Very Strange - But No Strangers

[geminiwench]

Yesterday I ran into 23 people,
I wasn't expecting to see.

23 INDIVIDUALS.

Not couples or groups,
but individuals
who weave over
one-by-one
or wave me down
to say,
"The Wench!!
Good to see you!"

or who I weave over to,
or wave over,
or touch gently on the shoulder from behind,
"Hey! I thought I recognized that

Comments

[geminiwench]

That kind of development is everywhere! It's crazy!
And where a good community member and local citizen invests and really puts heart back into a location that was crumbling... and then a bunch of sharks come in and "invest" so they can drain everything out that EVERYONE ELSE just invested with their hearts!

Cheap cardboard buildings with bad wiring and plastic fixtures and the beautiful old buildings are renovated the same way! But... then they are sold at a premium for people who could afford ANYTHING rather than sold at a price where the neighborhood community can remain intact and allow for the same kind of mixed community that has been living there (some thriving, some living, some barely surviving) for decades.

Our city has been on in the top 5 Cities to Live for the last 10 years... and it has changed EVERYTHING and not necessarily for the better. It took 25 years for the very house I live in... to double in price when my mom first bought it in the early 1980s.

After living here 40 years, it had tripled in value.. juuuuust barely.

We bought it from her 6 years ago.. and it doubled in value within 3 years.
That is how development and home values are working in my city now. Especially small homes are overvalued... so buying something small and affordable isn't even an option... it's the BIG houses that are more affordable to buy per square foot.. only costing 20% more for a house that is 250% bigger! Its RIDICULOUS!
So big families are getting a break needing a big house in this market... but single people just trying to buy a place to start.. there is NOWHERE to start.
There IS no "starting line" unless you're already a career professional if you plan to buy.

[glove_to_face]

That is such an excellent overview of the affordability of homes across needs: single vs family. So accurate. And even if the family-sized home is a better deal, the family-sized expenses for health insurance, food, school, sports, etc is over-inflated which...defeats any small wins you achieve elsewhere.

My sister recently received a $6,000 raise (!!!) just because she's amazing and deserves it. But now her and her partner need to move into another home (to rent for now) and it's $1200 more each month. She said she can never get ahead. I said: that's happening across all of the lower-middle, middle, and upper-middle class. Too "rich" for any government aid with health/school/etc. Taxes hit us harder. And too poor to not struggle when trying to invest and OWN something. It's a crapshoot and unsustainable.

[geminiwench]

It's the American way!

Put you on the treadmill... and run ya to death over the decades while shouting at you that you're supposed to BE SOMEWHERE... BE SOMEONE by now.