Reply to How the shit do normal people afford to live here?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote]If you don't care much about social status, you can live a middle-class lifestyle on a moderate income here -- with some frugality and creativity. [/quote]

My [i]take home[/i]pay is a little more than 5k per month.  I pay $1,400 in rent, plus about $225 in utilities, own a 15 year-old car (long since paid for, liability insurance only) and send $1,200 to my (virtually) destitute mother every month.  So, Ive got about $2,000 per month for everything else.  I don't really save any money beyond max retirement contributions and I've no debt.

I live in a 640 s.f. rowhouse with two small bedrooms, one and a half baths, fireplace, small back yard w/parking space.  The house abuts a public housing project in Ward 6.  I like my amenities and am close to work.  There is no way I could afford these amenities in a "better" neighborhood, let alone a "good" neighborhood, without letting my mother starve.  I could get a one bed apt. in a "better" neighborhood for the same money, but not in a "good" neighborhood.

I am not complaining at all, but my gross salary is at least twice the national median and this is how I live.  And sometimes, when I take my garbage out back, I get a really sexy "Hey, sugar!" from the women hanging out the project windows.  Bonus!  [/quote]

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