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[Nikov]

Shit, thats basically our yearly after-tax income. Living where we used to rent that's easy to make ends meet with two kids, two cars and a married single-income household. Go midwest, young man.

[Aqizzar]

$25k or $15K?  I assume the $25k.  Of course, any number of people living in one place doesn't change the cost of living much, since food isn't really that expensive.  The big cost is the dwelling and utilities, and the driving in Dallas.

But yeah, living outside cities is massively cheaper.  The problem is, there's a lot fewer jobs too.

[Nikov]

$12k. And there's more jobs than you'd think. A lot of companies move away from the cities to get out of the heavy regulations and taxes of, say, New York to the happy go lucky 'Cancer Belt' of the Ohio River Valley. Which is a silly name. It should be called the 'More Colorful Chlorine Green Sunset Belt'.

[Siquo]

We live in the center of the 29th most expensive city in the world. Thanks to our socialist ways, we can rent it for way less than what the inflated marketprice would say it was worth.

[Nikov]

We live in the center of the 29th most expensive city in the world. Thanks to our socialist ways, we can rent it for way less than what the inflated marketprice would say it was worth.

*cough*

Where do you live?

[Heron TSG]

It's around 20K to live comfortably in my corner of the States.

[Siquo]

We live in the center of the 29th most expensive city in the world. Thanks to our socialist ways, we can rent it for way less than what the inflated marketprice would say it was worth.

*cough*

Where do you live?

Spoiler: Here (click to show/hide)

See the building in the bottom right? That view is what I look at when I look out of my window.

Yeah I'm a showoff 

[Nikov]

The housing market is heavily distorted by regulation. In Amsterdam, 55% of existing housing and 80% of new housing is owned by Housing Associations, which are Government sponsored entities and as such offer social housing, e.g. housing where rents are not set by the market, but directly or indirectly by the State, typically with subsidy of some kind. There is no right-to-buy with these properties, which leads to a remarkably large proportion of Amsterdam's housing market being rental.[90]

At the same time, the national Government is acting to increase the percentage of owner-occupied dwellings, by removing income tax from the part of the mortgage payment which is interest. This figure has risen by 125% over the last 15 years, along with a concomitant increase in personal debt, as house buyers seek to obtain the largest possible mortgage to maximize income tax relief gains.

Due to the large proportion of the housing market being socialised, supply is unresponsive to demand, since prices largely are not set by the market (and so building is unprofitable) and also due to restrictive development laws. The uncontrolled segment of the housing market experiences shortage of supply, because so many properties belong to Housing Associations; as such, along with a large body of regulation which very strongly favours the tenant rather than the landlord (making letting risky) uncontrolled rent prices are very high and the number of properties available is low.[90]

A second consequence of the large number of subsidized rent Housing Association properties is the division of the renting population into 'haves' and 'have nots'; those able to gain entry into the subsidized rent market are favoured with unusually low rents. Those unable to do so are penalized with unusually high rents.

Lastly, Housing Associations have proved inefficient at developing new property, unable to meet even modest annual targets for new development, further increasing rental pressure.[90]

Squat properties are common throughout Amsterdam, due to property law strongly favouring tenants. A number of these squats have become well known, such as OT301, Vrankrijk (closed down by city government), and the Binnenpret, and several are now businesses, such as health clubs and licensed restaurants.  -- Wiki

Surely you can see the downside to Socialist Housing Control _{(OMG SOCIALISM!)}.

[Renault]

15,000? Jesus. Where I live, the median--Median, mind you--income is $75,000. I think we pay more than 15,000 a year just in rent.

[Siquo]

Surely you can see the downside to Socialist Housing Control _{(OMG SOCIALISM!)}.

Yeah, the downside is that my dad has to pay more tax. 

[Nikov]

Surely you can see the downside to Socialist Housing Control _{(OMG SOCIALISM!)}.

Yeah, the downside is that my dad has to pay more tax. 

You must be one of those... haves I've read about.

*glare*

[Siquo]

You must be one of those... haves I've read about.

*glare*

Depends on "have", everybody "has" something. I get lucky a lot in life, but I also don't expect much of it. As I've said from when she was born: "Nothing is too cheap for MY kid!"
You have a bigger house than me. You... haver!

[Nikov]

You must be one of those... haves I've read about.

*glare*

Depends on "have", everybody "has" something. I get lucky a lot in life, but I also don't expect much of it. As I've said from when she was born: "Nothing is too cheap for MY kid!"
You have a bigger house than me. You... haver!

Your house cost four times as much. You... HAVE MORER!

[Siquo]

No, YOU have more...

ehh..

kids!

[Nikov]

So the wife has declared herself unable to cope at 11:37 PM and now I have the baby on my lap, all to myself, for what honestly is the first time it seems. He has his tiny newborn pacifier, his little football pajamas, and is wrapped up in his swaddling blanket in the style I refer to as "baby burrito (cuter than a Cheeto)". He is silent and still, his dark unseeing eyes washed in the benign blue light of Windows 7. He looks up to me as if to ask, "What is this thing, my Father, and how does it change my future for the better?" I smile down, and whimsicly say, "This, my Son, is where your Father pwns noobs."

He is content, now, to the lullabye of the keystrokes; the rocking of flexor muscles in my left forearm undulating against his head as I move through the Tetragrammaton of WASD. One day I shall pass down this sword to my child. But not yet. He must learn.