On Thursday I interviewed a man living in a tiny house village in Seattle who has a full time job. Together with his partner he makes $5k a month; the two are saving up for a security deposit. The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Seattle is $2,029 a month. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/o... - ThreadSky

guyoron.net • 6 days ago

On Thursday I interviewed a man living in a tiny house village in Seattle who has a full time job. Together with his partner he makes $5k a month; the two are saving up for a security deposit. The average rent for a 1 bedroom apartment in Seattle is $2,029 a month.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/opinion/crisis-working-homeless.html?rsrc=ss&unlocked_article_code=1.004.ENFB.KKcQ2akH1l3K&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

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bagoflazers.bsky.social•5 days ago

We can keep trying to get wages up (which is good) but eventually we have to bring costs down. Landlords, grocers, utility companies have to be brought to heel.

marktierneymt.bsky.social•5 days ago

Well, yes.

marcriggsbee.bsky.social•5 days ago

Taxes should eliminate billionaires.

gonecoastalms.bsky.social•5 days ago

There are no affordable housing units in all of Seattle? How embarrassing for Seattle.

ztopia.bsky.social•5 days ago

We have a massive affordable housing crisis in Seattle. This man is lucky to have a spot in one of the Tiny House villages. Many here don’t. Income inequality is stark here in the land of high tech & bio tech.

itsbeenneal.bsky.social•6 days ago

You likely already know this Giy, but organizations like Solid Ground are often able to provide move-in assistance for folks like this who need help with security deposit, first/last months rent, etc. https://www.solid-ground.org/get-help/housing/ (scroll down to Diversion Program)

itsbeenneal.bsky.social•6 days ago

*Guy*

guyoron.net•6 days ago

Thanks for sharing, I'll pass it along! The guy told me that the org who runs his tiny house village also offers a similar program to support folks with move-in costs.

trunksahoy.bsky.social•5 days ago

$5k/month is just about two full-time minimum wage workers, assuming that’s net. If that’s pre-tax, then they’re probably among the many under-employed at 29 hrs/week because the burden of providing health insurance is on employers.

drlarrymitchell.bsky.social•5 days ago

Only in America could poverty actually cost MORE.

poulchapman.bsky.social•6 days ago

JFC. $5k a month is $60,000 a year. This is whom Seattle Council, Sara Nelson, and Mayor Harrell want to keep homeless as they throw up barrier after barrier to social housing. Unconscionable.

richardkeppler.bsky.social•5 days ago

60K a year is squadoosh. There are loads of places in the US you can live decently on that money but Seattle isn't one of them.
If Seattle is really important to someone, find a way to make the money. Or move where you can afford to live.

poulchapman.bsky.social•5 days ago

That is an absolutely bonkers rich white taker suggestion to make. If someone making $60K cannot live in Seattle, then where do you expect all the people who do actual work that *YOU* depend upon for your daily life to live? Yakima?

guyoron.net•5 days ago

Also it's a gig job so there's no job security. Plus many landlords require an income of 2-3 times the monthly rent

richardkeppler.bsky.social•5 days ago

I lived in SEA for years and in LA for a couple. Eventually I moved to Nashville where I could afford a house.

poulchapman.bsky.social•5 days ago

Good that you can move to somewhere else. But where do you expect grocery store employees, restaurant workers, baristas, childcare workers, teachers, social workers, etc for Seattle to live?

The people at my QFC on Capitol Hill can’t commute from Nashville

richardkeppler.bsky.social•5 days ago

I've been to that QFC many times.
No they can't commute. People need to be paid enough to live.

richardkeppler.bsky.social•5 days ago

I am not saying this is right or anything. Just that the choices are either find a way to make enough money to live there or don't live there.
Living in a shed while you scrimp money for a security deposit is no way to live.

poulchapman.bsky.social•5 days ago

Agree it’s not a way to live. But telling people making $60,000 a year at a job that the local Seattle economy needs that they should move to Nashville is just bonkers.

The solution is NOT “move” but: Build more housing. Subsidize more housing. Raise wages. Tax the rich more to reduce inequality.

richardkeppler.bsky.social•5 days ago

I’m for all those things.
I was making double that and couldn’t afford to live. LA was even worse.
Nashville has been fine.

alexhyman.bsky.social•5 days ago

Are you saying that the minimum wage in Seattle should be over $28/hr

lifeinthatwp.bsky.social•5 days ago

I dunno. Seems like piss poor pay from bosses, and greedy landlords are conspiring to fuck the people.

crisscrossdude.bsky.social•5 days ago

Okay, well let’s not disregard a big factor in Seattle. They bulldozed the city for Amazon headquarters and apartments and they are for the most part empty and abandoned.
There is absolutely a housing crisis but don’t leave out that detail

guyoron.net•6 days ago

On a global level, their salary would put them in the top 5% globally. Yet here in Seattle, they are homeless and living in a transitional shelter. The housing market is so skewed that they would qualify as being “extremely cost burdened” if they get an apartment.

guyoron.net•6 days ago

Contrary to popular belief, many homeless people in the U.S. are employed, high-functioning and don’t have a substance use disorder. The rent is simply too damn high for them (and for many more renters who are on the precipice of homelessness themselves).

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