The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
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Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#2This same story seems to be playing out anywhere that attracts it and allows it.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#3Unsustainable. If you're a wealthy individual living in an expensive residence surrounded by other wealthy individuals living in expensive residences, you still need garbagemen to collect your garbage. You still need food. Whether you order from local restaurants staffed by employees, or buy your groceries at the supermarket, staffed by employees, janitorial personnel, security guards, and managers, you're still relying on the labor of ordinary people.
If your power goes out or there is a water leak in your home, you need an electrician or a plumber. Preferably one who doesn't have to live five hours away. If you need an ambulance and medical attention, you need doctors, nurses, and medical personnel. Hopefully they didn't get priced out of a 50 mile radius of your home.
And if the world consisted of only millionaires and an army of robots, if everyone is a millionaire, no one is. A carton of milk would just cost $700 and a lower end house $30M.
Be a YIMBY. Embrace looser zoning regulations and more and denser housing where you live. And don't jack up the rent to market rates if you're already turning a profit.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#4Unsustainable. If you're a wealthy individual living in an expensive residence surrounded by other wealthy individuals living in expensive residences, you still need garbagemen to collect your garbage. You still need food. Whether you order from local restaurants staffed by employees, or buy your groceries at the supermarket, staffed by employees, janitorial personnel, security guards, and managers, you're still rely…
If California urban centers like SF and LA are any example - the “sustainable” limit is somewhere around two-three hours away.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#5Unsustainable. If you're a wealthy individual living in an expensive residence surrounded by other wealthy individuals living in expensive residences, you still need garbagemen to collect your garbage. You still need food. Whether you order from local restaurants staffed by employees, or buy your groceries at the supermarket, staffed by employees, janitorial personnel, security guards, and managers, you're still rely…
If California urban centers like SF and LA are any example - the “sustainable” limit is somewhere around two-three hours away.
That's only sustainable for now because car fuel is cheap. It's not guaranteed to stay that way.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#6Unsustainable. If you're a wealthy individual living in an expensive residence surrounded by other wealthy individuals living in expensive residences, you still need garbagemen to collect your garbage. You still need food. Whether you order from local restaurants staffed by employees, or buy your groceries at the supermarket, staffed by employees, janitorial personnel, security guards, and managers, you're still rely…
It's not really unsustainable - Switzerland and other wealthy microstates show us the long-term outcome, which is quite desirable. In fact, the "ordinary people" will eventually benefit the most, since their wages will grow to match the prevalent cost of living. Transition can of course be difficult.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#7I hope Portugal won't tackle it like my country, with a cap on rent and other market distortions. I think that only makes it worse.
Fun fact: I - as a single - live in a way too big, luxurious and expensive apartment because of this. I rented it, when I was still working for the man and was making a killing. Now I live a much more modest 4-hour-workweek life. It would be better for me to move to an apartment half the size. Then a big family could live here nicely. But no way. No landlord in Germany rents to a freelancer who enjoys a "I'm mainly slacking off for a while" lifestyle.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#8Earlier quoted context omitted.
If California urban centers like SF and LA are any example - the “sustainable” limit is somewhere around two-three hours away.
That's only sustainable for now because car fuel is cheap. It's not guaranteed to stay that way.
In Europe it isn't, so that 2h number goes down very rapidly.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#9No post body was provided.
Re: The Portuguese can no longer afford to live in Portugal
#10I do think that a state should exist primarily for the benefit of its citizens but this view had long been decried xenophobic at best.
However, you can't have it both ways. If
> countless stories of flats left uninhabited by some rich person who arrived at the building, bought two flats so that he could get a visa, and doesn’t even live there
then clearly not
> wealthy foreigners from all over the world, to whom we offer a paradise where they enjoy the same services but where they don’t pay or pay less tax than the general population
Either they live there and use services or not.