Live data from Hacker News

$100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

wsj.com

191–200 of 321 posts

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#191

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was walking distance from the local university + local hospital. My sister at the time was studying to be a medical doctor, so she needed to be close to those two spots. There wasn't much else going on in the town aside from the university + hospital.

What kind of "small town" are we talking about? Most "small town"s I think of don't have universities. Maybe a community college for the whole county.

Well, its all relative ain't it.

Lets just say... Buies Creek, North Carolina. I've been to smaller towns, but I'd say population of 2,942 is small for most people. EDIT: Seems like prices may have gone up in recent years: I'm seeing $800 to $1000 on Rent.com, but there's still a listing or two for $600/month. Or maybe "word of mouth" is still king there.

Buies Creek is still reasonably close to the Raleigh metropolitan area. So this is still "somewhat suburban". I've visited my cousins in Coulee City, WA (Population 562), so I know what "actually rural" looks like too.

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#192
post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends a lot on the school you went to and what kind of financial aid you were able to get. Back when I was picking a college for my CS undergrad, the choice boiled down to (numbers are rough estimates, because I don't remember the exact ones, but they are close enough and should relay the point I am trying to make): * UCLA out of state: some financial aid for the first year, bringing the costs down to around $25…

Just to add you could’ve done TAG (Transfer Admission Guarantee) to both GaTech and UGA from Georgia Perimeter (community college) and saved a bunch on tuition or get in via transferring to a difficult school. I went to KSU to be with my wife (girlfriend at the time) and did Information Systems. Had I known I would love software engineering I might have done CS elsewhere. Are you still in Atlanta? If so what kind of…

Oh yeah, I definitely heard about TAG program before, but it is fairly tricky, as I felt that the first years at GT are the ones that shape you up and give you a very strong head-start in terms of internships and such. I've known quite a few people who went through TAG, and a lot of them struggled at GT pretty majorly after transferring, because they weren't hit with the GT intensity hammer straight to their temple when they started college. While students who went through GT from the very beginning already embraced the hammer hits to the head by that point and even started hitting themselves with it. Definitely not a hard rule though, I've met quite a few TAG transfers who were just as resilient and successful in their college career.

As for ATL, unfortunately no. I moved to Seattle right after graduation for a couple of reasons. Starting with the career opportunities and ending with the desire for a change of scenery. If you want to talk more about it, do not hesitate to reach out - me(at-sign)olegwritescode.fyi

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

home ownership, two kids, college education, and regular travel, all while being financially comfortable and saving for retirement are what the hallmarks of the american middle class dream used to be. A 100k household income doesn't afford you that anymore.

"Regular travel"? This is not a historically aware definition of "the American dream". Regular travel isn't even a goal of most people today .

Vacationing is def a part of the American dream, whether its a road trip or air travel

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#194
post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And then just work for that company forever? What's the end-game?

Work for yourself eventually?

This is a great goal for certain types of people with exceptionally high talent and resilience.

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#195

I know millennials with combined household incomes in excess of $200k who can't afford to buy, because huge student loans are required to get that kind of income if mommy and daddy aren't rich in the first place.

> I know millennials with combined household incomes in excess of $200k who can't afford to buy, because huge student loans are required to get that kind of income if mommy and daddy aren't rich in the first place.

Man - I'm nearly at that income just by myself. (Am millennial) I know others my age who make $300k+/yr as single income. They also cannot afford to buy a home. It has nothing to do with debt for me or them (I graduated debt free thanks to the VA). It's purely the price of homes.

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#196

$100,000 still a lot of money. You can buy a beer in Vietnam for 20 cents. The problem in the Bay Area, where I live, is we artificially limit the amount of housing. So prices move to infinity.

Ive thought a lot about this. For many residents, building more housing and letting more people in would irreparably change the “character” of the neighborhood. This can mean more crime, traffic, and pollution. Past a certain density automotive transportation becomes unfeasable and people will be forced to rely on public or other alternative forms of transportation like walking or riding a bike. Reducing housing cost…

I'm not convinced.

Rising housing prices are already dramatically changing SF. If you want to let residents maintain their way of living, I don't see how thats achieved by pricing poorer residents out of the city entirely. I'm sure most residents would prefer to live in apartments in SF than move to another city entirely.

As for transport, cars are already pretty unfeasable in SF with the population as is. Whats so bad about investing more in public transit and biking?

As for crime and traffic, most larger cities in Europe are much cleaner and safer than SF. More residents means city hall has more money to play with, which it can re-invest into schools, parks, the police, public transit and other things. Cheaper accomodation makes it easier to re-house homeless people and it makes homeless shelters more affordable for the city.

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#197

While housing is an issue (particularly in more prosperous coastal cities), if I made over $100k per year but couldn't afford a house in the $400k range, I don't think my response would be to rent a single-family house in Stapleton. There are more affordable apartments in the Denver area that are still in a good school district. Articles like this are starting to annoy me because I see the working poor and lower-midd…

> trying to live the lifestyle of young professionals in the 1980s

I've been interested in the subject for while, but do you know of any recommended reading material about what being a YP in the 80s was like (socially, career wise, etc) and the economics of how it was possible?

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#198

$100,000 still a lot of money. You can buy a beer in Vietnam for 20 cents. The problem in the Bay Area, where I live, is we artificially limit the amount of housing. So prices move to infinity.

Ive thought a lot about this. For many residents, building more housing and letting more people in would irreparably change the “character” of the neighborhood. This can mean more crime, traffic, and pollution. Past a certain density automotive transportation becomes unfeasable and people will be forced to rely on public or other alternative forms of transportation like walking or riding a bike. Reducing housing cost…

I'm not fond of the slippery slope argument, particularly when it comes from NIMBY's that bought their houses when markets were at a low because nobody wanted to live in these cities.

Bay area residents, Seattle residents, etc need to get over themselves and accept reality for what it is. They aren't protecting anything but their own sense of self-worth and the "theory" that bad things will happen if a 3 story apartment complex comes into the neighborhood.

The reality is, most of them want their property values insanely high, for when they are ready to sell and move to cheaper cities.

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#199

120 range in KS, 15 year mortgage on a 2,600ft^2 house is $2k on the nose. Commute is 15 minutes. KS isn't all that bad folks :)

What part? I visited KC earlier this and frankly didn't find it too terrible, but idk if I'd live in like Topeka or Wichita

Re: $100k/year still might not be enough to buy a home

#200

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of "small town" are we talking about? Most "small town"s I think of don't have universities. Maybe a community college for the whole county.

Well, its all relative ain't it. Lets just say... Buies Creek, North Carolina. I've been to smaller towns, but I'd say population of 2,942 is small for most people. EDIT: Seems like prices may have gone up in recent years: I'm seeing $800 to $1000 on Rent.com, but there's still a listing or two for $600/month. Or maybe "word of mouth" is still king there. Buies Creek is still reasonably close to the Raleigh metropoli…

Yeah - 30 miles outside Raleigh isn't really a small town, IMO. It seems more like a suburb.
Post reply on HN