Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S. • Hacker News Board

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#31

Post by ringaroundthetx » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 8:42 AM UTC

Mz wrote: post #11

wallace_f wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

I don't really want to discuss my health issues. That is always all kinds of drama. I slept in a tent in whatever greenery I could find, usually on the edge of town. The reason I did not sleep in a vehicle: I gave up my car years before I went homeless. I no longer drive. I didn't say I didn't save money. I said the OP likely would not save as much as they think. OP said they would save $3000/mo. Let's assume that is…

Thanks for the in depth reply! I asked a question and got downvote censored pretty quick - by time of writing - and I'll probably be shadow banned soon for asking.

So, I really appreciate the discussion.

I never considered that motel checkins would be a recurring thing for people that live that lifestyle.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#32

Post by weerd » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 8:53 AM UTC

sgift wrote: post #20

discordance wrote: post #14

It 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.

There are services for the homeless in America. That attitude is only taken by a portion of our population. You have a fair point though, it's a large portion...

The population in the USA is swelling and everyone wants to live in the city, so prices are rising. Except for meth and dope, which only costs a couple bucks. Cities don't have the money or available land to deal with it. It's awful.

There's also another side to this situation, and I might be blowing it out of proportion but here it goes.. I think that we have self-centered attitudes in this country which make young people think that their own experience through life is paramount and above the society around them. I.e. thinking it's OK to backpack around Seattle all day filching cigarettes and dollars from anyone who will look their way, all while leaving their shit and trash in the common spaces.

I have mixed feelings about this because there are poor souls out there who have been fucked over in life and deserve help. But some of these kids have expensive backpacks/tents, nice ink, and smoke fine weed. Maybe I'm misinformed, but the whole scene can really look like narcissism and fat ego.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#33

Post by nairboon » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 9:11 AM UTC

dmode wrote: post #22

I 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 ?

There is basically a right to housing in Switzerland, so technically there are no homeless citizens. Although, there are some homeless people, they live that way mostly by choice, since they could request an apartment at anytime.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#34

Post by V-2 » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 9:27 AM UTC

sgift wrote: post #20

discordance wrote: post #14

It 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.

I saw plenty of homeless and deranged people every time I went to Berlin. One woman actually lived in a tent in front of a police station in Pankow (for safety).

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#35

Post by tmnvix » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 9:27 AM UTC

discordance wrote: post #14

It 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.

It's the future!

(Unless we can come up with a better means of sharing/distributing productive output).

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#36

Post by lagadu » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 9:36 AM UTC

esotericsavage wrote: post #12

As 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…

Why would Amazon have to do anything about it? Taking care of its citizens is the government's responsibility.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#37

Post by userpass » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 9:50 AM UTC

weerd wrote: post #32

sgift wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

There are services for the homeless in America. That attitude is only taken by a portion of our population. You have a fair point though, it's a large portion... The population in the USA is swelling and everyone wants to live in the city, so prices are rising. Except for meth and dope, which only costs a couple bucks. Cities don't have the money or available land to deal with it. It's awful. There's also another sid…

Those "expensive luxures" are cheap. Mandatory things like education, healthcare and rent on the other hand are very expensive.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#38

Post by piva00 » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 11:16 AM UTC

V-2 wrote: post #34

sgift wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I saw plenty of homeless and deranged people every time I went to Berlin. One woman actually lived in a tent in front of a police station in Pankow (for safety).

Me too, I go to Berlin about once or twice a month, there are homeless and deranged people around but NEVER anything like what I saw in SF.

One day when going to the Van Ness' Muni station I saw a couple of homeless people, they had syringes hanging from their arms, right before I reached the turnstiles.

I never saw so many deranged people on the streets, screaming as loud as one possibly can as I've seen in San Francisco.

So yes, Berlin has the same problems but I think they are on very different scales.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#39

Post by jaclaz » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 11:40 AM UTC

olfox wrote: post #24

dmode wrote: post #22

I 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...

While Switzerland is one of the countries with lower amount of homeless people, most of EU is much lower than - say - the UK (in Brexit times this might be interesting), but this kind of numbers may well (and actually are) very debatable because of different ways the "homelessness" is calculated.

Also you have to consider how in continental Europe there is an ethnic group, the Romanis (more commonly called gypsies) that traditionally move across the various countries and that may be counted one way (homeless) or the other (or not counted at all).

And comparng a single smallish country with the whole US makes little sense anyway, usually homelessness (like in this case talking of Seattle) is concentrated in very limited areas (usually in or around large cities) where the rest of the country is unaffected.

Re: Seattle has third largest homeless population in U.S.

#40

Post by mulletbum » Mon, Oct 16, 2017, 12:34 PM UTC

oblio wrote: post #29

wallace_f wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

If you could find a job in the bay, you can most likely pay for a $500 one way ticket to Wisconsin or Michigan in the summer. By the winter, you would have another job, a $500 a month apartment, and be well on your way to getting your life together.