this post was submitted on 25 Dec 2024
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Summary

A growing number of Americans are seeking shelter in budget motels due to rising rents and home prices, with families experiencing cramped, unstable living conditions.

In New York’s Hudson Valley, over 550 families with children lived in motels in 2023, a 21% increase from 2018.

High costs, safety concerns, and limited housing options make escaping this cycle difficult.

Advocacy groups warn motels are an unsustainable solution as housing costs outpace wages, while waitlists for subsidized housing and vouchers remain long.

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[–] Chessmasterrex@lemmy.world 10 points 10 hours ago

I stayed in one years ago after moving to a new city and it surprised me to see a school bus stop and pick up kids living there.

[–] buzz86us@lemmy.world 29 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 16 hours ago) (1 children)

And Why aren't people having children again? 🤔 Please remind me.

[–] Diplomjodler3@lemmy.world 21 points 15 hours ago

It's because women have rights and somehow the transgenders are to blame.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 27 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (2 children)

I live in this area. We’ve always had an income/poverty problem. There has been an “extended stay” hotel problem for a long time. Ulster is a pretty poor county. The problem in the area is there’s very little industry that pays well. There was a big State Hospital that closed down several years back that lost jobs and pushed people with mental health issues into an already poor town’s strained social services network and guaranteeing a never ending struggle to lift the town out of poverty. IBM has a campus, but it’s steadily retracted over the last several decades. Iron Mountain is another tech business that has decent pay. There are several all inclusive resorts that cater to the wealthy ($400/night, nothing locals could afford to visit) that still pay standard service wages. The whole area survived on tourist money as the wealthy metro-area people had their second homes up in the Hudson Valley, would drive there on weekends or picturesque fall days for apple-picking, and then leave.

Then covid hit, they fled the boroughs, and bought all the available housing sending prices through the roof. Mediocre early 1900’s homes that what could be had for $200k now started at $350k and end up over $400k in same day bidding wars.

The Hudson Valley has been poor for decades. Known as a “rough area” in some cases, still is in towns like Newburgh despite the price hike in housing.

Everyone’s getting priced out, and there’s no commensurate increase in good-paying jobs to help the regular people. It also means any commute to the city takes 15-20% longer because RTO turned WFH people into commuters.

It’s shitty because there’s no benefit for locals.

[–] acchariya@lemmy.world 7 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Don't forget the $8k annual tax bill that goes along with that already unaffordable house. I grew up near the area and love to visit but it's a hard place to get by for what it is, if that makes sense

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 3 points 15 hours ago

You’re not wrong. Like I said, very little good industry to make up for the CoL. I really despise how they do prop/school taxes every year. If you live south of 84 the taxes get outrageous quickly, it’s essentially a second mortgage. They’re cheaper further north…sorta, but again the big problem is that there’s no industry to tax, so the people pay it all. Closer to the metro they charge for the infrastructure and wages. No escape. I grew up in an area where taxes were cheaper and went into a slush fund and then paid out across the state, so a shared burden. Not like NY where they slap you with two big bills 2x/yr if you don’t have a mortgage. Should be monthly with autopay. F those big bills. I don’t care how long you live there, they’re still a shocker.

[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 6 points 17 hours ago* (last edited 17 hours ago) (2 children)

Mediocre early [1900s] homes that [...] could be had for $200k now started at $350k and end up over $400k in same day bidding wars.

We were considering bidding on a 1918-build bungalow up the road here. Basement in need of re-arrangement, original electrical, pipes, ducting. So about 20% for retro on top of

C$1.51m

[–] asteriskeverything@lemmy.world 4 points 10 hours ago

And then there's the mortgage on a 1.51mil house And the tax Not just the initial "buy house + reno so it's an investment" wealth/security. Sure maybe you could save up the hundreds of thousands for a down payment

It's just insane and as far as I see the only laws that give real relief or protection are for existing homeowners so good luck n00bs

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[–] Damage@slrpnk.net 72 points 22 hours ago (4 children)

It's puzzling how a temporary accomodation can be cheaper than a regular rent

[–] Tower@lemm.ee 73 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

As someone who recently lived in one for about 8 months, I can tell you that it's not. But, they don't require first + last month deposits, no credit checks, no utility accounts, are generally closer to public transport, etc.

[–] HubertManne@moist.catsweat.com 64 points 22 hours ago (2 children)

Yeah like so many things its expensive to be poor.

[–] eugenevdebs@lemmy.dbzer0.com 20 points 16 hours ago

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.

Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.

But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that’d still be keeping his feet dry in ten years’ time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.

GNU Terry Pratchett, from "Men at Arms"

[–] LifeInMultipleChoice@lemmy.world 17 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 20 hours ago)

Let's look at the new average cost of a car. Roughly 50k. The average loan amount for new cars is right over 40k. (Meaning they are paying 20% upfront by either trade-ins or down payments. The average car loan interest and length are 6.84% at around 67 months.

So that would mean the average person pays $8,235 more than a rich person.

So it really makes out to be that there is a 120% charge on the 40k they borrowed.

Note: car insurance costs are based off the area you reside in, and your credit score. So you will pay more to have it as well.

Poor people pay more on everything. And when you compare how much money someone makes it isn't direct like many people view it.
Someone who makes 40k vs 50k isn't a "well they don't make that much more"

If the cost of living in the area is 35 a year. One has $13.69 /day spending money. The other has $41.07 /day spending money. $178/day if you made 100k in that area.

So someone making 40k if they spent money on nothing else, could buy that car outright in 10 years... 100k doing the same could buy it in October, of that same year (271ish days)

Drastically different living/saving possibilities between them.

[–] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 14 points 18 hours ago

These are pretty crappy hotels most of the time. They’re has-been places that cater to the living-in-a-hotel poverty set. Rates are pretty low, and they’re generally not places you’d want to stay when vacationing or visiting an area.

[–] hark@lemmy.world 11 points 22 hours ago

The solution is to jack up prices of these motels to keep the market "efficient".

[–] JordanZ@lemmy.world 7 points 20 hours ago

It was odd when I figured out one of my coworkers lived in the long term stay place behind the office for like 2 years. This was about a decade ago but I think he said it was like ~500 a month. He was making ~70K and absolutely could afford an apartment but that was somehow cheaper. He said it had trade offs…everything he owned fit in a suitcase and backpack.

[–] teft@lemmy.world 81 points 1 day ago (7 children)

You’ll own nothing and be happy…

[–] bokherif@lemmy.world 36 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Well I suppose the second part isn’t entirely true

[–] XTL@sopuli.xyz 1 points 7 hours ago

It's happy compared to the alternatives you're given.

[–] Fredselfish@lemmy.world 17 points 1 day ago (1 children)

My mom and stepdad lived in a motel for 5 years. Saved up and then bought a house. I did the motel thing before myself. Sure beats sleeping on the streets.

[–] DeadWorldWalking@lemmy.blahaj.zone 29 points 23 hours ago

Making excuses for the shortcomings of society enable society to continue to have shortcomings.

Nothing will meaningfully improve until the rich fear for their lives

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[–] WhatSay@slrpnk.net 39 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Late stage capitalism, get ready for lightning round... with oligarchs!

[–] HellsBelle@sh.itjust.works 6 points 20 hours ago

Squid Game for the rich.

[–] Ragdoll_X@lemmy.world 34 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] buzz86us@lemmy.world 8 points 16 hours ago

Seriously I'd love hotels like this $9.99 a night in central Tokyo. If they had something like this in NYC, it would open up so many economic opportunites for regular people to establish employment, and move up on the economic ladder.

[–] PetteriPano@lemmy.world 15 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

I stayed in a capsule like that on an overnight ferry when all the cabins were booked. It beats sleeping in a recliner seat.

My wife had a hard time sleeping because of someone snoring loudly in the capsule next to her, but I slept like a log.

[–] capital_sniff@lemmy.world 8 points 18 hours ago

They should be sound proof or at least monitored by a snore attendant. Or just have a snoring/no snoring section. Maybe I should get into pod management.

[–] glimse@lemmy.world 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

You joke but I'd love that for traveling

[–] bitwolf@sh.itjust.works 7 points 20 hours ago

Seriously. I wish they had these on planes.

I can't sit in a chair very long so I haven't tried to go overseas yet.

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