This is so complicated....yay for late stage capitalism!
I decided to go back to school at some point since my creative work + trying to find a dayjob wasn't enough (this was during the 2008 recession, lots of people looking for work), was about to be homeless (did not know about vanlife, hiking, etc yet). Got a medical degree that eventually paid me more, now I have $200k+ of student loans and I basically will never be able to afford a house on my own even in a crappy area until the loans are forgiven when I'm 60 (my field doesn't pay enough to pay them off in full). Hope that program still exists!
I am grateful I had the chance to go back to school, it wouldn't have happened if previous college I hadn't gotten scholarships and grants for. I know not everyone would have the patience for the amount of school I did and certainly not everyone would get the same amount of funding for school. There's a lot more programs now helping people out with student loans, I feel the Biden administration doesn't get enough credit for them. Still, it's not enough.
What you said is right on. I live in a MCOL city (well, rather, right outside of it in an under-the-radar blue collar town). I work right in the center of the big city, 1 block from where I lived in a crappy but adequate apartment when I was a student in my creative work 18 years ago. Lots of students and creatives and random blue collar people used to live there. There's no way to afford living there now. The demographic has changed a lot- the few students left come from much more money than they did in that area before, and people otherwise make a lot- 6 figures per each partner the norm. Creative-types have moved further and further out of town. Even communal living isn't enough (there's a neighborhood famous for this but most people are priced out; that's where the middle to upper middle class students live now). The ones who are in their 40s like me only can afford to buy a house if they lucked out with a partner who had a good job, bought a long time ago, or family money. People in the trades can't live anywhere near these areas they work in, they have to live much further away and long commutes. That always was a bit of a thing, but I feel cities used to have at least some tiny, not super fancy, affordable places in most areas, and now they don't. I worry about my 70 year old friend whose house he rented for 20 years got demolished to build a condo that has never rented in the 5 years since. One of these days he won't be able to afford the tiny apartment he lives in now that's in a central area so he can get to gigs easily. Then what?
This also makes people stuck- if you are lucky enough to snag affordable housing- hard to give it up and move to a new city where the odds are low to find another place like that.
Anyway enough sob story from me (I actually feel quite lucky in my situation), I hope you find a superswell place to live. Not just to live- to call home.
Great writing. I have a friend (maybe former?) who owns a home in Bend, OR and she recently bought a condo to turn into an AirB&B. I told her she was part of the problem and who did she think she could hire to clean it?? Anyway, my daughter used to live in Gustavus and in the winter they kept a ring of foam insulation in the cabin and carried it out to the outhouse so they would have something warm to sit on. Granted Gustavus never got to -40....Good luck in your housing hunt.
I love your writing, and I love how it sometimes makes me uncomfortable. My wife and I are landlords. We own two modest rental properties. We try to be great landlords - we replaced a hot water heater within 24 hours of being notified this week - and we charge at the low end of market rent for our area, making a very small profit. Are we evil? I’m genuinely not sure anymore.
I thought about this more on my commute to work today, wanted to say I now realize I feel angry for ya.
A choice between affordable housing without indoor plumbing or not at all is not acceptable (I mean that's cool and all, but should be of choice). It's 2024 y'all we can do better as humans, can't we?
Gosh, this is my nightmare and I’m sorry you had to pivot your plans like this. I currently have a space that’s outside of town, farther than id like to live, but the rent is so cheap there’s no way I could give that up. I honestly do not know where I’d go, but I’m sure I’d figure it out, although now I think I need to make a backup plan before rather than when my landlord eventually kicks us out. Anyway. I’ll be looking forward to your writing of this beautiful new place in Alaska — and I hope it ends up bringing you and the dogs lots of sunshine.
The indifference of the political class to the current housing crisis is something to see--even for someone like me who didn't think he had many illusions left about that class. I don't know what they imagine the endgame is here.
Your housing cost description sounds like so many people we know, of all ages. We’ve been working with friends with similar issues. Dry living is tough. Have you looked into intentional communities? Some of our family have been members of an IC for > 30 years. You might find something of interest in the directory. https://www.ic.org/ Communities Magazine Spring edition is about Finding Community. https://simplecirc.com/communities/item/9968/communities-202-spring-2024-finding-community Also, have you read “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder or seen the movie? Recommend following Bob Wells via https://youtube.com/@CheapRVliving You might join Sisters-on-the-Fly or the Xscapers. These are just resources we’ve been using to address the housing crisis.
While capitalism and landlords have their pitfalls, I believe there's a more sinister villain at the table: central banking. Every time the federal reserve prints a dollar, the one in your pocket is devalued. It's a hidden tax at best and theft in my opinion. As long as the fed keeps printing money, you are correct - $1200 will indeed become the new $500 and then get worse than that. And they need to keep printing to fund endless wars, uphold social security, and service the interest on our national debt, and the list goes on.
There's an unlikely hero entering stage left though: Bitcoin. Bitcoin is freedom money and a vastly superior way to store your life's energy. With it, your purchasing power over time will increase over time, the inverse of what you've experienced with your fiat dollars in the housing market. Don't take my word for it though. Read "The Bitcoin Standard" and get a glimpse of the future and a taste of hope for the future.
I’m not sure “capitalism” is the only villain. Local governments with their land use laws and building codes are almost always the product of some interest group’s greed. And those laws are applied unevenly. Pay enough money and the law can be adjusted in your favor.
Sometimes wisdom wins out, but not often enough these days. In the capital city of my state, there is a lovely park along the river that flows through the center of park. What is most lovely about the park is its history that dates to the Great Depression when desperate people needed places to pitch their tents and hope for basic sanitation. Maybe citizens were kinder and more empathetic back then, because some unused city property was allocated for use as a migrant camp. Robust toilets and showers were installed. Simple outdoor under roof kitchens were built and individual camping sites were provided. A very nominal fee covered services and supplies such as running water and toilet paper. Residents were also required to provide a small amount of volunteer labor to clean and maintain the facilities.
There is really no end of good solutions if we resist dissipating our energies against faceless evils like “Capitalism” and government regulations. People of goodwill and empathy are willing to help.
And solutions can come from the most unexpected sources. When I was a high school graduate, an honor student and student body leader, I was not able to attend college until much later because no one was interested in advocating for a poor kid, so I decided to hell with their way of doing things. I happened to read Thoreau’s Walden and was so inspired that I found work in the building trades to learn the skills I needed to build my own house, found some land no one wanted, paid for it with money I earned building houses for other people and in three years built and paid for the house I am living in today. I also know that it wasn’t simply a lucky time for me to do it, because I know three young couples in our valley who are doing the same thing as I write this. Creativity has a way of finding solutions despite greed and over regulation.
P.s. I just finished listening to your Through Hiking Can Break Your Heart as I hike my own way up the PCT this year. Yours is one of the best I’ve read on this grand undertaking. You have a lot of heart, you are tough, and those traits will lead you to a good solution for your housing situation. If you want to brainstorm with someone who once faced the same problem you face, I am happy to chat. Email me at chickenpurple@gmail.com. I have a lot of long, quiet evenings on the trail when I can respond.
This is so complicated....yay for late stage capitalism!
I decided to go back to school at some point since my creative work + trying to find a dayjob wasn't enough (this was during the 2008 recession, lots of people looking for work), was about to be homeless (did not know about vanlife, hiking, etc yet). Got a medical degree that eventually paid me more, now I have $200k+ of student loans and I basically will never be able to afford a house on my own even in a crappy area until the loans are forgiven when I'm 60 (my field doesn't pay enough to pay them off in full). Hope that program still exists!
I am grateful I had the chance to go back to school, it wouldn't have happened if previous college I hadn't gotten scholarships and grants for. I know not everyone would have the patience for the amount of school I did and certainly not everyone would get the same amount of funding for school. There's a lot more programs now helping people out with student loans, I feel the Biden administration doesn't get enough credit for them. Still, it's not enough.
What you said is right on. I live in a MCOL city (well, rather, right outside of it in an under-the-radar blue collar town). I work right in the center of the big city, 1 block from where I lived in a crappy but adequate apartment when I was a student in my creative work 18 years ago. Lots of students and creatives and random blue collar people used to live there. There's no way to afford living there now. The demographic has changed a lot- the few students left come from much more money than they did in that area before, and people otherwise make a lot- 6 figures per each partner the norm. Creative-types have moved further and further out of town. Even communal living isn't enough (there's a neighborhood famous for this but most people are priced out; that's where the middle to upper middle class students live now). The ones who are in their 40s like me only can afford to buy a house if they lucked out with a partner who had a good job, bought a long time ago, or family money. People in the trades can't live anywhere near these areas they work in, they have to live much further away and long commutes. That always was a bit of a thing, but I feel cities used to have at least some tiny, not super fancy, affordable places in most areas, and now they don't. I worry about my 70 year old friend whose house he rented for 20 years got demolished to build a condo that has never rented in the 5 years since. One of these days he won't be able to afford the tiny apartment he lives in now that's in a central area so he can get to gigs easily. Then what?
This also makes people stuck- if you are lucky enough to snag affordable housing- hard to give it up and move to a new city where the odds are low to find another place like that.
Anyway enough sob story from me (I actually feel quite lucky in my situation), I hope you find a superswell place to live. Not just to live- to call home.
Great writing. I have a friend (maybe former?) who owns a home in Bend, OR and she recently bought a condo to turn into an AirB&B. I told her she was part of the problem and who did she think she could hire to clean it?? Anyway, my daughter used to live in Gustavus and in the winter they kept a ring of foam insulation in the cabin and carried it out to the outhouse so they would have something warm to sit on. Granted Gustavus never got to -40....Good luck in your housing hunt.
I love your writing, and I love how it sometimes makes me uncomfortable. My wife and I are landlords. We own two modest rental properties. We try to be great landlords - we replaced a hot water heater within 24 hours of being notified this week - and we charge at the low end of market rent for our area, making a very small profit. Are we evil? I’m genuinely not sure anymore.
Hi again!
I thought about this more on my commute to work today, wanted to say I now realize I feel angry for ya.
A choice between affordable housing without indoor plumbing or not at all is not acceptable (I mean that's cool and all, but should be of choice). It's 2024 y'all we can do better as humans, can't we?
This essay is gorgeous, Carrot. I'm so sorry you have to leave but so glad you have somewhere gorgeous to go to. That ski trail looks magic.
Also: "schlorped up to heaven" is my new favorite rapture description.
Thanks for making me smile and cry over the course of these few paragraphs <3
Gosh, this is my nightmare and I’m sorry you had to pivot your plans like this. I currently have a space that’s outside of town, farther than id like to live, but the rent is so cheap there’s no way I could give that up. I honestly do not know where I’d go, but I’m sure I’d figure it out, although now I think I need to make a backup plan before rather than when my landlord eventually kicks us out. Anyway. I’ll be looking forward to your writing of this beautiful new place in Alaska — and I hope it ends up bringing you and the dogs lots of sunshine.
The indifference of the political class to the current housing crisis is something to see--even for someone like me who didn't think he had many illusions left about that class. I don't know what they imagine the endgame is here.
Your housing cost description sounds like so many people we know, of all ages. We’ve been working with friends with similar issues. Dry living is tough. Have you looked into intentional communities? Some of our family have been members of an IC for > 30 years. You might find something of interest in the directory. https://www.ic.org/ Communities Magazine Spring edition is about Finding Community. https://simplecirc.com/communities/item/9968/communities-202-spring-2024-finding-community Also, have you read “Nomadland” by Jessica Bruder or seen the movie? Recommend following Bob Wells via https://youtube.com/@CheapRVliving You might join Sisters-on-the-Fly or the Xscapers. These are just resources we’ve been using to address the housing crisis.
I hope you find a dreamy spot, Carrot.
While capitalism and landlords have their pitfalls, I believe there's a more sinister villain at the table: central banking. Every time the federal reserve prints a dollar, the one in your pocket is devalued. It's a hidden tax at best and theft in my opinion. As long as the fed keeps printing money, you are correct - $1200 will indeed become the new $500 and then get worse than that. And they need to keep printing to fund endless wars, uphold social security, and service the interest on our national debt, and the list goes on.
There's an unlikely hero entering stage left though: Bitcoin. Bitcoin is freedom money and a vastly superior way to store your life's energy. With it, your purchasing power over time will increase over time, the inverse of what you've experienced with your fiat dollars in the housing market. Don't take my word for it though. Read "The Bitcoin Standard" and get a glimpse of the future and a taste of hope for the future.
I’m not sure “capitalism” is the only villain. Local governments with their land use laws and building codes are almost always the product of some interest group’s greed. And those laws are applied unevenly. Pay enough money and the law can be adjusted in your favor.
Sometimes wisdom wins out, but not often enough these days. In the capital city of my state, there is a lovely park along the river that flows through the center of park. What is most lovely about the park is its history that dates to the Great Depression when desperate people needed places to pitch their tents and hope for basic sanitation. Maybe citizens were kinder and more empathetic back then, because some unused city property was allocated for use as a migrant camp. Robust toilets and showers were installed. Simple outdoor under roof kitchens were built and individual camping sites were provided. A very nominal fee covered services and supplies such as running water and toilet paper. Residents were also required to provide a small amount of volunteer labor to clean and maintain the facilities.
There is really no end of good solutions if we resist dissipating our energies against faceless evils like “Capitalism” and government regulations. People of goodwill and empathy are willing to help.
And solutions can come from the most unexpected sources. When I was a high school graduate, an honor student and student body leader, I was not able to attend college until much later because no one was interested in advocating for a poor kid, so I decided to hell with their way of doing things. I happened to read Thoreau’s Walden and was so inspired that I found work in the building trades to learn the skills I needed to build my own house, found some land no one wanted, paid for it with money I earned building houses for other people and in three years built and paid for the house I am living in today. I also know that it wasn’t simply a lucky time for me to do it, because I know three young couples in our valley who are doing the same thing as I write this. Creativity has a way of finding solutions despite greed and over regulation.
P.s. I just finished listening to your Through Hiking Can Break Your Heart as I hike my own way up the PCT this year. Yours is one of the best I’ve read on this grand undertaking. You have a lot of heart, you are tough, and those traits will lead you to a good solution for your housing situation. If you want to brainstorm with someone who once faced the same problem you face, I am happy to chat. Email me at chickenpurple@gmail.com. I have a lot of long, quiet evenings on the trail when I can respond.