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Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

latimes.com

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Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#31

Post by grandmczeb »

cletus wrote: post #7

I can’t help but think of Snow Crash where Hiro Protagonist (and many others) lived in the U-Store-It former storage facility. This is the the real cost of allowing (particularly foreign) capital to be parked in real estate in the developed world. In NYC for example most new developments are ultra-luxury not because building affordable apartments is uneconomic, it’s just that the ultra-luxury end is way more profitab…

> This is the the real cost of allowing (particularly foreign) capital to be parked in real estate in the developed world.

It's amazing to me that people don't recognize this as xenophobia when other forms ("Mexicans are taking our jobs!", "Migrants don't have the same values!") are so readily called out.

High housing prices are a self inflicted problem. When you mix supply restrictions with tax breaks explicitly designed to keep people from moving, you end up pricing people out. Not surprising.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#33

Post by martin_bech »

chaosbutters314 wrote: post #23
tempz wrote: post #12

There is a linguistic problem here - extending the term 'middle class' to hide prevailing poverty in the US. You are not middle class if: - you will lose home, car if you are out of job for 6-10 months; - you don't take 30 days vacation a year; - you cannot afford health services without going to debt; - you cannot send your kids to university; - your diet is mostly junk food because you can't afford fresh stuff. If…

So pretty much every scientist at my (US) company is poor? Even uppermanagement in r&d. None of us see 30 days off per year. At most of is 25 after 2 decades. I'd say 15 days instead of 30 seems fair number for America and probably 30 for europe

I feel sorry for you.. buy yes.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#34

Post by aphextron »

I'll be facing this soon as well, at least they've got RV's. After getting back from my third open house for the week, with double digit atendees, I think the bay area just isn't for me. A perfect credit score and a job making double the median wage is not enough to land a 1 bedroom apartment apparently. I'll probably end up sleeping on someones couch for a few months to finish my work contract, and get out of this hellscape for somewhere people can actually live.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#35

Post by HarryHirsch »

gozur88 wrote: post #25
tempz wrote: post #12

There is a linguistic problem here - extending the term 'middle class' to hide prevailing poverty in the US. You are not middle class if: - you will lose home, car if you are out of job for 6-10 months; - you don't take 30 days vacation a year; - you cannot afford health services without going to debt; - you cannot send your kids to university; - your diet is mostly junk food because you can't afford fresh stuff. If…

It's cheaper to buy fresh food than junk food. If you're buying junk food it's because you don't have a place to cook or you're too lazy to cook.

It could also be that you are too overworked to cook or that you are so illiquid that you cannot afford needed repairs.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#36

Post by NikolaeVarius »

HarryHirsch wrote: post #35
gozur88 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's cheaper to buy fresh food than junk food. If you're buying junk food it's because you don't have a place to cook or you're too lazy to cook.

It could also be that you are too overworked to cook or that you are so illiquid that you cannot afford needed repairs.

You don't need to cook in order to eat well.

Salads are a thing.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#37

Post by HarryHirsch »

NikolaeVarius wrote: post #36
HarryHirsch wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It could also be that you are too overworked to cook or that you are so illiquid that you cannot afford needed repairs.

You don't need to cook in order to eat well. Salads are a thing.

You need to do the dishes when done. I am familiar with people who are saving money in order to have the sewer lateral fixed.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#38

Post by twobyfour »

solotronics wrote: post #13
tempz wrote: post #12

There is a linguistic problem here - extending the term 'middle class' to hide prevailing poverty in the US. You are not middle class if: - you will lose home, car if you are out of job for 6-10 months; - you don't take 30 days vacation a year; - you cannot afford health services without going to debt; - you cannot send your kids to university; - your diet is mostly junk food because you can't afford fresh stuff. If…

by your measure most people in the USA are poor I would guess about 80%+

Perhaps that's indicative not of a problem with the measure but rather of a) a disconnect between our society's self-perception and its reality and/or b) a problem with our economic system, the opportunities available in it, and the saving/spending norms it propagates?

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#39

Post by TuringNYC »

grandmczeb wrote: post #31
cletus wrote: post #7

I can’t help but think of Snow Crash where Hiro Protagonist (and many others) lived in the U-Store-It former storage facility. This is the the real cost of allowing (particularly foreign) capital to be parked in real estate in the developed world. In NYC for example most new developments are ultra-luxury not because building affordable apartments is uneconomic, it’s just that the ultra-luxury end is way more profitab…

> This is the the real cost of allowing (particularly foreign) capital to be parked in real estate in the developed world. It's amazing to me that people don't recognize this as xenophobia when other forms ("Mexicans are taking our jobs!", "Migrants don't have the same values!") are so readily called out. High housing prices are a self inflicted problem. When you mix supply restrictions with tax breaks explicitly des…

I think the reason people dislike foreign capital specifically is when the houses come just a piggybank and remain empty. It is bad enough when capital (local or foreign) drives up home prices, but it feels worse when the homes sit empty. Note, this affects everyone because people get knocked down the ladder incrementally.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#40

Post by TuringNYC »

jjeaff wrote: post #29
cletus wrote: post #7

I can’t help but think of Snow Crash where Hiro Protagonist (and many others) lived in the U-Store-It former storage facility. This is the the real cost of allowing (particularly foreign) capital to be parked in real estate in the developed world. In NYC for example most new developments are ultra-luxury not because building affordable apartments is uneconomic, it’s just that the ultra-luxury end is way more profitab…

The thing is, this money being parked from overseas isn't even benefitting the local economies. It just props up property values for a select few homeowners. The people buying these houses are just leaving them empty. There has been some private investigation of some of the homes being bought and built in BelAir right now. One home was found to be owned by a Nigerian politician through multiple layers of shell compan…

For those interested in the topic, NYTimes did a great article:

Towers of Secrecy Stream of Foreign Wealth Flows to Elite New York Real Estate By LOUISE STORY and STEPHANIE SAULFEB. 7, 2015 https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/08/nyregion/stream-of-foreig...

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