Federal troops in Pittsburgh? (Washington, Indiana: student loans, employment, calculator)

[PghPatriot]

Originally Posted by PghSportsGuy420

Anecdotal, but I'd suspect that a survey of renters would find that most of them in their late twenties and older would prefer to own a home. Owning a home is simply not an option for young people in areas that aren't completely miserable anymore.

I can tell you that the previous owner of my house paid, in 1990, less than half what I paid for it in adjusted dollars.

When I was young and had a terrible job making $8 an hour, I rented a studio apartment for $325 a month. That same exact apartment is now $650 a month and the people who might rent it aren't making more today than they were in 2006.

Housing in this country is a mess.

Maybe, but I'm not certain. I know that when I was in my 20s there's no way I wanted a house. Too expensive to keep up, I wasn't sure that I wanted to live in any one place for 5 years. Plus it was great just making a phone call when something broke, instead of trying to figure out what the problem was, and dealing with it.


I'm not sure an $8 an hour job is the type of job suited for home ownership. Even if you could get the downpayment, you'd never be able to pay for the upkeep and repairs of a home at that wage.

[PghSportsGuy420]

There's a reason young people aren't having kids anymore. Lack of housing stability is a big part of it.

A housing market where older, richer people are buying property isn't a healthy housing market if young families are locked out.

The news is full of stories about boomers who can't figure out why young people aren't buying their houses. (They can't afford them, because they are priced completely out of range compared to previous generations.)

In the late 1940s, you could visit a Levitt Homes office in southeast PA and get a home built for $10 down. $189 today. $90 due when you move in. About a thousand 2020 dollars.

What a life our elders had.

[PghSportsGuy420]

[quote=PghPatriot;58709459]
I'm not sure an $8 an hour job is the type of job suited for home ownership./QUOTE]

It isn't suited for home ownership, but even the properties they can rent are taking up a larger percentage of their income now.

I managed just fine when I had that low paying job because I paid half for housing what a similarly paid person would pay today.

[PghPatriot]

[quote=PghSportsGuy420;58709501]

Originally Posted by PghPatriot

I'm not sure an $8 an hour job is the type of job suited for home ownership./QUOTE]

It isn't suited for home ownership, but even the properties they can rent are taking up a larger percentage of their income now.

I managed just fine when I had that low paying job because I paid half for housing what a similarly paid person would pay today.

But then you progressed in your career and can now afford a house (and even more than 1, to rent), right?

[PghSportsGuy420]

[quote=PghPatriot;58709545]

Originally Posted by PghSportsGuy420

But then you progressed in your career and can now afford a house (and even more than 1, to rent), right?

Stop for a minute and think about what a market that pushes housing stability past prime childbearing age does to a population.

[PghPatriot]

[quote=PghSportsGuy420;58709562]

Originally Posted by PghPatriot

Stop for a minute and think about what a market that pushes housing stability past prime childbearing age does to a population.

I'm not sure that I agree with that premise.

[szug-bot]

[quote=PghSportsGuy420;58709501]

Originally Posted by PghPatriot

I'm not sure an $8 an hour job is the type of job suited for home ownership./QUOTE]

It isn't suited for home ownership, but even the properties they can rent are taking up a larger percentage of their income now.

I managed just fine when I had that low paying job because I paid half for housing what a similarly paid person would pay today.

i am guessing i am a bit older than you....i am looking at houses (have been, for over 3 years now - my agent is sick of me), but you know what? I am not ENTITLED to a house.

my reasons for not buying are too boring to get into here, but if i feel i am priced out, i CAN move to another area, or another metropolitan area. I do not feel it THAT important to do so....so i adapt, and make do just fine.

[PghSportsGuy420]

[quote=PghPatriot;58709616]

Originally Posted by PghSportsGuy420

I'm not sure that I agree with that premise.

There's plenty of evidence that Americans are having children older, if they're having them at all. I have five brothers and two sisters, and only one of them has kids.

People aren't really keen on having kids when their income and their housing are unstable.

[PghSportsGuy420]

[quote=szug-bot;58709621]

Originally Posted by PghSportsGuy420

i am guessing i am a bit older than you....i am looking at houses (have been, for over 3 years now - my agent is sick of me), but you know what? I am not ENTITLED to a house.

Everyone should be entitled to a place to live. For the good of society. When basic needs aren't met, you see instability and that isn't good for anyone.

Housing arbitrage has made getting a family started much more difficult for young people now than it was for their parents. Ask Japan how that's working out for them.

[PghPatriot]

[quote=PghSportsGuy420;58709644]

Originally Posted by szug-bot

Everyone should be entitled to a place to live. For the good of society. When basic needs aren't met, you see instability and that isn't good for anyone.

I agree with that. But while a house is a place to live, a place to live isn't just a house. Life is about choices. If owning a home is the most important thing to someone, then that can be their sole focus. They can do any number of things, including working extra jobs, starting a career instead of a job, sacrificing going out on weekends, or buying $1k smartphones, etc.



But for some people, those other things are more important that owning a house, especially when they're young, which is totally fine.


But while a safe place to live should be a human right, home ownership isn't a right.