First off I would like to say I have one of the better non physical labor jobs in my area. I work for the Department of Health and Human Resources as an Adult Protective Service investigator. I currently live in a state that is extremely republican and very poor. However, the cost of living is higher here than some other places with higher income due to the vastness of the oil and gas industry here. You can’t find an apartment under $1000. Even though I work one of the better jobs, I still spell with Doordash and Uber Eats because I don’t make enough to make ends meet. Then you see all of the people talking about “if you can’t afford to live somewhere, then move.” Well, see, I would. If I could afford, you know, security deposit and a couple months rent until I get settled and a job nailed down. The same job I do here, in other states pays $15k, sometimes 20k more. But I literally cannot afford to get there. So then you have people like me not having a choice but to stay and work away my daughters best years because it’s too expensive. I despise having to tell my daughter than I can’t afford to send her to school with book fair money, or spending money for a field trip.
Then you get the people that say “then why don’t you go work in the oil field?” Why would I put my body and possibly life on the line for someone else’s pocket? Also, if nobody is doing my job, then people suffer. It’s a lose lose