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How to live on $432 a month in America

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Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#441

Post by npodbielski »

jvanderbot wrote: post #288
xp84 wrote: post #270

I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…

Any discussion of staying near family and friends on a forum predominated by startups out of the bay area is completely disingenuous. But that aside, I suggest this is front page and meaningful not because it brings up a third option (to stay home, move to a city, or move to rural NY), but instead because it advocates accidentally for just staying home . Your family probably already lives in an area that is more affo…

Yes, if you plan to have kids having parents or other family near is a big help. Big cities are fine when you are 18-25 and want to have fun. Near 30 and older you are just tired by the noise and other people being around ;)

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#442

Post by npodbielski »

kiba wrote: post #402
jvanderbot wrote: post #288

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Any discussion of staying near family and friends on a forum predominated by startups out of the bay area is completely disingenuous. But that aside, I suggest this is front page and meaningful not because it brings up a third option (to stay home, move to a city, or move to rural NY), but instead because it advocates accidentally for just staying home . Your family probably already lives in an area that is more affo…

I am substantially happier that I moved into the big city because I built social connections and I don't want to live with my parents anymore. Driving down there is insane and I wish there was decent transportation option. I can use electric scooter to move around most days. It's a lot more fun than driving my car. Really, what these places really need is major policy reform to make them more livable. There's a reaso…

[flagged]

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#443

Post by Ray20 »

KennyBlanken wrote: post #334
xp84 wrote: post #270

I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…

Rural living also looks cheaper because most people do not even remotely consider the costs of transportation. The IRS estimates per-mile deduction at well over 60 cents per mile. If you have to drive 15 miles to the grocery store and back, your grocery bill goes up $18/trip. If you need to drive 15 miles to work and back, take $90/week out of your paycheck. Then there's the fact that whoever is The Employer in that…

>The IRS estimates per-mile deduction at well over 60 cents per mile.

I think you are manipulating and substituting concepts, and these calculations of the cost of the trip include expensive cars of highly paid city workers. And if you recalculate the cost of the trip taking into account cars that are used outside the city, then the amount will be several times lower. Probably 5 or more times lower if people are interested in the maximum reduction in the cost of travel.

>almost every aspect of rural life is heavily subsidized

I don't know, show me the data. Maybe the city guys are just saying that it's all subsidized, while they themselves are completely stealing all the allocated funds, taking advantage of the lack of control. I recently watched a program about how government-funded projects were costing 10 or 20 times more. So, without credible evidence to the contrary, let's assume that what we see around us in rural areas has roughly zero subsidies, and all allocated funds have been completely appropriated by contractors.

>But heaven forbid a city get some federal funding for electric or hybrid transit busses that will serve several thousand people a day.

This is blatant hypocrisy. We have already sorted out how rural areas are "subsidized". And under these conditions, we are asking rural residents to pay for the transport of pompous urban asses? If this transport really moves so many thousands people as you said, why don't these city people pay for it themselves from their huge city salaries? Why do you want to put your fat fingers in the pockets of the rural guys?

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#444

Post by estebank »

loandbehold wrote: post #407
xp84 wrote: post #270

I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…

Professionals move from city to city all the time due to jobs. In the modern world it's easier to keep in touch with family and friends with Internet and cheap (by historical standards) flights.

Americans have been moving less and less, and that trend hasn't reverted.

https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/03/united-states...

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#445

Post by npodbielski »

rufus_foreman wrote: post #384
xp84 wrote: post #270

I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…

>> The missing piece here is social connections. Family and friends Silicon Valley is not populated by people who are there for family and friends. Silicon Valley is populated by people who left their family and friends to go participate in a gold rush. Silicon Valley is populated by people from other continents who came to participate in the gold rush, family and friends be damned. I really don't understand the anti…

I am not angry. I am barely cementator here even. But I find this article radicoulous. For example author mentioned raising family at the beginning. And then mentions no car. How are you suppose to transport kids to school/preschool? 'You can take the bus' - yeah, drive with the bus to one place (kindergarten), then the second (school), then the third (job). In the winter, rain, storm or heat. Yes that is doable but would be very annoying and time consuming. No mention to hearing kids complaining that they want to eat/drink/poop at the bus or bus stop.

And if you and you spouse have jobs and kids you probably need two cars, and school is another cost so I would say 400$ is pure fantasy unless you want to live insolitude, fishing in forest.

Normal people need near school/preschool/highschool/job/store etc. And this is why you have cities. It is cheaper for society to concentrate population around those buildings.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#446

Post by palmfacehn »

prmoustache wrote: post #259
xp84 wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree that the bus in the scenario is implausible for most. But in real life, most rural people would simply own a car. The author describes car ownership's costs hyperbolically, but unless you're doing long-distance commuting, driving a $5000 car wouldn't add more than $200 to his monthly budget, which wouldn't change the math dramatically, while I'd argue it would improve quality of life tremendously, especially…

What about cycling? If amishes are fine leaving there with horse carts as vehicles, there is no reason you can't manage using a bicycle. Even Ottawa is not out of reach at only 80miles.

I lived like this when I was younger and single. Most here, even the self-identified cyclists would scoff at it. It isn't for everyone. There are definite advantages in terms of health and overall robustness. If you are acclimatized to pedaling around in freezing weather and hauling in all of your supplies, you probably won't have a problem with wood heating.

That said, I don't think it would be fair to expect my wife to enjoy that lifestyle. I cannot imagine taking a child to a dental appointment under those circumstances.

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#447

Post by RezKan »

999900000999 wrote: post #340
bcraven wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is just utterly astonishing to me. I've just checked a map and it's ~0.5 km between where I park at work and my office!

Your going to have to walk both ways, in the rain/snow, etc ? Like a lot of comments have already mentioned these towns don't even have sidewalks. You'll be walking on the side of the street risking an accident

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Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#448

Post by permo-w »

tangjurine wrote: post #437
drewg123 wrote: post #308

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that its across an international border from the Montreal airport. So you'd need to cross a border twice to fly to a domestic US destination and twice more on your return. Crossing a border is always an unknown in terms of delays, so I question the practicality. I'd personally feel like I needed to leave way more than 90 minutes to ge to the airport. FWIW, I've crossed the border at both Cornwall and O…

Massena, the place in the article, has an airport. An international airport. Just checked flights from sfo to there, 500 bucks. I don't get how this is different than moving to another state for work.

also, if you have a social "thing" like tennis or climbing or drugs or whatever thing you like that tends to have an active and welcoming social community that you're willing to engage with, then the social issue can be dampened somewhat

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#449

Post by fullstackchris »

Great article, yes, its the classic "I want to not work AND keep my current lifestyle" I dont know if it was social media, bitterness at boomers, or whatever, that made most zoomers behold this pipe dream.

Loved the Massena example, but I went to school near there (Clarkson) and the winters are pretty rough. Summer / fall is beautiful though!

Re: How to live on $432 a month in America

#450

Post by ludicrousdispla »

cjbarber wrote: post #311
xp84 wrote: post #270

I've commented (probably too much) to argue with the harshest critics of this piece, but I am surprised to not have seen much this criticism which is my main one: Supposing I've made peace with the main gist of this: Cut living expenses to a point where you can work ¼ or so of the time most of us spend working by living somewhere cheap and not being so materialistic. The missing piece here is social connections. Fami…

The network effects/moats of places! There needs to be a Kickstarter for coordinating groups of people to move to the same place all at the same time.

Seems like you could call it Cultstarter
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