Quote:
Originally Posted by OldDartmouthMark
First of all, I'm not a fan of giving out personal info on the internet, but I will say my screen name was created way back when because I grew up in 'old Dartmouth'. In retrospect, I should have been more thoughtful when creating it as people always read "Old" and assume it is an indicator of one's age. Nobody cares, yeah I know. So please spare me the implication that you know what I'm all about and what I think - it's kind of silly to make such quick decisions to pigeonhole me in the 'enemy' camp, but I understand why you do. It's how society rolls now...
Let me say that I absolutely empathize. You, and everybody else trying to get into housing has the right to be absolutely furious with the housing predicament that has been created for you/us. It's completely unacceptable, and among other factors will continue to erode from the quality of life that you have the right to expect when living in Canada. I will now avoid the inevitable political conversation that would normally happen at this point.
The part that pisses me off about all of it is (A) the ignorance of those who have the entitled attitude and no empathy... the 'boomers' and 'gen X' that you speak of, and how it reflects upon what I perceive to be the majority of people in those age groups who actually do care and are equally pissed off about it (FWIW, do you think that millennials would be any more empathetic if the situation were reversed?), and (B) that this situation has created the mindset among many of the younger generations that somehow the older generations don't deserve to have the housing that they got into when the market was fair and reasonable, and that they should be brought down to suffer like everybody else. When... IMHO the real expectation should be that the younger generations have the same fair housing market that has been experienced for the past 100+ years in Canada. It has literally all gone to shit in less than a decade, but it should NOT, by any means, be accepted as the new normal. This was done to us, and steps need to be taken to fix it, and fix it fast.
All that said, I do wonder how effective these special interest groups are in actually changing decisions - my impression is that there is a lot of momentum going the other way and that the NIMBY groups are basically being ignored, but I'll accept that I could be wrong in this regard.
Lots more can be said, but I don't want to drag out the discussion. You have a right to feel the way you do, and I have a right to call out the typical generational nonsense that has become the normal state of internet discussions. It won't change anything, but I don't have to like it either, nor do you have to give a crap about what I like or what I don't. Beautiful, isn't it?
Anyhow, thanks for the discussion. I hope things change soon - a person in your position should be deciding whether you want a nice condo downtown or a McMansion in the suburbs... not whether you should have to choose between a small house in Enfield or a crappy 1-bedroom on the peninsula...
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I appreciate your clarifications and expression of empathy. To provide some clarification of my own.
I never meant to imply that you are the enemy or that all "old" people are the enemy (you've also implied that you're not that old... so such a statement wouldn't have applied to you anyway).
I never said that I want everyone to be dragged down to the precarious situation I find myself in. I have some millennial friends who are a few years older than me who got into the market just in the nick of time; I'm glad they've attained the relative wealth and stability that provides.
Everyone deserves housing. What people don't deserve is the ability to gatekeep housing from the rest of society with their ignorant and selfish campaigns against development. It is irrelevant (at present) whether Millennials would behave the same way if the tables were turned. They're not in the position now, and NOW is what matters.
You acknowledge that the housing crisis is a problem that needs to be fixed, lest this become the new normal, the NIMBY's I'm criticizing are the champions of ensuring this is the new normal with their efforts to restrict the housing supply.
As a final note, and to further illustrate why I am so frustrated, even your lament about my options in the housing market is significantly out of touch.
To afford a 1-bedroom apartment ANYWHERE on the peninsula, I would probably need to sell my car. Given how miserable public transit is here; if I'm ever forced into such a scenario I might as well quit my engineering job, move back to New Brunswick, and live in my parent's basement... Given my loan payments and other expenses, I simply cannot afford to pay $1500 for housing (this is the floor for a 1-bedroom unless you get very lucky or find a rent-capped lease transfer).
I wish it were the case that I could buy a small house in Enfield. A quick perusal of Viewpoint or Royal LePage will show you that there are zero listings for less than about $340,000. These are all mobile homes, and they are all conditionally sold. The listings that aren't conditionally sold start at about $500,000, and most of the properties for sale in Enfield are new homes in the $600,000-$900,0000 range.
With $70k income, $40k of student debt, and a $40k down-payment I can get approved for a mortgage of
$220,000!!! The TD pre-approval application was quick to inform me that there is not a single listing in the HRM for less than this amount...
So I truly wish the options were a crappy peninsula 1-bedroom or a small house in Enfield... But it's more like 1 roommate or 2 roommates.
Hence my frustration with the general state of things and my acute frustration with people who are fighting any attempt to change course.
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