US Consumerism and the Recession

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by Jon Miller


It is over $1000/mo. for a quite ****ty 2 bedroom apartment here in Newport News. While it is definitely not the bad area of town, it isn't the hip area of town either. Additionally, while it isn't a complete dump (well, our place is, but the complex isn't), it isn't all that nice either.

JM

We have a small 2bed/2bath for $940 a month, but it's close to the ocean and very convenient for public transportation.

[Japher]

Personally, I don't feel that it's possible to live in some of the areas that have seen giant increases in rent/home prices. You really don't get paid enough more to compensate for the higher cost of living just on rent alone.

If I hadn't of left San Jose I would have been laid off not long after. Had that had happen, missing one pay check would have been disastrous, and not because I hadn't planned ahead, but because I couldn't. There was nothing left over at the end of the month, and I wasn't spending a lot.

Now, that I am in Cincinnati, and now that I am laid off and severance has worn out, I am still not worried. I have actually managed to save enough cash to last us for about 6 months. We saved that money within 1.5 years of moving here for emergencies, we live in a nice home, we will have a baby in this time, and we are going on vacation Saturday for a week at lake Erie.

And my money habits haven't changed a whole lot.

Anyway, none of this would have been possible had I not moved away from those places with "jobs". Yeah, it's nice you have jobs, but even if you pay me I can't afford it. I can afford not working here more than I can afford working there. I know I will find something eventually, but I'm not going to sweat it.

What I'm saying, is that consumerism isn't the problem it's unreal expectations out of "investments" and on pay. I'm leaning more and more toward a living wage, and some of these ppl need to put more value on rent/mortgage values will figuring out cost of living indicies then they currently do. Because they mean a lot.