Where do the poor people live?

After moving here and finding a decent place to live, at two or three times the rent back in Florida, I started exploring the area even more.

What I noticed was that people's "homes" were really townhomes. Also, these "homes" were going for ALOT more than REAL homes back in Florida. I mean, the price of a townhome in Northern Virginia would buy 1.75+ homes in Florida or even a mansion. Seriously.

Another thing that I noticed was that there were alot of different ethnicities here. This is great! I would never have guessed that I would find many Hispanics, Middle Eastern, and Asians here in the DC area. Afterall, when I think of DC, I think of all the staunchy white politicians.

America's 5 Most and Least Expensive Cities

And besides metropolitan areas, the ACCRA also ranks 314 urban areas. Those with the highest cost of living are:

* New York-Wayne-White Plains, NY-NJ—171.0
* Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA —148.8
* Oakland-Fremont-Hayward, CA—143.8
* San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA—139.8
* Washington-Arlington-Alexandra, DC-VA-MD-WV—138.8
* Newark-Union, NJ-PA—132.9
* Edison, NJ—131.4
* Seattle, WA—122.9
* Philadelphia, PA—120.8
* Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL—118.0

ACCRA is a non-profit organization that researches community and economic development.


So, after seeing and thinking about all of this, I'm left wondering...

Where do the poor people live?

Virginia...the beginning

As an aerospace engineer, especially during times of financial consolidation (layoffs), it's hard to find jobs all over.

Back in my home city, we have two simulation companies. One bigger than the other. I worked for the smaller of the two and life was ok. The work was fun, but the boss was an extreme moron, I mean, he was a complete ass. (I'll save that for a later blog.)

After reductions in workforce (layoffs) for both companies back in the early 2000's, many of us were looking for new jobs.

During the layoff period, I found a few part time jobs to make a quarter of what I made normally. My wife even found a part time job ON TOP of her regular full-time job. She's the greatest. I felt like such a loser. After working non-stop with litte to no sleep during the holidays, I finally found a job with one of the competitors to my old company. Guess where they were located? Yep. You guessed it - Virginia
.

So, with less than a month to pack things up, I was on my way to Virginia
.

Our Story...

We moved to the Northern Virginia area a few years ago when I was faced with a layoff back in Florida. I held a few jobs at the same time just to make our money last as long as it could each week back there. To help out, my wife, who had a full-time job already, took a part-time job. The two of us were barely sleeping and barely saw each other.

After what seemed like an eternity of multiple jobs, I landed a new job – in Northern Virginia. It was with the competitor of my previous job. It was the same line of work, but completely different atmosphere. My old job was terrible. The boss made us drink coffee (or any beverage) in a “company approved” mug. Anything else was forbidden. He would walk around just to inspect us. It’s worse than that, but I’ll spare the details. Anyway, this new company had a family feel to it. Everything felt right. So we packed up and moved up here. Later that year, during the snowy winter, my wife (now several months pregnant) took a part-time job at the local mall. Because we only had the one car, she walked in the freezing weather to work both day and night so that we could have enough money to buy clothes for our child. I’m not proud of that at all.

After living here a short time and the birth of our child, the cost of living seemed to have skyrocketed. All of our income is used for everyday living expenses – food, rent, and utilities. My wife and I are scrimping just to stay afloat here. We’ve cut back our expenses just to live paycheck to paycheck. Not a fun situation at all. There are some days where we skip lunches and other days where we spend no more than $5 a day for lunch. We’ve also cut back on dining out to maybe once a week. The cost of living here is outrageous.

For all of these reasons, we’re trying to move back home to Florida, but it’s hard to do without a job lined up down there. Also, the moving expenses alone will put us deeper into the red, unless with a new job, moving expenses will be taken care of…hopefully.

With a wife and very young child to support, we’re stretching our income as much as we can. That’s why I’m asking for your support. If you are a regular reader or find our story compelling in any way, please consider supporting the fund by becoming a “Stuck In Virginia” patron. Any amount will help.

Thank you.

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