This is a bullshit story for sure. Anyone who lives in Seattle knows this is simply not true. If you move south to Kent or Tacoma you will find a lot of places with a decent rent.
Same if you start moving north to Shoreline and above.
Those places are not far from Seattle. If you live in a freaking RV in downtown that's definitely your choice.
Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
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Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#12This is why cities should be turning away Amazon's HQ2.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#13I wouldn't classify living in an RV as "homeless". Lots of people do that and just pick up mail in a post office box. There are people near me living on boats, because the monthly slip fees are cheaper than rent. That doesn't make them homeless or poor.
Sleepless in Seattle anyone?
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#14I joke that the way to afford rent in LA is to live in your car. I grew up there and last visit I had one friend who sleeps in his van when he sublets his apartment and another who was looking to buy a van to live rent free for a while. It's amazing that we haven't started building upward yet.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#15I joke that the way to afford rent in LA is to live in your car. I grew up there and last visit I had one friend who sleeps in his van when he sublets his apartment and another who was looking to buy a van to live rent free for a while. It's amazing that we haven't started building upward yet.
A van parked at the Berkeley Marina is looking like a pretty good option in the bay area. I could sublet my Piedmont place and spend the few thousand on some sweet van digs.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#16This is a bullshit story for sure. Anyone who lives in Seattle knows this is simply not true. If you move south to Kent or Tacoma you will find a lot of places with a decent rent. Same if you start moving north to Shoreline and above. Those places are not far from Seattle. If you live in a freaking RV in downtown that's definitely your choice.
I don't make 250k, my wife's income included, and we own a home just north of Seattle. I bus it in and she drives to her job in Ballard. That must be some new hipster trend, 'cause that ain't forced =[
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#17I don't have many data points on Seattle, but I'm reminded of this article from a couple years ago: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12459698
Seattle was also one of those cities hostile to jitneys. http://mynorthwest.com/152499/political-promise-personal-veh...?
So my impression is that Seattle often jumps the gun regulating things away--banning things that actually increase quality of life/spending power. We all know that those without discretionary income are the first to feel drops in spending power (due to regulation, etc.).
I'm also reminded of a great chapter in "Downtown: Its Rise and Fall" which talks about the special interests behind and the consequences of tenement reform, consequences which were largely negative if you were poor. I can't help wondering if similar forces have led to Seattle's present-day predicaments.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#18This is why cities should be turning away Amazon's HQ2.
One couple choosing to live in an RV doesn't make a good argument for that.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#19This is a bullshit story for sure. Anyone who lives in Seattle knows this is simply not true. If you move south to Kent or Tacoma you will find a lot of places with a decent rent. Same if you start moving north to Shoreline and above. Those places are not far from Seattle. If you live in a freaking RV in downtown that's definitely your choice.
Bus commute from Shoreline is 1h each way. Manageable but quite far.
Tacoma is really freaking far though. I’d be in a world of misery if I had to commute from there every day.
Re: Seattle's New Normal: Homelessness Is Now Middle Class
#20This is why cities should be turning away Amazon's HQ2.
One couple choosing to live in an RV doesn't make a good argument for that.
Agree! Here's a better data point, where the Seattle mayor says as much (while announcing $100 million investment in affordable housing because there is so little).
“Too many long-time residents are getting locked out and pushed out of Seattle,” Durkan said in a statement.
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-t...
That's why it's not the best idea to use subsidies to lure one of the largest tech companies in the world to your town. Available housing declines, it takes far too long in the feedback cycle for new housing to be built, and you've made the city marginally worse for anyone who isn't a tech worker.