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Old 10-03-2014, 08:01 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by haha View Post
Anybody notice that this post "has been flagged for removal."
Ha
I noticed that. Didn't see the original post, but there are a host of fake ads for rentals on Craigslist. Telltale signs are photos that look "stock", and rents that are far too low for the place being described. These ads often lack a phone number and require all communication to be via e-mail.

Having said that, I do believe there are ways to live in even high COL areas on marginal incomes if you're creative and adaptable. I have a good friend who looked on CL every day for 2 years before finding a small studio apartment in a nice part of Oakland, very close to Lake Merritt. She pays a sliver under $500/month which is an absolute steal. She's been there for 3 - 4 years, and equivalent places in the area now rent for ~$1000. When she found it, the building was managed by an elderly lady who took a brief look at her application, took a shine to her, and let her have the place on the spot. Even then, the rent was below market - now, even more so.

But hey - not everyone wants to live in a large metropolitan area in a small studio apartment. I get that.
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Old 10-03-2014, 08:29 PM   #42
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What type of Standard of Living are they trying to define? For my area, Castro Valley/Pleasanton in SF Bay Area, they say for 1 person:

Living wage: 24K (gross)
Housing: 963 (Bull...1 bedroom rents are 1400 to 1800, does not include utilities)
Transportation: 283 (Bull...Insurance, repairs, gas, loan.. doesn't add up)
Everything else in life: 98 (Bull...... no way!)

If you make $24k here, you are poor and have to figure out alternatives (maybe living with the parents or relatives for free). I'm not advocating raising the wage at the low end of the scale, but why define it as a living wage. Technically, if you make a wage and you are living.....is that not a living wage?
There are multiple places for rent under $963/mo. Not real nice but provide a minimum shelter for someone on minimum wage. Here's one example: Small 1 Bedroom Duplex OPEN TUES 10/7 & THURS 10/9 6-7 pm

Transportation: No need for a car in a place with no freezing weather and little rain. Use a bike or public transportation or your feet.
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Old 10-04-2014, 09:54 AM   #43
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This time it took 12 seconds to find this one:

Large furnished sunny bedroom w/private bath available.

$480/month

Did you look at the rooms & shares at SF bay area rooms & shares - craigslist ?

I sorted by price and there appear to be a fair amount around the $500-600 range.

If I was near destitute, I could probably afford multiple minutes or even hours researching these places, asking friends, looking at community bulletin boards, etc for reasonably priced accommodations. I've found that somehow broke students and non-multimillionaires seem to get by in expensive COL areas somehow.
I'm not saying that it is impossible to find a low cost way of living. My friends brother, who never really fit into society, lives in a tent in a parking lot. My point is what is the purpose of defining a "Living Wage" if it only means that you survived another day. It would be more useful to define an income that someone could actually live a relatively normal life in that location. BTW, I would not let my 23 year old daughter, who works in downtown SF, live in any of the places you found.
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Old 10-04-2014, 10:11 AM   #44
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The SF craigslist adds were mostly for shared rooms (at the affordable price)... which is what someone with limited means, in an expensive area, does...

These are the tradeoffs. In a lower cost of living area, a low income single person might be able to get a studio apartment.

I have a good friend who lived in a womens only residential hotel (Like Bosom Buddies) for 18 months when she first moved to SF. She had a professional job at KRON, but the hotel was what fit her budget. After that she moved to rental shares. One of the reasons she moved back to the San Diego area was the cost of living...
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Old 10-05-2014, 02:45 PM   #45
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I'm not saying that it is impossible to find a low cost way of living. My friends brother, who never really fit into society, lives in a tent in a parking lot. My point is what is the purpose of defining a "Living Wage" if it only means that you survived another day. It would be more useful to define an income that someone could actually live a relatively normal life in that location. BTW, I would not let my 23 year old daughter, who works in downtown SF, live in any of the places you found.
I'd say sharing a house or apartment in SF is a far bit better than sleeping in a tent in a parking lot.

What's a relatively normal life? Guess that's why it's so hard to figure out this living wage thing.
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Old 10-05-2014, 05:20 PM   #46
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What's a relatively normal life? Guess that's why it's so hard to figure out this living wage thing.
There you go. You nailed it in two sentences.
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Old 10-07-2014, 07:05 AM   #47
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How is living wage not equal to the cost of living?


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Old 10-07-2014, 08:23 AM   #48
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I'd say sharing a house or apartment in SF is a far bit better than sleeping in a tent in a parking lot.
You never met my college roommate.
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Old 10-07-2014, 08:37 AM   #49
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In Seattle, a cheaper city, an attractive young woman might find a room for $500 if she didn't mind some ancillary duties.
Ha
I did not place that ad...
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Old 10-07-2014, 04:54 PM   #50
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How is living wage not equal to the cost of living?


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In a tent, or in a rented room, or in a studio apartment, or are we entitled to single family houses, mcmansions, or perhaps real mansions?
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Old 10-07-2014, 07:10 PM   #51
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In a tent, or in a rented room, or in a studio apartment, or are we entitled to single family houses, mcmansions, or perhaps real mansions?
You Fuego, are entitled to the moon. Especially if there is a subsidy.

Ha
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