Aren't there any state housing programs in the US? Where I live a person basically needs to contact social wellfare and their rent will be handled by the state when they can prove they don't have income or savings. And our GDP is nowhere close that of US (GDP, Finland 40k per capita, US 51k per capita)
Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
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Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#22I just returned from a 10 day vacation in Switzerland. And I am not making this up, I didn't see a single homeless person. Can anyone enlighten why there are so few homeless folks in Europe compared to the US ?
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#23It boggles my mind every time I visit Seattle or San Francisco and I witness the struggle. The wealthiest people in the world responsible for developing, building and deploying the services that we all use everyday (and getting paid massive amounts for it), juxtaposed against the homeless and poverty stricken living directly next to them.
You get more of what you subsidize, and we do a lot of that already. What other suggestions do you have?
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#24I just returned from a 10 day vacation in Switzerland. And I am not making this up, I didn't see a single homeless person. Can anyone enlighten why there are so few homeless folks in Europe compared to the US ?
Switzerland has an exceptionally low rate due to a couple of reasons pretty specific to them. In general, Europe seems worse off than the US.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeles...
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#25It boggles my mind every time I visit Seattle or San Francisco and I witness the struggle. The wealthiest people in the world responsible for developing, building and deploying the services that we all use everyday (and getting paid massive amounts for it), juxtaposed against the homeless and poverty stricken living directly next to them.
Maybe that's my cynical German view of the USA, but to me that's the natural outcome of a society where the prevailing attitude is that everyone is responsible for themselves and if you have problems that's your fault and your fault alone.
It is more than that. The issue is that SF provides a lot of services to the homeless and tolerates them. In more conservative cities, they have harsh anti-homeless laws. Some cities have even been caught giving "one way" tickets to get rid of their homeless problem. The net effect is that certain cities tend to have an abnormal accumulation of homeless due to homeless moving there.
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#26I just returned from a 10 day vacation in Switzerland. And I am not making this up, I didn't see a single homeless person. Can anyone enlighten why there are so few homeless folks in Europe compared to the US ?
Switzerland has an exceptionally low rate due to a couple of reasons pretty specific to them. In general, Europe seems worse off than the US. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_homeles...
Those numbers don't really support your claim...
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#27It boggles my mind every time I visit Seattle or San Francisco and I witness the struggle. The wealthiest people in the world responsible for developing, building and deploying the services that we all use everyday (and getting paid massive amounts for it), juxtaposed against the homeless and poverty stricken living directly next to them.
We spend enough to address the problem. But in a one-party town, you tend to have a problem with long-term graft.
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#28As a Seattle resident, seeing firsthand these massive and multiple tent cities springing up everywhere, is unbelievably frustrating. Tent cities will appear in one area of town, only to be later cleared by Police and then fences erected to ensure they don't return. Homelessness is nothing new, but in an area that prides itself on its inclusivity, progressiveness and innovation, Seattle has thus far, failed at address…
It's mostly not Amazon employees stopping new housing from being built. It's long-term residents with "No HALA" signs (which isn't enough, but at least closer to the right direction).
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
I did it for 5.7 years (for health reasons, not to save a few bucks), though I did not camp on a sidewalk and I did freelance work instead of having a job. I don't recommend it. I also doubt that you would save as much as you think.
Would I be able to ask some questions? What health reasons would cause you to sleep in a tent that doesn't involve saving money? And where did you sleep? And why not sleep in a vehicle? And why did you not save as much as you thought? By the way, if you want to live in a vehicle, tent or something like that while freelancing, you could always just move to Eastern Europe, India or someplace else and live well for what…
If you're earning a Bay Area salary, almost anywhere else is cheap. You don't even have to go to Eastern Europe, a small-ish city in Western Europe is cheap enough. And quality of life should be better.
If you do want a compromise on the cheaper side of things (I'm biased, though, being from the region), I'd rather go to Eastern Europe. Decent quality of life, low prices, ok-ish infrastructure, quick access to a lot of nice places to see, etc.
Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.
#30As a Seattle resident, seeing firsthand these massive and multiple tent cities springing up everywhere, is unbelievably frustrating. Tent cities will appear in one area of town, only to be later cleared by Police and then fences erected to ensure they don't return. Homelessness is nothing new, but in an area that prides itself on its inclusivity, progressiveness and innovation, Seattle has thus far, failed at address…
Perhaps part of the problem is that a) people agree homeless folks need a place to live but b) aren't confident/capable of influencing their representatives to make a change. Meanwhile they don't want the problem to affect them for the months/years until political action is taken.
C) Most people don't actually know how to fix the problem effectively, including many of the people whose responsibility it supposedly is.