Atlanta's Working Homeless

[PKCorey]

Originally Posted by takealready

Long story short, I see a massive disconnect. The wealthy metro Atlanta inhabitants are buying homes at ridiculous prices (ridiculous by my terms) while the working class residents are working 3 jobs and still struggling. What happened to Atlanta? Was it the influx of Hollywood that caused the massive boom in the cost of living? As a New Yorker, that moved to Raleigh, and now lives in Atlanta, I see Atlanta will eventually in a decade will have a comparable cost of living to that of Brooklyn New York, Manhattan, or Suffolk County (Long Island).

most of the people transferring from out of state keep their old salary.

The issue here seems to be the salaries have not kept up with the cost of living here. Salaries in state and local government are pretty stagnant as well. Many of the state job salaries are an absolute joke.

Many of the people who were able to move into the middle class in the 70's and 80's due to various programs and overall growth, it is no longer happening on a large scale anymore.

Rents are in upper 800 to low 1000's now. No way, you can afford the rent on these current salaries for the most part. Hell, I make a fairly decent salary and I had to move further out to find a reasonable priced residence.

So, no, it wasn't Hollywood. If you are a transplant or work a white collar job, you may just slightly be out of touch of the realities that have been here for years.

[Teacher Terry]

When I was job hunting after getting my graduate degree I researched COL and wages. That automatically ruled out expensive places like California, New York, etc. 22 years ago when I moved to Nevada wages and pay were in balance. That’s no longer the case but it doesn’t matter to us because we own our house. However, it matters to the locals that don’t own. Our rents, housing prices are skyrocketing.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

I don't think a lot of people understand just how easy it is for this to happen to people. Those that couldnt afford college and didn't have the skill to pick up a high paying trade... those making $14-15 dollars an hour even. I've seen it happen to people myself. At a point 10 years ago where they were able to afford a reasonable apartment for $600 a month and those same units are $1000 a month now. And yes, sure, you could always move to some roach infested, crime filled apartment in the ghetto but some people would rather just live in their car than live like that. As hard as it may be for many to believe, everyone just isn't cut out to get an IT or engineering degree or have the luxury of being married or having someone that they can split expenses with. If it weren't for the fact that I have family that supported me I could've been there myself at one point when I got laid off. There are far more people in this country that live check to check than those that have a nice 401k and healthy bank account. Lots out there don't understand this. Could be one health issue out of nowhere that could put thousands on the streets. It's real out here.

Originally Posted by arjay57

No doubt about it.

And for folks who want to live in the city proper, that's becoming more and more of a distant dream.

Unless you can ante up half a million or more for starters, there won't be a seat at the table.

Originally Posted by samiwas1

The industry is big. It's not big enough to cause a massive shift to the cost of living of an entire city, much less metro area. We're only a few thousand people.

Originally Posted by PKCorey

most of the people transferring from out of state keep their old salary.

The issue here seems to be the salaries have not kept up with the cost of living here. Salaries in state and local government are pretty stagnant as well. Many of the state job salaries are an absolute joke.

Many of the people who were able to move into the middle class in the 70's and 80's due to various programs and overall growth, it is no longer happening on a large scale anymore.

Rents are in upper 800 to low 1000's now. No way, you can afford the rent on these current salaries for the most part. Hell, I make a fairly decent salary and I had to move further out to find a reasonable priced residence.

So, no, it wasn't Hollywood. If you are a transplant or work a white collar job, you may just slightly be out of touch of the realities that have been here for years.

1) Yes, it's very easy. Using myself as an example, I'm likely going to have to choose between staying in school/paying my bills and the latter is definitely priority. At this point I'm considering learning a trade (one that doesn't require a license because that's money I don't have). It's also dangerous for people to live in those neighborhoods you described because once you're targeted, even if you're innocent no one will even question it because of where you live. For instance, what if someone is smoking in the building and the entire place smells but the police come knocking on your door? They could blame you for it and/or make up charges. Okay long story but you get the gist. These kind of things do happen in life, especially when it concerns things like marijuana and so I always get annoyed when people say, "I know somewhere that costs only $500." Yes, you're right about one health care issue away from being out on the streets and I am also fortunate to have family to support me.



2) Isn't it crazy? Half a million in some places and it's not even Atlanta. I mean I get why...
3) Right and I also would say the price increase has definitely been caused by the huge population increase and people are also moving here for medical, tech, various industries. Hollywood isn't even something I would say is a huge factor. Places like Gwinnett (the Northern suburbs period) have been popular for a long time and so the prices are reflecting this.

4) Yeah, I don't know how state employees are surviving. I guess they either live with family or have a boyfriend/girlfriend/married. Tbh if my family were to move, I'd probably have to move to another state where I could get a higher income to match the cost of living.

[brownhornet]

Originally Posted by DreamerD

1) Yes, it's very easy. Using myself as an example, I'm likely going to have to choose between staying in school/paying my bills and the latter is definitely priority. At this point I'm considering learning a trade (one that doesn't require a license because that's money I don't have). It's also dangerous for people to live in those neighborhoods you described because once you're targeted, even if you're innocent no one will even question it because of where you live. For instance, what if someone is smoking in the building and the entire place smells but the police come knocking on your door? They could blame you for it and/or make up charges. Okay long story but you get the gist. These kind of things do happen in life, especially when it concerns things like marijuana and so I always get annoyed when people say, "I know somewhere that costs only $500." Yes, you're right about one health care issue away from being out on the streets and I am also fortunate to have family to support me.



2) Isn't it crazy? Half a million in some places and it's not even Atlanta. I mean I get why...
3) Right and I also would say the price increase has definitely been caused by the huge population increase and people are also moving here for medical, tech, various industries. Hollywood isn't even something I would say is a huge factor. Places like Gwinnett (the Northern suburbs period) have been popular for a long time and so the prices are reflecting this.

4) Yeah, I don't know how state employees are surviving. I guess they either live with family or have a boyfriend/girlfriend/married. Tbh if my family were to move, I'd probably have to move to another state where I could get a higher income to match the cost of living.

Trust me I know all too well. My ex lived in Mechanicsville because that's what she could afford. The complex itself was very nice but the people that lived around it...that was another story. I didn't even like to spend the night over there because there was always the shattered glass from car windows that were stolen when you come out in the morning. Or the gun shots you hear nearby at night. I was going to move her in with me but the relationship didn't work out so, she's still stuck there. It's not really new to me though, most of my family grew up in the housing projects until some decided they wanted a better life and got out, my parents included. And you could be good people that go to work, commit no crimes, etc but you still had to deal with the stench of crack in the air, seeing people be shot/killed and you're taught to mind your business. Honestly, it seems as if the middle class is disappearing altogether. Soon you're either going to be rich or poor. No one would've imagined 10 years ago here that the minimum to get a 700 sq ft apartment in a decent area would be $1000. But that's where we are now.

All the development and all that is good and all, but what made this city an attraction was the cost of living. We always talk about how ridiculous the cost of living in NYC, LA, etc are but hell we're going to be right on par with them before long if the trends continue. ATL is like top 3 in the country when it comes to rising rent.

[DreamerD]

Originally Posted by brownhornet

Trust me I know all too well. My ex lived in Mechanicsville because that's what she could afford. The complex itself was very nice but the people that lived around it...that was another story. I didn't even like to spend the night over there because there was always the shattered glass from car windows that were stolen when you come out in the morning. Or the gun shots you hear nearby at night. I was going to move her in with me but the relationship didn't work out so, she's still stuck there. It's not really new to me though, most of my family grew up in the housing projects until some decided they wanted a better life and got out, my parents included. And you could be good people that go to work, commit no crimes, etc but you still had to deal with the stench of crack in the air, seeing people be shot/killed and you're taught to mind your business. Honestly, it seems as if the middle class is disappearing altogether. Soon you're either going to be rich or poor. No one would've imagined 10 years ago here that the minimum to get a 700 sq ft apartment in a decent area would be $1000. But that's where we are now.

All the development and all that is good and all, but what made this city an attraction was the cost of living. We always talk about how ridiculous the cost of living in NYC, LA, etc are but hell we're going to be right on par with them before long if the trends continue. ATL is like top 3 in the country when it comes to rising rent.

LOL that's the thing with Atlanta. The apartments look decent on the outside and so you'd never know you're in the hood. OMG wow. Yeah, I used to live in Stone Mountain and had to go. I used to think the rent was pretty cheap but finding out what the area was really like, the rent should have probably been cheaper. Darn, I hope she was able to move somewhere more safe. The crazy thing is that the people who I often see getting killed are hard working/good fathers. Or it will be something like they're in school and working. That jealousy is real and some don't like to see others doing better than themselves.

Yeah, I'm not sure if people realize how bad it's getting. I've indicated on different threads how often I see jobs that used to be employee-based are now contracting. Temp jobs are so common now.

I was thinking of moving to Florida but to me it's even worse not just because of politics but because of the fact the jobs tend to be low pay for the high cost of living. I believe what you said about rising rent in Atlanta. The other day I was looking at apartments and I kid you not the application process was like $400. I was like wtf. LOL.