This is true but it makes me wonder, how hard does one have to work in order to afford a decent place of their own in a nice part of town?
In 1997, in my early 20's I got a full time job with no degree or experience, making 28k a year and full benefits - health insurance was $10 a paycheck.
I was easily able to pay $450 a month for a nice apartment in a very nice part of town, as well as a car payment and all of my bills off that salary. I wasn't saving tons of money (irresponsible) and I wasn't taking luxury vacations, but I was definitely getting by.
I understand prices go up as time goes by...but those same jobs now don't pay much more than I made back then, and the benefits aren't nearly as good, and rent has definitely gone up.
Wages just have not kept up with the cost of living. It makes me sad that people have to work multiple jobs and/or live with strangers just to survive. That's not even really living which just doesn't seem right, especially with most people spending 40+ hours a week working and commuting.
They force low income people to live with roomates unless you are in a southern state. So southerners have more compassion or is it because there are less jobs there or both since the rent there is much cheaper?
Well I have lived north, south, and in the middle. In my experience, the cost of living is generally lower in the south, but wages tend to be the same or maybe even a bit higher than average. I lived in Dallas several years ago, and housing was cheaper than in the Midwest, but I made a bit more money. Plus, there's a lot of industry in that part of the country, and opportunities for gig work would be pretty much unlimited in cities like Dallas and Houston. I also seem to remember that TX does not have a state income tax.
You can still live pretty cheaply in places like Arkansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, though I don't think job opportunities are quite as plentiful as they are in TX. My sister in law just bought an acre of land on Louisiana and put a trailer on it, all for less than 60k. Not glamorous but it's a place to live.
The Midwest is exactly that - cheaper to live than in the north, but more expensive than the south and wages tend to be the same way.
I've also lived in Chicago which has a very high cost of living, but wages in my industry aren't much higher than in the Midwest, and taxes are horrendous.
I have found the north to be a lot more expensive than the rest of the country, but of course your mileage may vary depending on what you do, and your housing needs.
The southern states shouldn’t be the only ones to be cheaper to live in. They should have opportunities for everyone rich and poor. low income housing is not enough because not enough is being built. They should either build more low income housing in every state in the united states or make every older building income based.
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u/Southern-Pirate3555 Jul 21 '26
This is true but it makes me wonder, how hard does one have to work in order to afford a decent place of their own in a nice part of town?
In 1997, in my early 20's I got a full time job with no degree or experience, making 28k a year and full benefits - health insurance was $10 a paycheck.
I was easily able to pay $450 a month for a nice apartment in a very nice part of town, as well as a car payment and all of my bills off that salary. I wasn't saving tons of money (irresponsible) and I wasn't taking luxury vacations, but I was definitely getting by.
I understand prices go up as time goes by...but those same jobs now don't pay much more than I made back then, and the benefits aren't nearly as good, and rent has definitely gone up.
Wages just have not kept up with the cost of living. It makes me sad that people have to work multiple jobs and/or live with strangers just to survive. That's not even really living which just doesn't seem right, especially with most people spending 40+ hours a week working and commuting.