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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

#141

Post by base698 »

lisper wrote: post #32

Ten years ago I made an attempt to get a homeless person off the street and made a movie about it: http://graceofgodmovie.com/ My main subject had a masters degree in psychology.

Reminds me of this: https://thelastpsychiatrist.com/2012/11/hipsters_on_food_sta...

> Why does her PhD make her more deserving that a welfare queen? Because to The Chronicle, the PhD has value. It doesn't. I'm not saying she isn't smart, I'm saying the PhD in no way communicates to me she knows medieval history better than any D&D player. She may know more, but how do I know? I don't even find "MD" particularly valid, but at least you can sue a doctor.

> But my reason for showing you her is to highlight the perverse logic of the university which will doom us all: since the only maniacs who would ever hire these PhDs are universities, then the solution to their unemployment is more money for universities:

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#142

Post by throwawaydne9 »

notyourwork wrote: post #128
aphextron wrote: post #34

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 h…

I’m confused - what trouble are you having? I moved here 5 months ago and had no problem getting an apartment.

Oh, hear that, everyone? notyourwork doesn’t have a problem living in the Bay Area, so if you are, clearly you’re doing something wrong. Everyone can go home, the Bay Area housing crisis doesn’t exist!

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#144

Post by grecy »

johnnyb9 wrote: post #99
grecy wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, though in the replies you are seeing the difference between how OECD countries define "poor" and how Americans defines "poor". The vast majority of people in Canada, Australia, Western Europe, etc. would be disgusted by how much "middle class" Americans work, how little vacation they get and how much they get for their tax dollars. In the eyes of virtually every Developed Country, "middle class" Ame…

You seem to have left out the fact that Americans make much more than their Canadian, Western European, or Australian counterparts?

Income is only relevant when you factor in the cost of living.

Also, my point is exactly that many countries consider you "poor" if you have to work 70+ hours per week and get 2 weeks (or no) leave, even if you make $150k. That's why I said many OECD countries consider Americans "poor". (in quotes). Not poor in the sense of not much money, but "poor" in the broader sense.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#145

Post by p1esk »

lsc wrote: post #138
p1esk wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This summer I worked at a startup in Luxembourg. I overheard a job interview my boss conducted, where an Australian with a PhD in machine learning asked for EUR60k as a salary. My boss decided to offer him EUR50k. Costs of living in Luxembourg are about the same as in Santa Barbara (where I currently live). I think median salaries in Luxembourg might be skewed by the presence of a large financial market (it's kind of…

My impression is that it's the other way around; working in the computer industry carries a higher pay premium (vs. working in some other field) in Silicon Valley than it does anywhere else. So while a chef might be better off in Luxembourg, the software engineer is better off in silicon valley.

You might be right, but 50k is way too low for a software engineer anywhere in US.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#146

Post by s73ver_ »

totalZero wrote: post #22
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…

> take 30 days vacation a year I know people who earn seven figures who don't, and honestly can't, do this. Vacation is also a function of workplace culture, not just discretionary income and allotted vacation days.

"I know people who earn seven figures who don't, and honestly can't, do this."

Don't want to? Sure. Can't? Wrong. They absolutely could.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#147

Post by djsumdog »

s0rce wrote: post #139
notyourwork wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m confused - what trouble are you having? I moved here 5 months ago and had no problem getting an apartment.

Same here, moved to the East Bay 18 months ago, have a great 1bdrm apartment.

How much do you two make vs the cost of your rent?

I suspect the person you're replying to may not have anywhere near the means you have.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#148

Post by orangecat »

chii wrote: post #136
gozur88 wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Lee also notes in her study that, on closer inspection, food deserts don’t actually exist in the U.S., at least not as a national problem—on average, poor neighborhoods have more grocery stores than wealthier neighborhoods. http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2014/02/food_deserts...

It's more likely that unhealthy food is the one source of pleasure that a poor person can afford, and with all the troubles of their lives, they may find solice in eating the delicious junk. Healthy food either takes a bunch of effort, or don't taste very good (unless you couple it with some expensive condiments/spices).

This is basically Scott Adams's "Pleasure Unit Theory", which I find very plausible: http://pratie.blogspot.com/2006/04/scott-adams-pleasure-unit... . If it's true, then developing healthy food that's convenient and tasty will do a lot more good than hectoring people about their bad decisions.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#149

Post by s73ver_ »

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.

Or have the time to cook. Which is a very important criteria, as someone who works two jobs likely does not have the luxury of that amount of time.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#150

Post by djsumdog »

johnnyb9 wrote: post #99
grecy wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree with you, though in the replies you are seeing the difference between how OECD countries define "poor" and how Americans defines "poor". The vast majority of people in Canada, Australia, Western Europe, etc. would be disgusted by how much "middle class" Americans work, how little vacation they get and how much they get for their tax dollars. In the eyes of virtually every Developed Country, "middle class" Ame…

You seem to have left out the fact that Americans make much more than their Canadian, Western European, or Australian counterparts?

A developer that makes $160k in Seattle would top out at 55k euro in Berlin. But you can get a 1/bd flat for Not even taking into account that a Germany resident could get public health care, lower cost for transportation, and could live and work in most areas without ever needing a car.

There is considerably less income inequality. Because your specific profession makes less isn't necessarily a bad thing.

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