# The idea of making near-minimum wage the rest of my life sickens me



## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

No offense to anyone that makes near-minimum, but I have no absolutely no interest in living life If I will always be making near-minimum wage. I rather blow my brains out.

My coworkers are a constant reminder of what I can't allow myself to become. 32 years old, making $9 an hour and still living with your parents? No thank you. 

Not sure what the point of this thread is, other than to say minimum wage is bull****.


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

I suppose the obvious question is, what are your career aspirations and are you being proactive about pursuing something which will pay half decently?


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## Imbored21 (Jun 18, 2012)

Marry a hot rich woman. That's what I'm gonna do.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

AussiePea said:


> I suppose the obvious question is, what are your career aspirations and are you being proactive about pursuing something which will pay half decently?


I'm going to a community college. I want to transfer to a university and study computer science. The problem is I don't get much financial aid because of my dad's income. He's a cheapass who doesn't want to help pay for college and uses the fact that he just bought a house as an excuse to not help me. So I don't know if I'll be able to go to university.

As a backup plan, I want to teach myself programming and become a self-taught web developer. It will take 1-2 years to master the coding required before I could get a job as a web developer.

If that fails, I could always go to a trade school and become an electrician, if not I could be like my dad and become a truck driver.

Its hard to do things when you are depressed though. Idk what I'm going to end up doing. My number one choice was study computer science, but I'm willing to become a self-taught web developer as well. Whatever I do I better not end up stuck in retail the rest of my life because I have no interest in being a minimum-wage slave.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Imbored21 said:


> Marry a hot rich woman. That's what I'm gonna do.


Its hard enough to convince a poor ugly girl to marry me.


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## Barentin (Apr 1, 2015)

sickens me too


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## forgetmylife (Oct 1, 2011)

tonyhd71 said:


> No offense to anyone that makes near-minimum, but I have no absolutely no interest in living life If I will always be making near-minimum wage. I rather blow my brains out.
> 
> My coworkers are a constant reminder of what I can't allow myself to become. 32 years old, making $9 an hour and still living with your parents? No thank you.
> 
> Not sure what the point of this thread is, other than to say minimum wage is bull****.


i totally agree, and it's probably one of the reasons a lot of lower-class people resort to drugs/alcohol/religion to soothe their pain and actually make life interesting. there always seem to be a ton of churches in the ghetto; poor people hoping the afterlife will offer something better 

you can't travel or even do fun things when every penny you make goes to living expenses... there's little you can do as far as entertainment goes. sure as hell can't go on vacation; might not be able to even ever afford leaving the country

if that ever happens to me, i guess I'll have to consider the reality of renting a room out of someone's house for the rest of my life.

another idea that sickens me is possibly having to work 2 different minimum wage jobs at once just to stay afloat. yuck. how is that even worth it? you must seriously love your job or be seriously high on life

I don't mind being young and making piss, but I feel seriously bad for those who are middle-aged and working at burger king, local burger joint, or some recycling center. makes me sad, these jobs are for the young people who want to enter the workforce! i feel bad for them as well as the young people having a hard time trying to get entry-level jobs because they are already occupied by older folk

afaik most people will also remain in the same socioeconomic class which they are born in, and that's even sadder


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## AussiePea (Mar 27, 2007)

tonyhd71 said:


> I'm going to a community college. I want to transfer to a university and study computer science. The problem is I don't get much financial aid because of my dad's income. He's a cheapass who doesn't want to help pay for college and uses the fact that he just bought a house as an excuse to not help me. So I don't know if I'll be able to go to university.
> 
> As a backup plan, I want to teach myself programming and become a self-taught web developer. It will take 1-2 years to master the coding required before I could get a job as a web developer.
> 
> ...


Well the fact you seem determined and have clear goals will take you far. Keep sight of your ambitions and you'll achieve something!


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

AussiePea said:


> Well the fact you seem determined and have clear goals will take you far. Keep sight of your ambitions and you'll achieve something!


On paper it sounds like I have ambition, but that doesn't translate in real life. I have all these goals yet Im not proactive about them. I mean sure I'm going to school but I'm half-assing this semester, and with my university future in doubt it just takes away all the ambition and makes my current schooling seem pointless if nothing will come out of it.

And I can't stand living at home. I just want to move out so bad. That's a whole nother problem. But if I move out with my $9 job I'll have no money to spend after I spend it on bills and expenses.

It's one giant nightmare. So sick and tired of this paradox. In order to get a good paying job, I need to go to school. Yet I can't go to school because I have no money, because I have a low paying job? ****ing bull****.

All these money issues demotivate me. Everything is about money. Money money money money money money. I hate this world.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

forgetmylife said:


> i totally agree, and it's probably one of the reasons a lot of lower-class people resort to drugs/alcohol/religion to soothe their pain and actually make life interesting. there always seem to be a ton of churches in the ghetto; poor people hoping the afterlife will offer something better
> 
> you can't travel or even do fun things when every penny you make goes to living expenses... there's little you can do as far as entertainment goes. sure as hell can't go on vacation; might not be able to even ever afford leaving the country
> 
> ...


I agree with everything you said. Especially working two minimum wage jobs. One of my coworkers does that. She's like 60+ years old. How depressing. I can't see myself doing that, I think I'll kill myself before I have to work two full-time minimum wage jobs.

I'm surrounded by coworkers that all make $9 an hour, but unlike me they are old. Some are 30+, some 40+, some 60+. They are all daily reminders of what I can't allow myself to become.

One of my coworkers in particular is 32, married, has 4 kids and lives with his mom. That's ****ing depressing. I don't see myself like that, too depressing. If life takes me that direction then I won't last. That's why I need to do something to get a good paying job. Wether that's go to university or a trade school, or teach myself coding, I need to do something to become marketable and get a good job. Time is still on my side, thankfully.


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## Shari (Sep 9, 2014)

I make $19 an hour without a college degree. You can do it!


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Shari said:


> I make $19 an hour without a college degree. You can do it!


And you are 21? Please tell me what do you do!!


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

Shari said:


> I make $19 an hour without a college degree. You can do it!


How? :blank

@*tonyhd71* You are still young, that means you've got time and time equals money. But anyway, being serious, being the age you are, it still gives you time to explore what you like doing or what you don't like doing. Ask around for what skills you have/are good at or are willing to get good at. Try temp jobs and see how that goes. I wish I'd have found my career by now, but I honestly haven't. And yeah, it is depressing to get near that age and to be just starting out. The job I'm at, there's a guy with 4 kids, mostly young, he's older than I am and is paying child support plus is on government assistance. He's a great worker and he's actually a pretty darned cheerful guy, but I can't imagine ever doing that at his age unless I'm the most happiest person on earth. He likes the job more than I do, so.. there's that, liking a job.

But on that note, any degree whether it is a technical degree, a trade skill, or a four year degree will get you a lot farther than you'd think. I guess that's why people are always talking about going to school. You can do it. Just my two cents.

tl:dr -some sort of degree.


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## forgetmylife (Oct 1, 2011)

Shari said:


> I make $19 an hour without a college degree. You can do it!


hmmmm, where do you live?
I don't think that's even possible to pull off in my city.
perhaps you are naturally talented or really skilled at what you do?
do you work for a family member or close friend?


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

It's about what you do, not how much you make. Find something you enjoy and whatever you make at it will be good enough. I make way less than minimum wage, haven't reached the equivalent of full time minimum wage since '11, but I enjoy my work and wouldn't trade it for anything, and I've lived on my own for 12 years.

If you make $9/hr and work full time, that'd be $18.7K/yr, or about double what I made last year. If you're unable to live on that independently in all but the most expensive cities, and you don't have kids or student loans, then you might want to consider what kinds of things you're wasting money on. Surely freedom is a lot more valuable to your piece of mind than overpriced concerts and $4 coffees you could make for 20 cents.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

coeur_brise said:


> How? :blank
> 
> @*tonyhd71* You are still young, that means you've got time and time equals money. But anyway, being serious, being the age you are, it still gives you time to explore what you like doing or what you don't like doing. Ask around for what skills you have/are good at or are willing to get good at. Try temp jobs and see how that goes. I wish I'd have found my career by now, but I honestly haven't. And yeah, it is depressing to get near that age and to be just starting out. The job I'm at, there's a guy with 4 kids, mostly young, he's older than I am and is paying child support plus is on government assistance. He's a great worker and he's actually a pretty darned cheerful guy, but I can't imagine ever doing that at his age unless I'm the most happiest person on earth. He likes the job more than I do, so.. there's that, liking a job.
> 
> ...


Yeah, I wanted a bachelor' s degree but I don't get much financial aid to cover the cost at my university. I might have to settle with trade school, or I could go to school part time and work to pay off what the loans don't cover. Idk, I'm exploring my options. I just know I have no desire to live life if I'm going to make $9 the rest of my life.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Paul said:


> It's about what you do, not how much you make. I make way less than minimum wage, haven't reached the equivalent of full time minimum wage since '11, but I enjoy my work and wouldn't trade it for anything, and I've lived on my own for 12 years.
> 
> If you make $9/hr and work full time, that'd be $18.7K/yr, or about double what I made last year. If you're unable to live on independently in all but the most expensive cities, and you don't have kids, then you might want to consider what kinds of things you're wasting money on. Surely freedom is a lot more valuable to your piece of mind than overpriced concerts and $4 coffees you could make for 20 cents.


But I don't want to have to cut corners. If I want a videogame I want to be able to buy it. If I want a nice bike I want to be able to buy it. If I want a car I want to be able to buy it. If I want to travel I want to travel. I don't want to make sacrifices. I don't want money to be a barrier. Money is a tool that you can use to play the game called life. The more money you have, the more you can enjoy this game. I don't want to play this game if I won't have fun, and I won't have fun if I don't have enough money.

I can't be convinced to accept a low wage job. Its make good money or die for me. Im OK with a low wage for now but not in the long run. It will hurt my self esteem. If I ever run into someone from high school 10 years from now and I am making $9 an hour I'll want to run away and avoid that person. I don't want to be ashamed of myself. I want to respect myself, and I can't respect myself if I make $9 an hour.


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## coeur_brise (Oct 7, 2004)

tonyhd71 said:


> Yeah, I wanted a bachelor' s degree but I don't get much financial aid to cover the cost at my university. I might have to settle with trade school, or I could go to school part time and work to pay off what the loans don't cover. Idk, I'm exploring my options. I just know I have no desire to live life if I'm going to make $9 the rest of my life.


For sure. As one my friend mentions, she doesn't believe that minimum wage is a living wage exactly, though she stresses the importance of making at least enough to be independent on your own whether that's through minimum wage or not. Also, just to mention: scholarships, maybe look into how to get scholarships. I'm going to attend a class for that actually. Best of luck.


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## RelinquishedHell (Apr 10, 2012)

tonyhd71 said:


> And you are 21? Please tell me what do you do!!


Medical field probably.

You can't really expect to make it rich at a young age. At lot of younger people nowadays seem to think that's how it works and they don't understand how work works at all. You are not entitled to a job or money, you have to earn it. Also, you actually have to work hard and perform well at your job if you want to keep it and earn raises. You should be counting your lucky stars that you even have a job nowadays. You can also make money without a degree, it just takes a lot of time and not getting into trouble and *****ing your life up.

Personally, I'm thinking of getting my class A and becoming a commercial truck driver. Blue collar type jobs that requires skills and licensing are actually in high demand right now and can provide a good income.


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## mimu (Feb 16, 2015)

Just become a doctor and be on 500k+ a year at 27 like my neighbour :') No, but seriously, if you want to avoid being on a minimum wage you should aim to become self employed, start an online business of some sort. There's no harm in trying?


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## forgetmylife (Oct 1, 2011)

Paul said:


> It's about what you do, not how much you make. Find something you enjoy and whatever you make at it will be good enough. I make way less than minimum wage, haven't reached the equivalent of full time minimum wage since '11, but I enjoy my work and wouldn't trade it for anything, and I've lived on my own for 12 years.
> 
> If you make $9/hr and work full time, that'd be $18.7K/yr, or about double what I made last year. If you're unable to live on that independently in all but the most expensive cities, and you don't have kids or student loans, then you might want to consider what kinds of things you're wasting money on. Surely freedom is a lot more valuable to your piece of mind than overpriced concerts and $4 coffees you could make for 20 cents.


Good advice, but sometimes what you want to do most you can't make money at it (or at the very least not at first).

Interesting. I live in a pretty ****ty area and the cheapest apartment I've come across is $500/month. It's depressing (barren desert), bad weather, crime-ridden, and there is very little to do entertainment wise. That's $6000 a year just for rent. Then you have to add on other necessities such as utilities right? You probably have to buy your own food and groceries? Most people have cell phones, internet, and tv. Having a car can be pretty expensive too. Gas, insurance, oil changes, and possible repairs. Health insurance costs something like $50 a month minimum (not bad but it is mandatory). $18.7k? I'd say more like $16-17k because you didn't factor in income tax.



RelinquishedHell said:


> Medical field probably.
> 
> You can't really expect to make it rich at a young age. At lot of younger people nowadays seem to think that's how it works and they don't understand how work works at all. You are not entitled to a job or money, you have to earn it. Also, you actually have to work hard and perform well at your job if you want to keep it and earn raises. You should be counting your lucky stars that you even have a job nowadays. You can also make money without a degree, it just takes a lot of time and not getting into trouble and *****ing your life up.
> 
> Personally, I'm thinking of getting my class A and becoming a commercial truck driver. Blue collar type jobs that requires skills and licensing are actually in high demand right now and can provide a good income.


It's not about making it rich at a young age, it's about the fact that there are people in their 40's, 50's, and 60's still working minimum-wage jobs just to get by. Whatever their story is, it just seems sad and depressing. And I do believe it is this fact why it's so hard for young people with no prior work experience to land an entry-level job. I'm not saying I know how work works, but I do have 2 eyes and can see what goes on in day-to-day life.

I don't have a job, but I believe that everyone of a certain age should be entitled to at least an entry-level job. I don't believe in unemployment, capitalism is flawed.


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## Paul (Sep 26, 2005)

tonyhd71 said:


> But I don't want to have to cut corners. If I want a videogame I want to be able to buy it. If I want a nice bike I want to be able to buy it. If I want a car I want to be able to buy it. If I want to travel I want to travel. I don't want to make sacrifices. I don't want money to be a barrier. Money is a tool that you can use to play the game called life. The more money you have, the more you can enjoy this game. I don't want to play this game if I won't have fun, and I won't have fun if I don't have enough money.


You can play their game and play it by their rules, or you can play your own game and learn other ways to have fun. Cheap bikes and cheap cars get you places the same as blingy ones. Relaxing by a beautiful waterfall 20 miles from home is just as amazing as 2000 miles from home, unless you choose to make it otherwise.

There are always trade offs in life and work, unless you're born into a trust fund as I'm sure we'd all like to be. If you have to work long hours for the things you want, and you're not interested in alternative wants, then choose the long hours because it'll be worth it for you.



forgetmylife said:


> Interesting. I live in a pretty ****ty area and the cheapest apartment I've come across is $500/month. It's depressing (barren desert), bad weather, crime-ridden, and there is very little to do entertainment wise. That's $6000 a year just for rent. Then you have to add on other necessities such as utilities right? You probably have to buy your own food and groceries? Most people have cell phones, internet, and tv. Having a car can be pretty expensive too. Gas, insurance, oil changes, and possible repairs. Health insurance costs something like $50 a month minimum (not bad but it is mandatory). $18.7k? I'd say more like $16-17k because you didn't factor in income tax.


If you make little enough, health insurance is fully covered. TV is rather pointless for anyone who has internet, just because most people have something doesn't mean it's worthwhile. Cell phones can be quite cheap (my smartphone runs me about $5/mo) if you use wi-fi and aren't wasting your day out places texting people instead of looking at where you are. Utilities, if not covered in rent, are cheap for an apartment. You can eat well for $100-$150/mo if you don't waste it on restaurants. Car costs can be $100+/mo but it's certainly doable on that income. And the tax wouldn't be that much unless self-employed (self-employment tax % doesn't go down at low incomes like state and federal).

My rent is $580, but it's a lovely forested town with no crime and nice weather, not too far from the city either. If you live in SoCal I hear the prices are insane, but perhaps moving is an option.


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## Kml5111 (Dec 16, 2012)

I would be so ashamed if I was making only minimum wage in my 30's. That is no way to live. That is so depressing.


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## GloomyTracy (Jan 17, 2015)

tonyhd71 said:


> No offense to anyone that makes near-minimum, but I have no absolutely no interest in living life If I will always be making near-minimum wage. I rather blow my brains out.
> 
> My coworkers are a constant reminder of what I can't allow myself to become. 32 years old, making $9 an hour and still living with your parents? No thank you.


I make a tiny bit above minimum wage, minimum wage here is close to $10 and I make somewhere in the $14-15 an hour range and I know I will probably never make much more than that in life and I am content with it. Most people have an expense/spending problem, not a revenue problem, much like the government has - which brings in $billions in revenue every year but yet has an overall spending debt in trillions. You have to get your expenses down, especially with social anxiety and limited job/career prospects due to it, I had to get a hybrid car that gets 40 mpg, a prepaid phone costing about $5 a month, and have no credit cards, no monthly contracts (other than car insurance) and cut expenses to the bone. With me, social anxiety limits my income, but it also limits my expenses as I cannot eat in public, I can't go to a place like an airport, and it would be very difficult for me to walk around the mall, so my anxiety helps in my efforts of cutting expenses.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

Kml5111 said:


> I would be so ashamed if I was making only minimum wage in my 30's. That is no way to live. That is so depressing.


I rather kill myself that be like that


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## nubly (Nov 2, 2006)

tonyhd71 said:


> No offense to anyone that makes near-minimum, but I have no absolutely no interest in living life If I will always be making near-minimum wage. I rather blow my brains out.
> 
> My coworkers are a constant reminder of what I can't allow myself to become. 32 years old, making $9 an hour and still living with your parents? No thank you.
> 
> Not sure what the point of this thread is, other than to say minimum wage is bull****.


Not a problem. Go into the medical field. Nurses make a nice amount of money. Plenty of other jobs in the medical field bring a nice check. You just have to work for that goal.


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## tonyhd71 (Jul 27, 2014)

nubly said:


> Not a problem. Go into the medical field. Nurses make a nice amount of money. Plenty of other jobs in the medical field bring a nice check. You just have to work for that goal.


I don't want to be a nurse or anything medical related. Too much socializing in the medical field.

I'm going to stick to IT/computer science/software type of career paths.


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## iCod (Feb 17, 2015)

tonyhd71 said:


> I don't want to be a nurse or anything medical related. Too much socializing in the medical field.
> 
> I'm going to stick to IT/computer science/software type of career paths.


You could join the National Guard, if you really wanted to. That way, you get your college education paid for, and you get experience working and learning on the best computers in the world. I heard the army has some nice Computer-related job's, worth a shot right?
I mean, as long as you're not extremely overweight, BMT wont be too hard on you.


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## jvanb00c (Apr 13, 2012)

I feel like I can be laid off from my job at any moment or just quit from the stress it causes me but then I wonder what else is there for me? This is easily the best paying job I have ever had with great benefits. I'm not going to find a job that pays this well with such good benefits anywhere around me, not to mention I just kind of lucked into this job so finding another job, any job, won't be simple. Especially now since my company is laying off so many people and everyone of them will be going for the same jobs in the area who have a ton more experience than me an don't have social anxiety to hold them back in the interviews. So if things don't work out, I don't know what to do. I would go back to college and work the best paying job I could find, know that it's only temporary until I get my degree. Luckily I have over 20k in savings so if things do go south, I'm not totally screwed right from the jump. With my current life style I could easily go a year without working and be fine but I really don't want to waist my money on not working, I'd rather put that 20k into school. Thankfully I have no wife or kids to worry about, it's just me. If I was married and had kids I would be in a constant state of panic on how to provide. Since it's just me i can relax a little bit.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

Sounds like me 15 years ago.. I ended up getting booted out at 18, struggling to pay through jobs (which never went anywhere) until 24 and borrowing over 100k to get a master's degree. Now I make quite a bit more than the minimum wage, but if I was paying what they think I owe on my student loans it would probably be less than minimum wage.


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## Paper Samurai (Oct 1, 2009)

Minimum wage is not as bad in some countries as it is in others it has to be said. It depends entirely if it's set to a level that can actually be lived on.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

Paper Samurai said:


> Minimum wage is not as bad in some countries as it is in others it has to be said. It depends entirely if it's set to a level that can actually be lived on.


Its very subjective in the USA as well.. In some rural areas you can buy a house for less, but part of that is also job security.. The area I grew up in was all housing with no jobs within 10 miles - and a local university in that same area which meant 20,000 students looking for work too. If you can't find something stable that pays well above a survival cost then you will basically be living a terrible lifestyle, which is all too common in our country these days.


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## Paper Samurai (Oct 1, 2009)

knightofdespair said:


> Its very subjective in the USA as well.. In some rural areas you can buy a house for less, but part of that is also job security.. The area I grew up in was all housing with no jobs within 10 miles - and a local university in that same area which meant 20,000 students looking for work too. If you can't find something stable that pays well above a survival cost then you will basically be living a terrible lifestyle, which is all too common in our country these days.


True, over here you would struggle to live off minimum wage in London and surrounding areas. They subsidise things like housing to try and offset it.


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## knightofdespair (May 20, 2014)

Paper Samurai said:


> True, over here you would struggle to live off minimum wage in London and surrounding areas. They subsidise things like housing to try and offset it.


I live an hour from my parents, the cheapest place around me rents for $1000/month. If I lived near where they lived, I could get a house in the $150k range, but then its probably over an hour drive to work every day, one way... I'd guess at least half the state's population works in this one valley and commutes are terrible every day because of it. There is nothing affordable within an hour or so drive in any direction except the area full of Hispanics and crack heads.


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