a house/apartment and often share a bedroom so it's not that expensive per person to live other places like Wheaton or Gaithersburg. It's not just DC, this takes place in pretty much everywhere in the US now.
The stupidity of someone making $8/hr paying $1,700/mo on an apartment in the nicer parts of Alexandria is only surpassed by the stupidity of that person paying $1,700/mo for an apartment right next to the mall. $1,700/mo lands you a two bedroom without even looking hard near landmark. You can get a one bedroom for hundreds less, or a studio for less than $1,000.
However you want to parse it; these examples are being laid out as if there is some vast and dire injustice going on throughout the region, when in reality, these examples (if they aren't made up) are pure stupidity on the part of the individual.
I wasn't debating the sound (or otherwise) decision on the part of the renter, only that 'Alexandria" shouldn't universally be considered one of the most prestigious suburbs in DC. It's a good sized city with a diversity of neighborhoods; some of the more affordable Metro-accessible housing in the region can be found in Alexandria around the Eisenhower Ave. Metro, for instance.
The $1700 rent in Alexandria is split with the roommate but of course the cost of living is still higher and the split would be far less in a regular town like Raleigh which also has lots of jobs.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 14thandYou
I wasn't debating the sound (or otherwise) decision on the part of the renter, only that 'Alexandria" shouldn't universally be considered one of the most prestigious suburbs in DC. It's a good sized city with a diversity of neighborhoods; some of the more affordable Metro-accessible housing in the region can be found in Alexandria around the Eisenhower Ave. Metro, for instance.
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