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[One Eyed Willy]

It took basically 15 years of saving, chasing goals be able to afford a nice home in orange county, CA. My wife and I spent 7 years living 50 ft from a busy train track, and later backed up to a freeway, all to save money for a house. Most everyone else I know my age is living in cc debt, complaining about it but also leasing expensive cars, buying the latest iphone, building gaming PCs or living/renting expensive apartments. doh

I thank my dad every day for pounding fiscal responsibility into my brain as a teenager.

 

[Dr. Feel Good]

Meanwhile, this is happening in NE Portland:

This will end up displacing over 8% of the district's student body.

Where is this in the NE? I used to rent a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom near Lloyd Center for $1,400 over two years ago.

But yeah I'm 28 and a fiancé in LA and live with two others in a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom ~1,000 square feet at $3,150.

 

[m_shortpants]

I live in San Jose. Have lived here for 20 years. Grew up here, and I don't think I can afford a house anytime soon. I make just under 100k and I might be able to buy a 600 sq ft condo for 500k in a few years.

 

[Manmademan]

You're making it sound like a comic book event, like it's happening all at once, lol

What specifically about the snow scares you?

Well, since you asked:

So much snow accumulated on the roof of Buffalo resident Chrissy Gritzke Hazard's home, the white stuff fell and then crashed through her back door Tuesday.

”It was a huge crash," she said. ”We all started running back there. We actually thought that it was the roof coming down in the house."..."

She added: ”We were definitely not expecting it to be the doors blown out, the frame, everything, inside the house."
"

Buffalo firefighters helped deliver a baby on Tuesday when a woman in labor couldn't make it to the hospital through the snow.

The University of Niagara's women's basketball team pulled into campus Wednesday morning after a harrowing, snow-slowed, 30-hour journey from the University of Pittsburgh

Several counties were heavily impacted, with areas in and around Buffalo, New York, particularly the city's southern suburbs, receiving snowfall totals in the range of 5–7 feet (1.5–2.1 m), killing at least fourteen people; most of the deaths were caused by heart attacks from overexertion trying to remove the snow.[17][18] Under the sheer weight of the snow, roofs began collapsing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_13–21,_2014_North_American_winter_storm

I've been through 2 foot snowstorms. . Don't care for them. trees and electrical wires coming down, heat shutting off, roofs caving in, people stranded on highways, Hospitals and emergency services inaccessible, businesses shut down entirely, complete runs on foodstuffs.

Bonus fun: it melts in a few days- massive flooding everywhere.

No thanks, chief. The snow I DO get here is more than enough. Any more than this and I'd move. Hell, I WILL absolutely, positively be moving as soon as career isn't an issue. Fuck the cold, fuck the snow.

The attempt to rationalize multiple feet of snow routinely landing on you several times a year is a very strange case of stockholm syndrome. Possibly even worse than LA-GAF when they claim that a million dollars for a thousand square feet in San Francisco "isn't that bad."

The fuck it isn't. Move out of there. Nothing you're doing justifies all of that.

 

[Mimosa97]

Montreal is less affordable than Tokyo ?

Jesus christ.

 

[Fitts]

My mother in law used to work at the VA of Buffalo. Those 7 foot storms are so few and far between. Rochester actually averages more total snow than Buffalo on a yearly basis.

Is this true? Because since I've moved to the Rochester area about five years ago they've been the easiest winters I've ever experienced. I grew up in CNY (the Utica area) and it was snowbanks all winter, every winter. Here, it's maybe one or two big snowfalls per year, a flurry here and there, and you're done. There's barely any actual accumulation because it tends to melt away completely before getting hit again. In Utica, people's cars get buried.

The winters are long, but they're a cakewalk.

 

[Kenai]

Terra Haute/Peru area smells like an open manhole if the wind is blowing the right way. Now really surprised.

 

[hateradio]

And I have to move from LA to San Jose. 🤔

SF is cheaper than SJ? Whut.

 

[PARANO1A]

As a homeowner in Melbourne it's pretty crazy. Bought for half a million when I was 25 and it's just skyrocketed since then. Getting on the ladder early is critical, and takes a lot of sacrifice.

 

[Zoloft Sonic]

this year should see some decreases... not because of the foreigner tax but because chinese govt drastically changed transferring money out of china.

anecdotally i've spoken to (or had close family or friends spoken to) nearly a dozen people that were willing to pay the foreigner tax, and were just taking a wait and see approach... and now they have zero chance to buy in Van any time soon because they can't get their money out of china.

i've heard the same thing from a few other people too. the new capital controls on jan1 were really serious... like, entire families blacklisted for the annual 50k limit/very strict auditing on getting money out... if you're not a student and can't list it as for tuition almost everyone i've spoken to was either rejected or blacklisted. xi jinping ain't fuckin around. (it's probably temporary eventually if he ever wants the world to take the yuan seriously he'll have to loosen capital controls again).

it'll take a while to echo here probably cuz there's already so much money here, but it'll have a bigger impact than the foreigner tax. if the market doesn't go down double digits this year then van market is pretty much invincible lol

Thanks for the details on the capital outflow restrictions; I haven't seen much about it in the news. It'll be very very interesting to see what happens this year to RE values. My wife and I can't afford to buy here, yet my middle-class parents are sitting on a property now worth millions. If it keeps going up this year or has just a marginal slowdown in the rate of growth, yeah, this could continue for years. :/

 

[numble]

What is keeping the HK price to income ratio so high? Is it buyers not resident in the city?

That ratio screams massive bubble.

It is a small island without room for expansion and moving to Mainland China means reduced civil liberties and blocked Internet. Its alleviated with the lack of sales/VAT on purchases and a very low income tax (no capital gains tax) for both individuals and businesses.

 

[4Tran]

It's no coincidence that all of the the least affordable markets have something in common: they're common destinations for Chinese residents trying to move money offshore. Hopefully the new Chinese laws will alleviate these distorted markets, but it'll be tough in the meanwhile.

It is a small island without room for expansion and moving to Mainland China means reduced civil liberties and blocked Internet. Its alleviated with the lack of sales/VAT on purchases and a very low income tax (no capital gains tax) for both individuals and businesses.

Yeah it's incredible how small Hong Kong is; especially the built up area on Hong Kong Island. I think that there are many cities with larger downtown cores than that part of the territory. It also doesn't help that much of Hong Kong is mountainous so that only a small portion of the land is suitable for housing.

 

[Squirrel Killer]

eh....Buffalo is generally known for exactly one thing, and that thing is completely insane amounts of snow.

The VA has an office up there I used to deal with when I was still acting as VA programs coordinator for my facility.

I recall at one point in 2014 it got shut down for a WEEK because they got hit with 6 to 7 feet of snow.

Fuck THAT. I don't need a city to be cool, I just need to live somewhere where that shit doesn't happen. If you told me that every now and then scorpions rained from the sky in LA no one would live there, either.

Shit happens everywhere. I'm not saying you have to live in Buffalo, but if you like snow, it's probably a nice place to live. But you don't have to live in some unaffordable "prestige" city. Don't mind the occasional tornado threat, Omaha is nice. Like hurricanes, jorts, and awful football, choose Jacksonville. Like crushing living expenses, earthquakes, and traffic jams, pick LA.

I'm not trying to shit on those "prestige" cities, I understand their attraction, I'm shitting on the idea that they're the only places worth living. If people are bemoaning that they'll never be able to afford to save or buy a house, there are other options.

 

[jadedm17]

yeah who the fuck would choose to live in buffalo

Id never leave if they had no snow : Great events, insanely cool Deleware Park, museums, great food, excellent music scene (Thursdays in the Harbor i saw Halestorm free.)... Buffalo is a fun town.

Sabres games are always fun too.

 

[Brokun]

Not surprised to see Vancouver on the list but I wonder if it is taking into account the recent property value boom that happened at the end of 2016. Some areas saw an increase of 60%. I don't live in Vancouver but I'm relatively close and my property value increased nearly $300,000.

Like, Vancouver should be higher than #3 lol.

 

[DreadfulOmen]

A friend of mine recently moved to idaho for work, and he says that it feels uncomfortable when he and his family go out. He says that he loves the housing cost and it is a beautiful place, but they get weird looks from people because he is a minority (Asian).

Has anyone experienced this? Not specifically in idaho, but other states as well.
I really like the weather in Cali, but damn I don't think i will ever be able to afford a home here. Any other good states out there that are pretty diverse?

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Not surprised to see Vancouver on the list but I wonder if it is taking into account the recent property value boom that happened at the end of 2016. Some areas saw an increase of 60%. I don't live in Vancouver but I'm relatively close and my property value increased nearly $300,000.

Like, Vancouver should be higher than #3 lol.

The report's based from numbers as of Q3 2016, so yes it may have missed any changes at the end of the year.

For Vancouver, they're using a listing of $830,100 median housing cost and $70,500 median income.

Sydney at number 2 is $1,077,000/$88,000, and at the top Hong Kong is a staggering $5,422,000/$300,000.

 

[timetokill]

Where is this in the NE? I used to rent a 1 bedroom/1 bathroom near Lloyd Center for $1,400 over two years ago.

But yeah I'm 28 and a fiancé in LA and live with two others in a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom ~1,000 square feet at $3,150.

The Normandy Apartments on Northeast Killingsworth Street

 

[johnny956]

A friend of mine recently moved to idaho for work, and he says that it feels uncomfortable when he and his family go out. He says that he loves the housing cost and it is a beautiful place, but they get weird looks from people because he is a minority (Asian).

Has anyone experienced this? Not specifically in idaho, but other states as well.
I really like the weather in Cali, but damn I don't think i will ever be able to afford a home here. Any other good states out there that are pretty diverse?

I would imagine most urban centers this isn't a problem regardless of state. I can't say much about Idaho though in regards to urban areas

 

[ImpracticalPassword]

I've only lived in places with high median multipliers. It took me until I was about 25 to figure out that most people don't spend more than 2/3s of their monthly take-home salary on rent. I'm used to stupidly high rents because it's all I've known; my partner is less ok with this (half the places he's lived are ranked as the most affordable places, half are the least affordable). It's making looking for a place together in one of the least affordable locations an... interesting process.

 

[Marty Chinn]

And I have to move from LA to San Jose. 🤔

SF is cheaper than SJ? Whut.

SF isn't cheaper than SJ. They're looking at the median income of the city versus the housing prices. So with a lower median income than SF, it makes SJ less affordable according to them. It's totally misleading because if you're in the Bay Area, there's a good chance that SF and SJ are both options and if you're looking to save money, it'll be better to be in SJ.

 

[arts&crafts]

Dont worry Toronto will be there next year. Vancouver prices are slowly decreasing and Toronto are quickly increasing (even more)

 

[sohois]

I like how there are only 11 affordable major housing markets in the entire survey. How did it come to this?

 

[Yaphett Kotto]

Put my 2 cents as a St. Louis native. Live 5 miles from downtown. Fully renovated 1700sq ft house. I pay $1100 month for mortgage/taxes/insurance for my house.

Paying 878 for my little 2 br/1 bath apartment that's in a smaller town that is suffering from a big drug and homeless problem.

Fucking California. This bubble is only growing too.

 

[Blak_Status]

I don't think I'm ever leaving metro Atlanta. I'm 8 miles west of downtown. $1070 mortgage/taxes/insurance. 2500 sqft (4br/3bath) plus unfinished basement.

 

[AbortedWalrusFetus]

Houston and Philly are the only major (1+ million residents) close to affordable in the US, according to that study.

 

[LegendofJoe]

I don't think I'm ever leaving metro Atlanta. I'm 8 miles west of downtown. $1070 mortgage/taxes/insurance. 2500 sqft (4br/3bath) plus unfinished basement.

I need to get in on the Atlanta housing market soon while things are still so affordable. I feel like Atlanta is a prime boom city candidate.

 

[Blak_Status]

I need to get in on the Atlanta housing market soon while things are still so affordable. I feel like Atlanta is a prime boom city candidate.

Yeah.. I'm close to where the new Braves stadium is being built. I have no idea what it will do to home values though.

 

[gutter_trash]

Hong Kong is crazy

Tabris' wet dream

Montreal is less affordable than Tokyo ?

Jesus christ.

that's messed up but I did notice prices for condos on the island of Montreal to have nearly doubled from 10-15 years ago

 

[zoku88]

Oh I misread this. When they say housing, they mean buying a house. Though, looking at the list, it probably wouldn't be too much different if they just meant getting any kind of housing.

 

[v1lla21]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOO SAN JOSE WOOOOOOOOOO

I HAVE TO RENT A ROOM FROM MY AUNT CUZ IT'S SO EXPENSIVE OUT HERE WOOOOOOOOOO

Woo!!! We out here coz, top 5!

 

[Vinsanity.]

Put my 2 cents as a St. Louis native. Live 5 miles from downtown. Fully renovated 1700sq ft house. I pay $1100 month for mortgage/taxes/insurance for my house.

I live in northeast Ohio -

2100SqFt
4 Bed
2.5 Bath

$870/month for PITI

 

[Quonny]

$87/sqft out here in Wichita, KS for a 3 year old, 5 bedroom 3 bath home with a sprinkler system, upgraded interior, a three car garage, and half an acre of land.

$4931/sqft for an apartment in Hong Kong for a 6 year old 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment with one parking spot.

Cool.

 

[Marty Chinn]

Paying 878 for my little 2 br/1 bath apartment that's in a smaller town that is suffering from a big drug and homeless problem.

Fucking California. This bubble is only growing too.

It's only a bubble if it's going to pop at some point... =(

 

[opticalmace]

Ugh, I need to move to the San Jose area (well, Mountain View?) later this year. I'm screwed.

 

[cpp_is_king]

San Jose numbers are misleading. I bet the same study would rank Mountain View and Palo Alto as "affordable" because the median incomes are so high since they are the homes of Google and Facebook.

It's measuring the median income of people who work in a particular city, even if they don't live in that particular city. Fundamentally flawed IMO.

Ugh, I need to move to the San Jose area (well, Mountain View?) later this year. I'm screwed.

MV is an order of magnitude more unaffordable than SJ

I'm assuming you just got a job at Google (grats! high five!) If that's the case your money will go far in San Jose and it's only 10 minutes away

 

[DreadfulOmen]

I would imagine most urban centers this isn't a problem regardless of state. I can't say much about Idaho though in regards to urban areas

Thank you johnny.

 

[zorlaczerohero]

I heard that transport links were poor in Sydney, but maybe that's only compared to London. I used to think London was the most expensive for housing!

Castle Hill seems to be a decent area for a family home and there's a station being built.

Blue Mountains sounds nice, congrats on the move!

Castle Hill is ok, big shopping centre, easy access to northern Beaches and north Coast, loads of sports clubs if you have kids. Plus an hour drive and you can be in the Blue Mountains or the Hawkesbury, great camping, hiking, pubs, food etc. The rail going in is going from Rouse Hill where the wife works, through to Castle Hill and then onto the city. Loads of development going on around the line, but most houses are 1 Million+. In comparison to London it's utter shite for transport! But in comparison to say Manchester or Leeds etc. it's pretty good.

When I first moved here I lived in Beaumont Hills which is just down the road from Castle Hill so I know the area quite well, hit me up in a PM if you need any advice etc. And get on AusGaf in Gaming Community, they're a friendly bunch who will give no end of good advice.

Hey, another Blue Mountains GAFer!

Prices here are starting to get ridiculous too. The lower Mountains has seen 50% increases over the last three years.

We just paid over half a million dollars for a fixer upper. I still have to travel into the CBD which is 70km away for work. I'm hoping to get a job in Paramatta soon.

Which side are you? We're over the Hawkesbury side in Kurrajong Heights. Prices down in Kurrajong, East Kurrajong and even Richmond are flying up. Our place has gone up around 50% in 3 years, also a fixer upper. Looked like the set of a 70's porn movie when we moved in....

 

[Marty Chinn]

I'm assuming you just got a job at Google (grats! high five!) If that's the case your money will go far in San Jose and it's only 10 minutes away

Nah, San Jose to Google is more like 45 min to an hour in the morning.

 

[Mimosa97]

that's messed up but I did notice prices for condos on the island of Montreal to have nearly doubled from 10-15 years ago

I wasn't here 10 years ago lol

I've always found Montreal to be a pretty affordable city but maybe that's because I used to live in Paris.

 

[opticalmace]

San Jose numbers are misleading. I bet the same study would rank Mountain View and Palo Alto as "affordable" because the median incomes are so high since they are the homes of Google and Facebook.

It's measuring the median income of people who work in a particular city, even if they don't live in that particular city. Fundamentally flawed IMO.



MV is an order of magnitude more unaffordable than SJ

I'm assuming you just got a job at Google (grats! high five!) If that's the case your money will go far in San Jose and it's only 10 minutes away

Nah, not google, NASA. Maybe I will look for a place around San Jose then. I have some family from the area so hopefully they can help point me in the right direction.

 

[The Llama]

Daily reminder to all millennials who want to live somewhere urban/cool/affordable/notDetroit you should move to Philadelphia.

 

[frontovik]

The costs of living in Vancouver never ceases to amaze me and make me shake my head.

 

[DrSlek]

*sees thread title*
I'm just going to guess Vancouver is on there.
*reads thread*
Yup.

That China money, yo. Same as in Sydney and Melbourne. Rich Chinese people are looking to secure their money outside of China in case of an economic collapse. Real estate in another country is the easiest way to do that.

 

[ezrarh]

I guess this is a good thread for me to post this: How an Average Family in Tokyo Can Afford a New Home

There's no reason why Denver, CO has to be more expensive than Tokyo.

 

[cpp_is_king]

Nah, San Jose to Google is more like 45 min to an hour in the morning.

I meant SJ and MV, not SJ and google.

Depends where in SJ though obviously

 

[IISANDERII]

Dont worry Toronto will be there next year. Vancouver prices are slowly decreasing and Toronto are quickly increasing (even more)

I read a few weeks ago that Toronto has already overtaken Vancouver.

 

[Tudor]

I'm currently saving to purchase a house in Sydney, Aus and by God is it expensive. I make a not inconsiderable amount for someone my age and I will be saving for another 5 years to afford a 20% deposit on an average home and even then my mortgage repayments will consume MORE THAN HALF of my income per month. Little wonder so many in this part of the world have given up on ever owning a home.

But hey, the government here (who all benefit from owning numerous investment properties) say housing and rental affordability is not an issue; so it must just be me....