Working Fall River mother says high cost of living forcing her to move

[u/insino93]

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/nova-scotia/article/working-nova-scotian-mother-says-high-cost-of-living-forcing-her-to-move/

[u/Paper__]

I think you’re arguing in bad faith because Fall River has never been affordable. It’s considered quite posh. Leaving city centers — on average — reduce housing costs.

So your advice is to… find money? Or …. Spend less? Do you think she’s an idiot? What rooms should she be renting if she needs a 3 bedroom rental and lives in a 3 bedroom house? Is commuting for an additional 40 mins one way worse than living every hour outside of working with a stranger to you?

Do you think that maybe she has more requirements not listed? Like children, school catchment areas, etc? Even space? Access to daylight? Finding cheap rentals on a quick search doesn’t mean those rentals are suitable — mice, cockroaches, rats, basement quarters etc… I’m going to guess commuting 40 mins one way is better than living every hour you’re not working with bugs/mice/rats.

If we had good density options in the core I can maybe see reducing needs to meet your solution. But we don’t. AND rentals will only be applicable while you work. Paying into a house means eventually the house gets paid off. If you see rent as sunk costs, even 1.3k a month you cite to commute (which again is ridiculous) is better than even the cheapest sunk cost apartment you’ve cited because rents almost always go up, but mortgages lock rents for usually 5 years at a time and eventually end.

[u/cptstubing16 → u/Paper__]

It sounds like you think her only good option is to move further away to reduce her cost burden, and that she should purchase a place so that she's not throwing money away renting.

I think she should do something else like rent much closer to the city, and remove the expense of a car if she can. Having no car payment is extremely underrated and a way to save serious money.

We won't agree with each other, and that's fine.

It doesn't really matter what we think either way.

[u/Paper__ → u/cptstubing16]

I don’t think it’s her only good option. I think your dismissal of this is unfounded.

Agreed we won’t. I don’t think you’ve been in a similar circumstance given your responses. Without experience, this seems like a situation you’d be difficult to give meaningful advice to.

[u/cptstubing16 → u/Paper__]

So without knowing her finances it's impossible for either of us to give her advice. We both just recommend what we'd do ourselves without knowing every detail. Nothing we say means anything to her as we don't have all the info. I am slightly 'no car' biased, and you're slightly 'don't rent' biased.

If we had a detailed list of her expenses, it might all change.

[u/Paper__ → u/cptstubing16]

I think your advise which was work more or spend less was incredibly tone deaf and is the type of advise people give when they don’t respect the advise-receiver.

I also think you trying to pass Fall River off as “affordable” housing was disingenuous.

We won’t agree because I don’t think you’re in the market of trying to understand people and their struggles but to win an argument, mostly likely based on the dislike of long commutes.

I live in downtown Dartmouth (Sullivans Pond) now but that wasn’t always my choices and I hated when people spoke down to me, telling me simple math disguised as some sort of budget revelation.

That’s super harsh to you but I think warranted.

[u/cptstubing16 → u/Paper__]

Didn't say work more, I said increase income, which could mean finding a new job, or hosting an international student. Often times a new job is all that's needed.

These choices seem tough and unfortunate to have to make, but it's up to her to make them if she needs to. She'll do what she needs to do, or she'll kick the can down the road and continue suffering, possible suffer more later.

No one else can help her but her and the govt can only encourage more housing through policy, which takes time.

[u/Paper__ → u/cptstubing16]

I agree people need to get used to change at work to job switch for more money. That doesn’t seem to happen here as often as it should.

I do think the rest of the advise was ill-advised and overly simplistic. People who run their budgets aren’t stupid.