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I live in a small city that is kind of hemorrhaging jobs. The dumb part is I moved here voluntarily but when I did I wasn't looking at whether I would be able to get work I was looking at could my folks disability checks allow them to live comfortably here. I didn't really think that in a month I would be celebrating 2 years of unemployment.
Prior to moving here I was used to never being out of work for more than a month since I turned 16. I am a good worker and usually being hired is a snap. Luckily my folks don't mind helping me out while I look for work and write to try and earn money that way.
Again jobs are leaving the area and the jobs they want to bring in would come at the cost of the health of our elderly and children. So when they told us they were raising the rent, separate of the penalty I mentioned in another post which yaaaay we don't have to pay, without really explaining why they were raising the rent.
I live an hours drive from Portland. The "commuter" train that can get you to Portland in 45 minutes doesn't start running until 9AM when most people already have to be at work. We have a shuttle but it goes 45 minutes south to Vancouver and on the far side from where the bridge crosses into Portland.
Portland is starting to raise their prices and is sending people who work in the city scurrying out of the city as they can no longer afford to live anywhere near where they work. Not a new problem at all actually. I don't know anyone that works in the service industry in Downtown Portland that can afford to live anywhere near downtown. instead like I did they would take long commutes to work.
Rents in Vancouver seemed to reflect Portland due to a large number of us Portland Area employees living in the cheaper, not by much, city. I didn't like it but I understood they figured "If you're willing to pay 1000 a month for a studio apartment in Downtown Portland" You would be willing to pay almost as much for a 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver.
But I don't live in Vancouver anymore. And going to Portland even for pleasure requires days of planning and budgeting to make sure I have time and money to get to everywhere I am planning on going and then returning home.
Now I bring up this digression about Portland because it's not a digression in fact it's very relevant because when some of us tenants asked the property management company why our rents were being raised the answer kind of shocked us.
"Because rents are going up in Portland" Since the furthest most of us commute to work is Vancouver only the rare person even venturing into Portland. It's too costly for a daily drive to work and the commute is too long for even boarding the 6:30 AM shuttlebus to get you to a job in a timely manner unless you're working less than a full day of work.
In other words no one living here should at all be affected by rents going up in Portland. They might as well say "Well your apartment goes for (x) in New York so now you owe (x)-1." This is a ludicrous rent increase the amount isn't terrible but it's ludicrous in that it's not based in anything that has anything to do with those of us who live here.
You find out that I not only got a job but I doubled my income sure I can understand you're wanting to raise my rent. But you aren't getting an influx of people from Portland and Vancouver isn't raising their rates in expectation of people from Portland so you shouldn't expect an influx of people from Vancouver so hey stop ripping us off for something another city's doing!
Prior to moving here I was used to never being out of work for more than a month since I turned 16. I am a good worker and usually being hired is a snap. Luckily my folks don't mind helping me out while I look for work and write to try and earn money that way.
Again jobs are leaving the area and the jobs they want to bring in would come at the cost of the health of our elderly and children. So when they told us they were raising the rent, separate of the penalty I mentioned in another post which yaaaay we don't have to pay, without really explaining why they were raising the rent.
I live an hours drive from Portland. The "commuter" train that can get you to Portland in 45 minutes doesn't start running until 9AM when most people already have to be at work. We have a shuttle but it goes 45 minutes south to Vancouver and on the far side from where the bridge crosses into Portland.
Portland is starting to raise their prices and is sending people who work in the city scurrying out of the city as they can no longer afford to live anywhere near where they work. Not a new problem at all actually. I don't know anyone that works in the service industry in Downtown Portland that can afford to live anywhere near downtown. instead like I did they would take long commutes to work.
Rents in Vancouver seemed to reflect Portland due to a large number of us Portland Area employees living in the cheaper, not by much, city. I didn't like it but I understood they figured "If you're willing to pay 1000 a month for a studio apartment in Downtown Portland" You would be willing to pay almost as much for a 1 bedroom apartment in Vancouver.
But I don't live in Vancouver anymore. And going to Portland even for pleasure requires days of planning and budgeting to make sure I have time and money to get to everywhere I am planning on going and then returning home.
Now I bring up this digression about Portland because it's not a digression in fact it's very relevant because when some of us tenants asked the property management company why our rents were being raised the answer kind of shocked us.
"Because rents are going up in Portland" Since the furthest most of us commute to work is Vancouver only the rare person even venturing into Portland. It's too costly for a daily drive to work and the commute is too long for even boarding the 6:30 AM shuttlebus to get you to a job in a timely manner unless you're working less than a full day of work.
In other words no one living here should at all be affected by rents going up in Portland. They might as well say "Well your apartment goes for (x) in New York so now you owe (x)-1." This is a ludicrous rent increase the amount isn't terrible but it's ludicrous in that it's not based in anything that has anything to do with those of us who live here.
You find out that I not only got a job but I doubled my income sure I can understand you're wanting to raise my rent. But you aren't getting an influx of people from Portland and Vancouver isn't raising their rates in expectation of people from Portland so you shouldn't expect an influx of people from Vancouver so hey stop ripping us off for something another city's doing!
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