would you rather own a cheap house in a poor neighborhood or rent an apartment in an ok neighborhood

[The_gateway]

I would honestly rather own neither.....

But for the sake of argument I would choose the house. You never know, that area could end up being gentrified and your house value goes up 200K

And how poor is "poor"? Gang shootings every day?

[temp2290]

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

There are poor people who are poor because of unfortunate circumstances.
Decision-making and ambition takes you about 85% in life, but the remaining 15% is a coinflip. Honestly, that remaining 15% can be the difference between living in a "poor" neighborhood and living in a decent one.
That 15% can be the difference between being completely homeless and living on the street, or living stably, albeit in a poor neighborhood.
It can be the difference between doing "OK" in life and doing "great" in life.
It can be the difference between doing "great" in life and being the undisputed king of the whole damn mountain.
That 15% is a big, big deal. 85% of life is in our hands and under our own control, but that 15% eventually defines who we are and what we become.

With that said, I do believe a lot of people who live in poor neighborhoods do so because they lack motivation and ambition. In many cases, they're poor because they lack intelligence. While there are definitely unfortunate cases of otherwise bright, upward mobile people who live in poor neighborhoods because of an unfortunate coinflip in the game of life, those people are the small minority in poor neighborhoods. Most people got there because of things that had nothing to do with chance.

These types of people are prone to a certain 'way of living' that I personally cannot tolerate. Their entire outlook on life fails to transcend the next two or three hours. While successful people are planning 30 years ahead, these people don't have anything planned past dinner time.

This method of living eventually devolves into certain behavioral archetypes that are very rare amongst folks in more successful environs. Their status of being "poor" is really just the inevitable outcome of how they carry themselves in life and reflective of the presence of certain untoward behavioral traits. Criminal and anti-social behaviors, slovenliness, drug use, etc- are all far more likely to be found amongst the poor than they are amongst the successful and wealthy.

So, obviously, the answer to your question is pretty clear. Anyone who has ever bought- or even rented- a house knows that you first buy the neighborhood, then the house. It's usually best to purchase the best possible neighborhood you can afford, at the expense of square footage or other amenities that are 'cheaper' in sketchier areas.

just because you throw some numbers in there doesn't mean your rant makes any kind of meaningful sense

[Chicago South Sider]

Originally Posted by PokerPlayer1

There are poor people who are poor because of unfortunate circumstances.
Decision-making and ambition takes you about 85% in life, but the remaining 15% is a coinflip. Honestly, that remaining 15% can be the difference between living in a "poor" neighborhood and living in a decent one.
That 15% can be the difference between being completely homeless and living on the street, or living stably, albeit in a poor neighborhood.
It can be the difference between doing "OK" in life and doing "great" in life.
It can be the difference between doing "great" in life and being the undisputed king of the whole damn mountain.
That 15% is a big, big deal. 85% of life is in our hands and under our own control, but that 15% eventually defines who we are and what we become.

With that said, I do believe a lot of people who live in poor neighborhoods do so because they lack motivation and ambition. In many cases, they're poor because they lack intelligence. While there are definitely unfortunate cases of otherwise bright, upward mobile people who live in poor neighborhoods because of an unfortunate coinflip in the game of life, those people are the small minority in poor neighborhoods. Most people got there because of things that had nothing to do with chance.

These types of people are prone to a certain 'way of living' that I personally cannot tolerate. Their entire outlook on life fails to transcend the next two or three hours. While successful people are planning 30 years ahead, these people don't have anything planned past dinner time.

This method of living eventually devolves into certain behavioral archetypes that are very rare amongst folks in more successful environs. Their status of being "poor" is really just the inevitable outcome of how they carry themselves in life and reflective of the presence of certain untoward behavioral traits. Criminal and anti-social behaviors, slovenliness, drug use, etc- are all far more likely to be found amongst the poor than they are amongst the successful and wealthy.

So, obviously, the answer to your question is pretty clear. Anyone who has ever bought- or even rented- a house knows that you first buy the neighborhood, then the house. It's usually best to purchase the best possible neighborhood you can afford, at the expense of square footage or other amenities that are 'cheaper' in sketchier areas.

You must be a self-made millionaire or something.

[xavier xerxes]

Originally Posted by temp2290

just because you throw some numbers in there doesn't mean your rant makes any kind of meaningful sense

Long winded argument from almost a year ago.
Followed by snippy one liner.

Very Productive and Insightful.

[tonythetuna]

Originally Posted by xavier xerxes

Long winded argument from almost a year ago.
Followed by snippy one liner.

Very Productive and Insightful.

Not to mention the poster being challenged is no longer a member and can't respond back.

[soxside 99"]

I think overall depending on the definition of poor neighborhood, I would rather own a house in a poor area than rent in an OK area. If we mean poor as in low income, that can define many areas of this city. And not all those areas are that horribly bad, and I would consider some to buy at the right price. If we define poor with being a heavily crime ridden neighborhood where you cannot even walk down the block without being mugged or shot well, than I'd rather not buy in that area. Renting wouldnt be a bad thing, but the prospect of owning my own home would be better.

[Europeanflava]

I know this thread is old but anyways.......


For me an apartment in a ok neighborhood. A cheap house in a poor neighborhood may be regrettable so no to that option. A house should only be purchased under the right circumstances.

[tommy_407]

Since this is in the Chicago forum I assume we are talking in regards to Chicago neighborhoods. I can honestly say now that I live here I am not sure. I came from New York City, where I dreamed of one day owning any piece of land in the 5 borough's because the value seemingly keeps rising. Right before my eyes I see neighborhoods I never thought of being rapidly gentrified over there. So I was always a hard core advocate for owning (or even renting) any kind of cool old building in any 'hood in a major city.

But Chicago is different. The rate at which super rough neighborhoods are being cleaned up sort of worries me. A friend told me that "those neighborhoods you speak of are being cleaned up, just not at the same drastic fashion as in New York. Instead of projects being torn down and white yuppies moving in, picture the neighborhood slowly transitioning from gangland into a modest but relatively safe little alcove; with a mix of working class blacks, whites, spanish, and so on, and so forth". If this is true, then I'm happy and I dig it. I'd hate to see any places in city proper goto waste.

Sometimes the key to our greatest success in real estate and entrepreneurship comes to the person who took the road less followed, drove the bucket of bolts, lived or purchased in the most "uncool" neighborhood, and quietly invested and took the risk whilst they were young. Many of these people that were often "ashamed" or "embarassed" when everyone was young and rented "cool" apartments have secured a much more stable future, instead of still renting later on in life, with kids and the whole nine.

[tommy_407]

Since this is in the Chicago forum I assume we are talking in regards to Chicago neighborhoods. I can honestly say now that I live here I am not sure. I came from New York City, where I dreamed of one day owning any piece of land in the 5 borough's because the value seemingly keeps rising. Right before my eyes I see neighborhoods I never thought of being rapidly gentrified over there. So I was always a hard core advocate for owning (or even renting) any kind of cool old building in any 'hood in a major city.

But Chicago is different. The rate at which super rough neighborhoods are being cleaned up sort of worries me. A friend told me that "those neighborhoods you speak of are being cleaned up, just not at the same drastic fashion as in New York. Instead of projects being torn down and white yuppies moving in, picture the neighborhood slowly transitioning from gangland into a modest but relatively safe little alcove; with a mix of working class blacks, whites, spanish, and so on, and so forth". If this is true, then I'm happy and I dig it. I'd hate to see any places in city proper goto waste.

Sometimes the key to our greatest success in real estate and entrepreneurship comes to the person who took the road less followed, drove the bucket of bolts, lived or purchased in the most "uncool" neighborhood, and quietly invested and took the risk whilst they were young. Many of these people that were often "ashamed" or "embarassed" when everyone was young and rented "cool" apartments have secured a much more stable future, instead of still renting later on in life, with kids and the whole nine.