Don't you guys get frusturated with the rent prices here? (wages, quality of life)

[eastontracks]

i feel somewhat lucky to have found a small little furnished apartment in burbank right under $1k.

i'm originally from texas and i was expecting to pay 650-850/mo. for a standard 1 Bedroom if i stayed in tx. so it's not that much more expensive. some areas like downtown austin or houston also have high rent so it's not as if the whole state is cheap.

i found some opportunities here that i cant in texas so i'm happy with what i'm paying and experiencing so far.

[Balls211]

yep

[yowps3]

Why does everyone assume your not making much money here?? In fact you can be making $10/Hr at McDonald's here at the bay.. It's certainly much more then $7.25/Hr

In Los Angeles $40,000 is pretty much lowest household income, 50-60 is the average

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

One woman I know rented a nice 1920's craftsman bungalow 3 bedroom 2 bath home in Oakland for $1500 with Section 8.... she moved to Antioch and is renting a 6 year old home with 4 bedrooms, 3 bath and a 3 car garage for $1900... the kicker is the amount for rent she pays remains the same... so lots of movement to the outlying areas for those with Section 8

Maybe I don't know the details of how Section 8 works, but how are $1500 per month and $1900 per month the same?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by yowps3

Why does everyone assume your not making much money here?? In fact you can be making $10/Hr at McDonald's here at the bay.. It's certainly much more then $7.25/Hr

In Los Angeles $40,000 is pretty much lowest household income, 50-60 is the average

The wages from the $10 per hour job don't go as far as wages from the $7.25 an hour job in a lot of places. The rent in the Bay Area is easily double what it is in a lot of places, and that's usually people's biggest expense...so that wage at McDonald's would need to be close to $14 per hour to make up the difference. Not to mention the cost of everything else is higher here. too (gas, sales tax, income tax, groceries, etc.).

[ambient]

Originally Posted by Balls211

I know I do. Just for an average 1 bedroom apartment I'm paying $1100 a month. It's sad because in most other states you can get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for around $600 a month. I'm seriously considering moving. What keeps everyone here with these crazy prices if they aren't making really good money at their job?

Clearly, enough people are making good enough money to afford it...else, the prices wouldn't be able to stay where they are.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by Ragnar

Maybe I don't know the details of how Section 8 works, but how are $1500 per month and $1900 per month the same?

Section 8 is a Federally funded, locally administered Housing Assistance program...

Some cities have tens of thousands on the program...

Section 8 limits the tenant's share of the rent to a portion of income, including utilities... roughly a third with some variations.

In this case, she paid $571 of the $1500 a month Oakland rent and now pays $571 of the $1900 rent...

Her out of pocket rent remains constant...

Another huge benefit is Portability... people living in one place are able to move and take their Housing Voucher with them... so if you live in Cincinnati and want to move to San Jose... you can without having to worry about loosing the rent subsidy or having a job in some cases...

Moving is never easy... but it much easier when your housing subsidy follows you.

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by Balls211

I know I do. Just for an average 1 bedroom apartment I'm paying $1100 a month. It's sad because in most other states you can get a nice 2 bedroom apartment for around $600 a month. I'm seriously considering moving. What keeps everyone here with these crazy prices if they aren't making really good money at their job?

Rents are going up around the country due to the poor housing market / inability for people to get into mortgages. It's a matter of supply and demand. In my native Pittsburgh which is a bit of a hellhole weather-wise (and people-wise, but that's a whole different rant), rent prices are comparable to what I'm paying now in San Diego county. Of course back in Pittsburgh there are no tennis courts or swimming pools in any of the apartment complexes that I know of. Back there, they've got a few "luxury" apartment communities with....are you ready for this....private parking and their very own "workout rooms". Most of those places were old warehouses that were converted into trendy loft apartments. A one-bedroom only costs around $3,000/month and comes complete with a view of the Allegheny river. I believe there is an additional charge for every dead body that floats by your window in a given month, but I can't be entirely sure about that....so don't quote me.

[steel7]

If rents are so high in ca then how do the poor or illegals manage to pay it ?

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by steel7

If rents are so high in ca then how do the poor or illegals manage to pay it ?

Government housing / welfare. Don't you know anything?