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Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

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Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#181

Post by refurb »

b4lancesh33t wrote: post #157
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…

You make $160k and cannot get a one bedroom apartment in SF? I don't think the prices are that high.

I was going to say. The rental market is way better now than 2 years ago. Many more "for rent" signs now and rents seemed to have come down a little.

Maybe the OP is only looking at the super low end of the market (will only rent a sub-$2000 per month 1-bed). No doubt those would be hard to lock down.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#182

Post by lisper »

Veelox wrote: post #176
lisper wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're making 7 figures (i.e. >$1M/year) you can afford to save $0.5M/year. After ten years or so you can retire. I think that counts as being able to "afford" (an average of) 30 days off/year.

10 years? Try again, even if you are burning 200k a year you can do it in 5 1/2 years.

Depends on what kind of lifestyle you want to be able to sustain. Also, I think you might not be figuring in taxes.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#183

Post by stickfigure »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #83

Its always sad to hear how people doing the right things getting caught up in circumstances that puts them on the wrong side of the power curve with respect to keeping their heads above water. I looked into the safe parking initiatives a bit. I've noticed more folks living in RVs around town in various parking lots or on quiet side streets. It seems a bit like a no-brainer that if you have some extra land that isn't…

But when you look at it closely what you are talking about are re-inventing the trailer park.

I really feel it's a shame that this isn't more accepted. What is a trailer park but cheap high-density housing? We have people living in tents under bridges. Surely cheap temporary housing with proper sanitation would be a major improvement.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#184

Post by refurb »

grecy wrote: post #92
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…

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…

As someone who has lived in both the US and Canada as a middle class person, I'm way better off in the US.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#185

Post by gozur88 »

sjg007 wrote: post #160
pfranz wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think a majority of people who are poor are lacking access to basic cookware or some means to cook food. You can purchase a brand new Crock-Pot for $15. I do think there's an under appreciation for how time-poor most people are (moreso the less money you have). Or how a lack of basic cooking skills or knowledge keep people buying fast food instead of buying and preparing fresh, healthier food at home. I've in…

Nowaday you don’t need a kitchen to cook. Pizza/toaster oven, sous vide machine/crock pot/instapot, hot plate/griddle or George foreman or a blow torch, microwave and a fridge.

I thought those George Foreman grills were a gimmick (come on, they were selling it on informercials!), but a buddy of mine bought one and he swears by it.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#186

Post by peterburkimsher »

stevenwoo wrote: post #159
peterburkimsher wrote: post #122

I was an exchange student at UCSB for 1 year. The US government caused me a lot of visa issues because I didn't have $25,000 cash, which meant that I couldn't get a job and had to pay $900 in fees for a visa application that was eventually denied. Due to family issues, I also wasn't getting support from my parents that year. AS CAB (the Associated Students Community Affairs Board) gave out free hot dogs on Tuesday ni…

Where did you go for the situation to change so drastically?

I'm now in Taiwan, and life is good here.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#187

Post by peterburkimsher »

s0rce wrote: post #165
peterburkimsher wrote: post #122

I was an exchange student at UCSB for 1 year. The US government caused me a lot of visa issues because I didn't have $25,000 cash, which meant that I couldn't get a job and had to pay $900 in fees for a visa application that was eventually denied. Due to family issues, I also wasn't getting support from my parents that year. AS CAB (the Associated Students Community Affairs Board) gave out free hot dogs on Tuesday ni…

Your were a student at a major university and they didn't assist with your immigration documents? Granted, I'm from Canada but when I was in grad school I don't know anyone of the other international students who had visa issues like that, although we didn't try to get other jobs beyond school, maybe that is the issue.

The problem is that I'm too poor. A letter from my parents' bank guaranteeing $25,000 wasn't enough - the USCIS required me to have that much money in my bank account. When I was 19.

I'm now 28, and I've still never had that much money. America is only interested in welcoming rich people.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#188

Post by rockinghigh »

rayiner wrote: post #158
Thlom wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just checked. Scandinavian countries, Australia and Luxembourg have higher median household income than the U.S.

So like 20 million people? What about the countries that make up the vast majority of Europe? Median income is much higher in the US than in UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

Not by much if you deduct retirement benefits, healthcare costs and education.

Re: Living in a parking lot in Santa Barbara

#190

Post by jstarfish »

gozur88 wrote: post #185
sjg007 wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nowaday you don’t need a kitchen to cook. Pizza/toaster oven, sous vide machine/crock pot/instapot, hot plate/griddle or George foreman or a blow torch, microwave and a fridge.

I thought those George Foreman grills were a gimmick (come on, they were selling it on informercials!), but a buddy of mine bought one and he swears by it.

We bought one for a family member with Alzheimer's for fear they would burn the house down otherwise.

Works fine but the burgers come out a bit dry.

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