The apartment above in “Crenshaw Village” retails at $720.00 a month. This is a studio apartment (only 120 square feet) in Los Angeles. Most of my life I have lived in Saint Louis, MO, where a nice two bedroom apartment in a great neighborhood usually runs between $600.00-$900.00. As a matter of fact, my three bedroom house w/ finished basement, 1.5 bathrooms, and very large backyard cost 675.00 a month. I gave all that up to explore career options on the west coast. What I didn’t expect was the huge increase in rental cost. Anyone that lives on either coast can attest to the high cost of rental properties. When I first moved to LA I knew I wanted to live close to the beach, in a great neighborhood, near the mountains and canyons. However, the costs of these properties are astronomical so getting a roommate was my only option (unless I wanted to live in Watts). I love my apartment but do I think a two bedroom is worth $1796.00…. HELL NO. That is one of my complaints about living in Cali, a good chunk of my income goes towards housing. I often wonder how people like housekeepers, fast food workers and cashiers live. I make pretty good money and still have to budget to do simple things like shop and go out with friends, so I can only image the how they make a dolla outta fifteen cents.
On both coasts of the United States, and many cities in between, hundreds of thousands of renters face comparable plights. The home mortgage crisis has received far more notice, but experts say the ranks of renters with dire housing problems are growing faster than the ranks of defaulting homeowners.
The Center for Housing Policy reports that the number of working-family renters paying more than half their income for housing has soared from 1 million to 2.1 million since 1997. Overall, advocacy groups say there are 9 million low-income renter households and only 6.2 million units they can reasonably afford.
In my opinion if you make less than $70,000 per year and live on the coast you should automatically qualify for section 8. A single person living on the coast would has to make at least $100,000 to live comfortably without too many financial worries. This housing crunch can even determine if and when children are born, because if you are single and can barely keep a roof over your head what the hell you gone do with some kids! I guess that is why all these people keep getting boo’d up with each other. Cause, it’s gone take at least two incomes to make it in the east, west, and some parts of the south. There are so many people (at least in LA) that have never lived on their own. My current roommate is almost 40 and has never lived in an apartment by herself. Many people (like myself) find themselves in a boomtown that thrives economically due major corporations offering great jobs and possible career advancement. However, during the time while you’re trying to “advance” you’re stuck in financial hell. Tryna make a come up can be hard on the pockets. Until then I guess I will just keep begging my friend to move down here so I can share her section 8 with her, if that happens maybe I can finally get that BMW 700 series…… ain’t that a shame.
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On both coasts of the United States, and many cities in between, hundreds of thousands of renters face comparable plights. The home mortgage crisis has received far more notice, but experts say the ranks of renters with dire housing problems are growing faster than the ranks of defaulting homeowners.
The Center for Housing Policy reports that the number of working-family renters paying more than half their income for housing has soared from 1 million to 2.1 million since 1997. Overall, advocacy groups say there are 9 million low-income renter households and only 6.2 million units they can reasonably afford.
In my opinion if you make less than $70,000 per year and live on the coast you should automatically qualify for section 8. A single person living on the coast would has to make at least $100,000 to live comfortably without too many financial worries. This housing crunch can even determine if and when children are born, because if you are single and can barely keep a roof over your head what the hell you gone do with some kids! I guess that is why all these people keep getting boo’d up with each other. Cause, it’s gone take at least two incomes to make it in the east, west, and some parts of the south. There are so many people (at least in LA) that have never lived on their own. My current roommate is almost 40 and has never lived in an apartment by herself. Many people (like myself) find themselves in a boomtown that thrives economically due major corporations offering great jobs and possible career advancement. However, during the time while you’re trying to “advance” you’re stuck in financial hell. Tryna make a come up can be hard on the pockets. Until then I guess I will just keep begging my friend to move down here so I can share her section 8 with her, if that happens maybe I can finally get that BMW 700 series…… ain’t that a shame.
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