Why is Houston so damn poor?! (West: apartment complex, foreclosures, rent)

[thenewtexan]

Originally Posted by patrix542

im not losing anything, but most people get so offended and are trying to deny everything.
I never said there isnt any poverty in other cities, so wtf are you on about? As i said before about 5 times by now I asked WHY there is so much bad poverty in a city that is apparently "booming" and is so cheap, but i guess this is to hard to understand for most people on here

Let's use some logic, shall we? You posted pictures of older neighborhoods. They were there LONG before the boom. Remember, just 25 years ago, Houston's economy was among the worst in the nation. Therefore, when the "boom" happened, companies moved there, and new, large homes were built for all of the professionals moving here. The people living in those older neighborhoods probably work in construction, maintenance, etc. They have to live somewhere, right? Is everyone going to own a half million dollar home in Montrose? Of course not. Just because some of the neighborhoods are modest does not necessarily mean they are impoverished. They are just living within their means. Houston is just as diverse as any city in America, both racially and economically.

Btw, how does "bad poverty" differ from good poverty?

[patrix542]

Originally Posted by thenewtexan

Let's use some logic, shall we? You posted pictures of older neighborhoods. They were there LONG before the boom. Remember, just 25 years ago, Houston's economy was among the worst in the nation. Therefore, when the "boom" happened, companies moved there, and new, large homes were built for all of the professionals moving here. The people living in those older neighborhoods probably work in construction, maintenance, etc. They have to live somewhere, right? Is everyone going to own a half million dollar home in Montrose? Of course not. Just because some of the neighborhoods are modest does not necessarily mean they are impoverished. They are just living within their means. Houston is just as diverse as any city in America, both racially and economically.

Btw, how does "bad poverty" differ from good poverty?

the thing that i dont understand is why cant they live in nicer areas when homes are so cheap in houston? i just checked on realtor you can get a 3bd house in nice neighborhood for 99k and less, or you can rent for reasonable money too. the houses that i posted links for are definitely worth less than 50k if not less than 20k! if they work in construction they shouldnt be that poor, unless they have 10 kids, unemployed partner and some kind of drug problem. so thats why im asking why such poverty is possible in city like houston... that overall is a much better city than most in the US

[Thomas82]

don't mind all these people. I can admit Houston is half ghetto/ half decent.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by patrix542

the thing that i dont understand is why cant they live in nicer areas when homes are so cheap in houston? i just checked on realtor you can get a 3bd house in nice neighborhood for 99k and less, or you can rent for reasonable money too. the houses that i posted links for are definitely worth less than 50k if not less than 20k! if they work in construction they shouldnt be that poor, unless they have 10 kids, unemployed partner and some kind of drug problem. so thats why im asking why such poverty is possible in city like houston... that overall is a much better city than most in the US

People making minimum wage make about $15K a year. That's not enough to qualify for a $99K house. That $99K house will rent for about $1300 - more than they actually make, before taxes.

The boom does not affect people with little or no education.

[jtothemak]

Here is what I have noticed about Houston.

1. It is an industrial city, no one wants to live near a chemical plant which is east and south east.

2. Housing cost is low so people are more transit in Houston. Too many people buy a home and then a few years later move further out to the nicer suburb leaving what was once a nice middle class area to become low income.

3. Houston has no zoning. You can build what you want where you want causing people to want to move when something come in they don't like.

4. While Houston is getting a major face lift there are lot of parts that have been small very old homes that were not consider trendy that some of the wards are becoming now.

5. While cost of living is low there are a lot of low paying jobs in Houston. Minimum wage does not get you far even in a low cost of living for owning a home.

6. Houston is not a pretty city, it is that simple. It is a city of business that does not try to give itself curb appeal or tourism.

[jeremy2788]

OP, you are all over the board, all I can say to you is.. Hi troll! You say you are not trying to bash Houston, but yet you title the thread the way you do and say that NYC, Chicago and whatnot have better looking ghettos than we do.. LOL.

It's quite easy to assume that you do not live in the U.S. and have not visited any of these large cities just by the way you make yourself look so uneducated on the topic. BUT, hey Houston sucks.. is that what you wanted to hear?

Please go troll somewhere else now? Not even sure how this thread has stayed open this long, but whatever.

[patrix542]

Originally Posted by cheryjohns

People making minimum wage make about $15K a year. That's not enough to qualify for a $99K house. That $99K house will rent for about $1300 - more than they actually make, before taxes.

The boom does not affect people with little or no education.

true but if there is a couple they together make 30k,they could possibly get a 90-100k house
but even if they couldnt they can rent an apartment example; 10919 West Road, Houston, TX - Apartment Rental - Realtor.com®

and if its a single person they can simply rent a room for $500 per month in a very nice area and even have a private bathroom.

i worked for min wage before, and lived at apartment complex similar to which i posted link for, it was a room rental but still... i didnt have to live in a horrible run down area and could use the pool and everything

[jeremy2788]

Originally Posted by jtothemak

Here is what I have noticed about Houston.

1. It is an industrial city, no one wants to live near a chemical plant which is east and south east.

Really? There are neighborhoods all around these plants.

2. Housing cost is low so people are more transit in Houston. Too many people buy a home and then a few years later move further out to the nicer suburb leaving what was once a nice middle class area to become low income.

This is just completely off base, won't even bother. Maybe a long time ago this was the case..

3. Houston has no zoning. You can build what you want where you want causing people to want to move when something come in they don't like.

It is a problem at times to not have zoning, but really, how many people do you know move because a black person moved in next to them? LOL... come on.

4. While Houston is getting a major face lift there are lot of parts that have been small very old homes that were not consider trendy that some of the wards are becoming now.

5. While cost of living is low there are a lot of low paying jobs in Houston. Minimum wage does not get you far even in a low cost of living for owning a home.

6. Houston is not a pretty city, it is that simple. It is a city of business that does not try to give itself curb appeal or tourism.

That is a matter of opinion, while sure Houston is not as pretty as some other cities, I would rather be in Houston with it's looks than a lot of other places.

[AK123]

Originally Posted by jeremy2788

OP, you are all over the board, all I can say to you is.. Hi troll! You say you are not trying to bash Houston, but yet you title the thread the way you do and say that NYC, Chicago and whatnot have better looking ghettos than we do.. LOL.

It's quite easy to assume that you do not live in the U.S. and have not visited any of these large cities just by the way you make yourself look so uneducated on the topic. BUT, hey Houston sucks.. is that what you wanted to hear?

Please go troll somewhere else now? Not even sure how this thread has stayed open this long, but whatever.

Yes. And this kind of trolling seems to be an almost continual problem on this board.

[cheryjohns]

Originally Posted by patrix542

true but if there is a couple they together make 30k,they could possibly get a 90-100k house
but even if they couldnt they can rent an apartment example; 10919 West Road, Houston, TX - Apartment Rental - Realtor.com®

and if its a single person they can simply rent a room for $500 per month in a very nice area and even have a private bathroom.

i worked for min wage before, and lived at apartment complex similar to which i posted link for, it was a room rental but still... i didnt have to live in a horrible run down area and could use the pool and everything

People that live on minimum have a hard time getting by. One of the results is a not-so-hot credit score. There goes the ability to buy. The better apartments are going to want a decent credit score, also.

Not many rooms for rent. A one-bedroom apartment is a lot more than $500 in the better areas.