Quote:
Originally Posted by MIRYDI
That's certainly a lot better than a minimum wage job isn't it? I'm sure most people don't go to work for these type's of places looking to make a career out of it, but more or less a temporary thing.
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Of course a job is better than no job, I just think we should have higher standards is all. There's plenty people who don't agree, and people are free to have any viewpoint they wish. I'm not here to dictate an opinion, I'm just providing an opinion.
I'm very biased, however. I don't think people choose to live in suburbia so much as they want the lower prices it offers. You can't grow a city in urban fashion unless people can afford the condos and the square footage needed for comfortable living. My biggest concern is the livability of condos, I grew up in the mid state area but have been around the world enough to know what makes condos attractive and what doesn't, it isn't rocket science. When average incomes aren't high enough and the square footage is too expensive, you can have a small boom period where condos are affordable, but I worry that the market in Nashville will heat up and a lot of these $200k condos (which aren't affordable on $15 an hour to begin with) will become $400k within 10 years as many markets shoot up in inflation. You've seen this in many markets that are larger like Houston or Toronto. Toronto is the premiere condo city in North America, it probably has a higher proportion of residents in highrise condos than New York or Chicago as a lot of urban populations in those cities are in smaller, lowrise 3-5 story structures. In Toronto I observed condos selling for $150-175k back around 2001-2002, today these same condos have skyrocketed to $275-300k for a bachelor pad and increasing if you want 1 or 2 bedroom. The Canadian market didn't experience a housing bust as incomes are generally able to support the overheated market, but I'm hoping Nashville doesn't experience this extreme housing inflation.
Its not healthy for a market to inflate that much over the longer term... But its good for real estate and individuals who buy early and make commissions or major profit in the short term.
I don't know that a lot of these $13-15/hr jobs aren't entry level, they're career jobs for a huge sector of the economy. Those people can't afford to live in a condo in West End or downtown or a nicer area. That means people don't really have choice. Most people don't think about the macro economy, they think about their personal budgets. But when you take the entire market into consideration, a lot of the new jobs aren't quality jobs that allow for living in a nice condo with decent square footage. I'm just saying I hope the job market improves, few of the jobs I've looked up since I've been back in this region aren't really high pay IMO.
If you want to compare with Europe - a contrast worth using - when you get outside of the megacities like London or Paris, you'd be surprised how cheap condo living is. Part of the reason why multi-family housing is so popular in Europe (and isn't here) is price. America has this trend where condos - which actually take fewer resources (and monetary resources to maintain) for living - are more expensive than the costly suburban lifestyle. Having to pay for your own roof, your own driveway, your own yard and etc. has actual, real costs. In America somehow we subsidize this lifestyle to the point where its cheaper. I'm not going to pretend to understand why and how we've done it, but in Europe you see the polar opposite. If you're not in a mega-city (with the mega-prices it offers), you can get into some of the smaller towns and its dirt cheap for condos. I was in Rostock, Germany back in 2012, and the amount of condos for sale under €100,000 was amazing. It almost made me feel like buying a second home as an investment property it was so cheap... The condos I saw were updated and very nice. A matter of fact, there are numerous condos in the 800-1000sq ft range selling there for around €75,000. You aren't going to find that in American cities.
Rostock has all of about 250k people, it has a nice tram system and its more urban than Nashville probably ever will be (it just won't have the central core skyscrapers Nashville has). Why does a city in Europe of 250k - roughly the size of Clarksville - have a larger urban area than a metropolitan area of 1.5 million like Nashville? Because condos are dirt cheap, and transit (even in a city of 250k) actually gets you to business and entertainment districts from your home. Everyone in those condos also owned cars, Germany is still a nation of car drivers.
I'm writing a bit much, but the point is that market forces are why Europeans choose condo living. Its dirt cheap over there if you're not in London or Paris, small cities embrace it. I ask myself why we don't do that here, because condo living is so much cheaper than single family homes if its done right. All we have are luxury condos for the wealthy here. Rostock is more urban than Nashville, but in Europe its a relatively dumpy town, kind of like a Clarksville here. Pardon any offense to anyone in Clarksville, because I know its a low cost of living town, but when I say dumpy I mean there's nothing special about Rostock at all... But the housing stock is mostly multi-family and super cheap.
/personal bias in favor of condo living