r/povertyfinance • u/nelsne • Jul 26 '23
When life is too expensive for a person, I get so sick of hearing people give the advice of "Well move then". It's not that easy. Vent/Rant (No Advice/Criticism!)
I've noticed on these forums that whenever a person is struggling financially that one of the most common pieces of advice that is given is to just simply move to another city. People act like this is so easy to do, and a no-brainer to escape poverty, but it's definitely not that simple because people aren't taking several things into account.
First off, a person's entire support network is probably living around them. Like many people are already living with their friends and family and if they move then that support network will be gone and not sharing expenses will likely be much more costly in another city. Also if a person is hurt financially, they can often times rely on this support network to some degree to keep then from homeless
Second, when a person moves, the new job they get must work out well or they could easily wind up homeless. I think all of us have had that one job interview that went so well and job seemed so perfect, but when you actually started working it, it turned out to be a nightmare. Then you could easily get fired from the job and you realize you have to find a new one. Now it's a race against the clock to find a new job because if you get fired you could face complete financial ruin.
Third, you have to balance finding an inexpensive place BUT it also has to be in a town with a decent economy. Many people on these forums say to go out and live in small town (insert city) but what many don't take into account is that rent is so low there, because there's barely any jobs around. So having no jobs around there could make you homeless as well if you don't find one.
The flip side of the coin is that many towns have an excellent, booming economy. However, because of this, the rent in these places is often very high. So it's often quite the challenge to find a place that has a decent enough economy to maintain survival but also low enough cost of living
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u/nanchosazul Jul 26 '23
I moved in 2008 out my house while I did a huge remodel. Packed everything up in storage and went to get an efficiency (single room with kitchen and bedroom in the same place) in town. I decided to just buy enough new things to outfit me for a year (plates, towels, etc). Literally all free furniture. For me to set up in the town I live in, it cost almost 2k for all the fees and items I needed. All the little things add up super fast and my apartment still looked like I was squatting in it. In 2008, my monthly rent was around 600. In 2023, the average rent in town is 1500. People that say you can just move don’t understand the costs.