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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   29392 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of July 31, 2023

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There's a reason that safe and dense housing only exists in expensive areas: it has to be expensive to keep the undesirables out.

Which ones? San Francisco is 40% white, 35% Asian, 5% black (a much lower proportion in the latter case than Paris, London and many other major European cities). It has extremely high median income. The reason it is a shithole has nothing to do with demographics, and everything to do with policy (regarding the homeless, mostly).

Enforce the law, and it’s entirely possible to have affordable, safe and dense housing. Inner cities (provided they’re safe, amenable and walkable) will always be expensive, but dense inner suburbs like in most Euro cities and NYC are totally feasible.

Which ones? San Francisco is 40% white, 35% Asian, 5% black (a much lower proportion in the latter case than Paris, London and many other major European cities). It has extremely high median income. The reason it is a shithole has nothing to do with demographics, and everything to do with policy (regarding the homeless, mostly).

It's a shithole precisely because of demographics.

Childless PMC whites in San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland vote for shithole policies because they're the shithole demographic. Once you get out to Bay Area suburbs that are full of Indians and Chinese, the shithole factor declines to nearly nothing.

Quite a few of the most zealous supervisors and school board members in SF have been Asian, iirc.

Back in the 1950s-80s 5-10% was often the tipping point for safety.

There are plenty of areas in NYC that are dense* and safe middle class neighborhoods. Jackson Heights, Forest Hills, etc.

*Relative to most of the rest of the US.

According to this, "Median household income in 2021 was $69,880[.]" The 2021 median income for the US as a whole was $70,784.

Per www.streeteasy.com there are currently 48 2-bed+ apts for sale in Jackson Heights. Fifteen are listed at under $400K. There are only two for more than $800K,

I suggest you look at Streeteasy, which is the go-to site for NY real estate. I see a 1050 sq ft unit for 425K, five separate 1000 sq ft units in the $340 range; several others with no sq ft listed but with floor plans.

still seems insane for what you get,

Well, we all know that NYC apts tend to be small. But that is the nature of the city. There are plenty of much more expensive places in more upscale areas that are no larger. It really says nothing about whether a particular area is middle class. As i noted, the median household income there is right at the US median.

also has an $850 per month HOA fee.

Remember, most of the places you see are coops, and that means that the HOA fee includes property tax, insurance and, usually, heat and water. In some places it includes the electric bill, but I think that is rare. Plus, the HOA fee covers garbage and other standard city services fees.

I honestly don't understand how a household making 70k a year can afford a 340k apartment.

Since only about 65% of households own their homes, the median income of homeowners is presumably higher than the median income overall.

And it looks like median income in Pittsburgh (to choose an average city) is 54K, while the median home price is 275,000, or about 5x higher. About the same as 70k versus 340k.

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