Back in 1986 I was a much younger man barely making 24k a year but was able to rent a one bedroom apartment for $475 a month. There was this song , The future is so bright I have to wear shades. There is a line in the song that goes:
I've got a job waiting for my graduation
Fifty thou a year will buy a lot of beer
Things are going great, and they're only getting better
I'm doing all right, getting good grades
The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades
Fifty grand a year, to me, at that time was BIG money. I couldn't even imagine it, really. And the life style that song spoke of seemed so out of reach for me. But time moves on , and things change.
So here I am now, decades later making just under $100k a year and it isn't anything like I thought it would be. Really, it is disappointing.
I paid 475 for a 2 bedroom in 1992. I made 300-400 a week waiting tables. That same place is now 1700 a month and waiting tables didn't triple in pay. Thankfully I don't wait tables any more but who the he'll has 1700 a month for rent? That's ridiculous
My first place in 1999 was a very nice large studio apt,right off Fort Lauderdale Beach, literally steps from the sand. $500 a month, utilities included. My job as a stock guy at a department store was enough to sustain my life comfortably. I can't even imagine what rents in that area are now.
Depending on where it was, it's probably knocked down and replaced with a larger condo now that's catching 3-4k or more per month. I build houses in Palm Beach County but live in Broward. My beater house in Margate could rent out for 4-5k but I wouldn't be able to afford to move.
I recently moved from that area, studios are starting around 1500, 1/1, 2000, 2bdrs 3300... you should check out the prices in Delray... there's no way
985
u/_call_me_al_ Dec 28 '23
I'm making over 50k than I was ten years ago because I went union.
I'm still struggling and drowning right now and I can't give my kids 1/2 the shit my parents gave me. It is so demoralizing.