Quarter Mil' Y'all!

choopie911 wrote: Yeah, we're the most expensive in the world now I think, more than NYC. Our cabs are also the most expensive because they wont issue new licenses, so a smallish group (comparitively) is servicing the whole city. My 2 bedroom apartment is $1300 a month. (total, not each)

Dude, I make like 2K a month which is really good for this area. No way I could afford 1300 a month for rent.

Yeah that's a good minimum.

Part of my issue is that school limits my hours. I work 32 hours a weekend and get on call pay, so my 16 bucks an hour goes a long way. Otherwise, most jobs around here barely pay enough to make it. I can't imagine working minimum wage in this country (like 7 bucks?)

I think that most humans develop a survival reaction that is content with its' environment. That contentment translates to a feeling of superiority.

My view of survival is limited to my own surroundings, but I clear double the minimum wage and can't afford a decent apartment plus a car payment and it infuriates me when people judge minimum wage workers as lazy or useless for living with their parents. If I made minimum wage in America, I'd certainly be living with my folks. Hell, I make double that and live with my sis.

I still love my country though...it's just not as easy to make it as many think. Especially with full time college.

We pay 1625/mo in rent and utilities for 900sqft right now. That's considered cheap for 3br 1ba where we are. You just learn to adapt to where you are. In the same job I'm at now, but in a different area, I'd only be making 40k/year. Add in the fact that my wife should be earning 50-70k for the job she's doing (and will be shortly) and we'd be well over 120k/year gross. It's all relative. We wouldn't make that kind of money back where we come from, but the housing and everything else would be cheaper. I make nearly 20k more than the average American household does just by myself. The advantage to what we face here is that when we buy our house, and sock away a lot of that higher-end earning potential into our retirement accounts, we can sometime down the road, and make out like bandits. My company has contracts EVERYWHERE, so selling our 250k house in 3 years may net us a nice chunk of change to buy an even better house somewhere less expensive to live. Add in the fact that my company keeps my salary the same even if I move to a lower cost of living state, and we'll be living rather well in a few years or more.

pntbl freak wrote: What does the average American household make?

Data on houshold income isn't available for the "During Obama" time period... Most people have taken a big hit, as they were making much more "Before Obama"...

Ugh... if I wasn't having a wedding, I could be buying a house right now.  

I make just over $70k per year, and just over $5k per month.  My rent for my 1000ish sq foot apartment is a little over 1800/month, with all utilities other than electric included.  

mbro wrote: Snipa69 wrote: I just moved in to a new apartment that is 520sq/ft and pay $895/mo in rent not including any utilities. I'm not ready to take advantage of my gov't loan capabilities just yet. problem is, in my area houses start in the low 500k. Granted I do not have to stay here, but WA has the highest wages in the U.S. and I am currently waiting to hear if a job opening will come up in a company I am interested in working for.  What did you end up deciding to do?

He's been working on that gold flakes and oil pipeline to your house.

Seriously though, I hear his new job involves a dirty rag, and old squeegee, and a bottle of watered-down Windex underneath and overpass....

Snipa69 wrote: Actually Tallen, It's last weeks news paper rather than a dirty rag. Other than that, nailed it.

You and Whale should get together, form a union. Between his sweet hobo beard and your old newspaper, the sky's the limit! Well.... not really the sky, but a nice extra large refrigerator box to call home.