This And That
The cost of living in Northern California is so unbelievably high that sometimes I wonder how people (real people) get by on a day to day basis. Our friend, Jeremy, has been looking for one bedroom apartments in San Jose this week, and has been so frustrated with what he has found. An average one bedroom, on bathroom (tiny) apartment is going for about $1,500 per month. PER MONTH! Say that a person is making $3,000 a month (that is about $60,000 per year... not very average for most people). Housing alone, not including utilities, or groceries, is equal to 1/2 that person's salary for the month. Amazing. Financial planners would have a fit if their client was spending half their salary on rent. How on earth are average people going to save for a down payment on a house? What about retirement?
I am not saying this to complain. I am unbelievably fortunate for the life that my family is living. I am able to stay at home and raise my sweet son, and my husband has a great job where he is appreciated for his talents and the hard work that he puts in day after day. Not to mention, with the exception of a small amount of business trips, he is home every night to share dinner with the family. Now that is a blessing.
But I wonder how families get along in this area. What about people making minimum wage? The only way that I can see them getting by is living in said one bedroom apartment with about 4 people. Talk about close quarters!
I don't think that the extraordinary cost of living is rampant throughout the United States. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if my family ditched California and moved to a different state (don't worry here, people, I am not thinking Arkansas or anything). But what if we moved to Oregon or Washington. What if we were able to buy an actual HOUSE with a YARD? What if I could have a vegetable garden and teach Joel the importance of caring for the land and the environment? What if Mike and I could actually put some of our money away into savings? Ahhhhhh.....
A girl can day dream, right?
I am not saying this to complain. I am unbelievably fortunate for the life that my family is living. I am able to stay at home and raise my sweet son, and my husband has a great job where he is appreciated for his talents and the hard work that he puts in day after day. Not to mention, with the exception of a small amount of business trips, he is home every night to share dinner with the family. Now that is a blessing.
But I wonder how families get along in this area. What about people making minimum wage? The only way that I can see them getting by is living in said one bedroom apartment with about 4 people. Talk about close quarters!
I don't think that the extraordinary cost of living is rampant throughout the United States. Sometimes I wonder what would happen if my family ditched California and moved to a different state (don't worry here, people, I am not thinking Arkansas or anything). But what if we moved to Oregon or Washington. What if we were able to buy an actual HOUSE with a YARD? What if I could have a vegetable garden and teach Joel the importance of caring for the land and the environment? What if Mike and I could actually put some of our money away into savings? Ahhhhhh.....
A girl can day dream, right?
Comments
And shut your mouth about moving out of state! It's bad enough you want to move down south. There's no Disneyland in WA/OR, so I wouldn't visit as much ;)