General Discussion

alarimer

(17,146 posts)

44. Lots of places are affordable because no one wants to move there.

Wed Dec 16, 2015, 03:46 PM

Dec 2015

I've lived in lots of places I could easily afford, but were awful in so many ways (lack of culture, right-wing assholes abounding, nothing fun to do, small town, etc). So I moved north, to someplace I could not actually afford if I weren't living with someone. We can probably afford a house here with our two salaries, but I could never do that on my own.

But I can't ever see Corpus Christi, say, being a good place to live for folks like me, people who like non-mainstream culture. it is a very "middling" sort of place and too far from anyplace else that might have it (like San Antonio or Austin, which are both pretty good places to live). I lived there for 15 years and it is kind of a dump. Except for the proximity to the beach, it has nothing going for it. The plus side is that people can now afford to live near the beach. If it became trendy, that would end in a hurry.

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With Soaring Rents and a Vanishing Middle Class, San Francisco Becomes a City for the Rich [View all] marmar Dec 2015 OP

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The Fast Pass is the only way to go if you ride the cable cars regularly. KamaAina Dec 2015 #3

Well if we bump into each other we will never upaloopa Dec 2015 #6

There is the possibility of a DU meetup KamaAina Dec 2015 #7

Do they talk about Hillary and Bernie? upaloopa Dec 2015 #14

Hmmm. The three of us are Bernie folks KamaAina Dec 2015 #15

Really? I wish I could join but I don't eat meat. I regularly go to restaurants that Luminous Animal Dec 2015 #32

Actually, Hell Hath No Fury is veggie as well. KamaAina Dec 2015 #36

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend beach blanket babylon, though tickets might be hard to still_one Dec 2015 #11

Correction - SF Muni has a policy of allowing passengers with passes to board without inspection... brooklynite Dec 2015 #17

Well I am not a regular so thanks for the info upaloopa Dec 2015 #18

You probably know this but Muni has 1-7 day visitor passes. Luminous Animal Dec 2015 #29

I think we are staying near there upaloopa Dec 2015 #33

You probably know this but Muni has 1-7 day visitor passes. Luminous Animal Dec 2015 #30

I'd quibble a bit here Prism Dec 2015 #2

Housing prices are though the roof also. In Santa Clara county it isn't that much better. In still_one Dec 2015 #4

I haven't live there in 13 years Johonny Dec 2015 #40

I didn't come that way so I don't know, but one thing I do know, traffic still_one Dec 2015 #41

It's like a Summer of Love for the one-percenters KamaAina Dec 2015 #5

That isn't exactly true. A lot of people have lived here for decades, and they are not the 1%. The still_one Dec 2015 #8

The ones flooding in are primarily wealthy techies KamaAina Dec 2015 #9

"They have rent control in SF, but landlords are finding ways around that also." KamaAina Dec 2015 #10

I see you are from where I am, so you know exactly what is happening. Not great in Santa Clara still_one Dec 2015 #12

Nope, and we have very few amenities compared to SF KamaAina Dec 2015 #13

That is one nice thing about SF, their mass transit. San Jose has tried with the light rail, but it still_one Dec 2015 #16

And my light rail line runs every half-hour middays and weekends KamaAina Dec 2015 #26

My building is owned by Chinese nationals Prism Dec 2015 #20

They are supposed to be responsible for such repairs, but I understand about keeping a low profile still_one Dec 2015 #21

In theory, they're responsible for tons of shit Prism Dec 2015 #22

My daughter is moving to SF in February. Xithras Dec 2015 #23

Sunset is the only place I'd want to live in 'Frisco. Throd Dec 2015 #24

a) It's a streetcar. b) Frisco is the Dallas suburb where MLS' FC Dallas plays. KamaAina Dec 2015 #25

I call it 'Frisco every chance I get. Throd Dec 2015 #27

Why doesn't Stockton have an NBA team? KamaAina Dec 2015 #28

As an Urban Planner, I have an answer that you won't like.... brooklynite Dec 2015 #19

As an urban planner you must know that inclusionary zoning, construction, financing, and tax Gormy Cuss Dec 2015 #39

Yes they do...but not at a scale to provide affordable housing for everyone who needs it brooklynite Dec 2015 #43

There's a vast gulf between providing for everyone and just shrugging off all change as good Gormy Cuss Dec 2015 #45

your reasoning is simplistic CreekDog Dec 2015 #46

I teach Transportation and Land Use to grad students at NYU... brooklynite Dec 2015 #47

do you have a rent controlled apartment? CreekDog Dec 2015 #49

Yep. I'm feeling the pain every month. AtomicKitten Dec 2015 #31

I'm not sure it's the super rich, it's mostly the young and naive Sen. Walter Sobchak Dec 2015 #34

Happening in Austin, Seattle, NYC melman Dec 2015 #35

Welcome to American capitalism Taitertots Dec 2015 #37

The REAL problem is the rest of the USA Yavin4 Dec 2015 #38

Lots of places are affordable because no one wants to move there. alarimer Dec 2015 #44

It's a trade-off. Comes with the territory of being the technology capital of the world LittleBlue Dec 2015 #42

The biggest reason for this is because the suburban trend has faded and big cities are now popular.. AZ Progressive Dec 2015 #48