Got home today to a nice letter from the landlord letting them know my rent was going up more than 10%, for a total of 17% in less than a year ( utilities are NOT included, so ).
They're taking 41% of my take home income now for this shitty little one bedroom.
I make $20/hr plus some commissions ( a few hundred bucks a month ) and I have a part time job working overnights once in a while ( maybe 3 12 hour shifts monthly ).
I don't live in a city anyone has ever heard of or wants to be, generally. There are apparently no cheaper apartments available in the state now. They're charging people $1200 for studio apartments now.
The median family income here is 64k, meaning that your standard family could easily pay 30% of their take home for a loft now, and a single person will be throwing away 50-60% of their take home.