The Covid19 thread

[mad_gater]

We have contact-less food deliveries.

it's nice but only if you're ordering for more than one person...if you're only ordering for yourself the delivery fees and tips involved could easily double the cost of your meal

[Falcon Horus]

it's nice but only if you're ordering for more than one person...if you're only ordering for yourself the delivery fees and tips involved could easily double the cost of your meal

Some of the places we order from have a minimum set so that doesn't make it easy if you're ordering for one, and you just can't order more dessert... sorta... to compensate the missing euros to get to the minimum.

[Gatefan1976]

actually Whole Foods/Amazon is pretty generous IMO...$15/hour to start and then a recent raise for me to over $16/hour is nothing to sneeze at and is actually quite generous for grocery/retail work...a LOT better than the crap wages I got paid working food service so I think Annoyed has more of a point here when he said that food service workers (at least here in the US, could be different down under) get paid practically slave wages

Dude, I stack shelves and I get 28 bucks an hour. Even the food servers get paid around the same.

only problem is that with increases in wages come resultant increases in the cost of living (because business owners aren't just gonna keep absorbing ever-increasing costs of doing business without pushing at least some of that cost onto the consumer)

That's true. For example our house prices are utterly insane.
HOWEVER
The actual cost of groceries and such are on a pretty much on par with you in the states.
There is a balance to be struck here.

....so even at $15/hour full time it could be difficult (though not impossible I think) to find an apartment within my budget (though I feel confident that I can actually get by with very little aside from the basics of electricity, heat/air conditioning, and running water...for example if I get an apartment in a few years within walking distance of work I could forgo having a car)

From what I know, people who rent in the US have many of the "utility" costs factored into their rent payments, especially in apartments.

[mad_gater]

Dude, I stack shelves and I get 28 bucks an hour. Even the food servers get paid around the same.

That's true. For example our house prices are utterly insane.
HOWEVER
The actual cost of groceries and such are on a pretty much on par with you in the states.
There is a balance to be struck here.

From what I know, people who rent in the US have many of the "utility" costs factored into their rent payments, especially in apartments.

Well assuming that the $28/hour is based on Australian dollars....conversion to US dollars would make that approximately $20/hour....I'm currently making $16/hour...so you're still making more than me but hardly making out like a bandit

and yeah for stuff like groceries you can usually find pretty good deals (probably because if they started hyper-inflating the costs of those like they did for groceries in pre-WW2 Germany they'd look like real jerks)

In my neck of the woods (Buffalo, NY area) it seems like the only apartment complexes that roll all the utilities into the rent payment are ones that label themselves "luxury apartments" and are charging at lease 1200$US/mo....or studio apartments.....they'd be more affordable but also it would be a much smaller space...basically studio apartments are hotel rooms with the added bonus of a small kitchenette (so living area and bedroom are one and the same with a studio apartment)

In other areas of the US, however, it might be possible to find affordable full-size apartments with the utilities all included but in mine most apartments have either no utilities included or include some (usually heat and water/sewer)

[Falcon Horus]

For example our house prices are utterly insane.

I take that challenge. We paid 449,000 euro for our 3-bedroom house (building year 2019), solar panels, an attick, a garage and a large yard (also kitchen and living room obviously). Location: small village, about 20 minutes from the airport and the city I currently reside in, and about 45 minutes from Brussels.

Converted to US dollars --> 528.235,03
Converted to AUS dollars --> 736.225,30

The housing market has been booming here after the lockdown. People are eager to get out of appartments and into houses with yards, so the prices have been rising and people are paying them. Don't see that changing any time soon.

[Womble]

I take that challenge. We paid 449,000 euro for our 3-bedroom house (building year 2019), solar panels, an attick, a garage and a large yard (also kitchen and living room obviously). Location: small village, about 20 minutes from the airport and the city I currently reside in, and about 45 minutes from Brussels.

That buys you a 2.5 room (NOT BEDROOM, ROOM, in Israel we count every room and half-room) second-hand apartment in Ramat Gan where I live. Or less than half the price of a 3.5 ROOM private house in Hadera, which is about 1.5 hours away.

[Gatefan1976]

I take that challenge. We paid 449,000 euro for our 3-bedroom house (building year 2019), solar panels, an attick, a garage and a large yard (also kitchen and living room obviously). Location: small village, about 20 minutes from the airport and the city I currently reside in, and about 45 minutes from Brussels.

Converted to US dollars --> 528.235,03
Converted to AUS dollars --> 736.225,30

The housing market has been booming here after the lockdown. People are eager to get out of appartments and into houses with yards, so the prices have been rising and people are paying them. Don't see that changing any time soon.

The "family home", which is a 4 bedroom house would not sell for less than a cool 2 million

[mad_gater]

I take that challenge. We paid 449,000 euro for our 3-bedroom house (building year 2019), solar panels, an attick, a garage and a large yard (also kitchen and living room obviously). Location: small village, about 20 minutes from the airport and the city I currently reside in, and about 45 minutes from Brussels.

Converted to US dollars --> 528.235,03
Converted to AUS dollars --> 736.225,30

The housing market has been booming here after the lockdown. People are eager to get out of appartments and into houses with yards, so the prices have been rising and people are paying them. Don't see that changing any time soon.

then they're insane

I feel like I could live quite comfortably in an apartment, even a studio one (course it helps that I've kinda given up on the prospect of marriage and kids )

[Falcon Horus]

That buys you a 2.5 room (NOT BEDROOM, ROOM, in Israel we count every room and half-room) second-hand apartment in Ramat Gan where I live. Or less than half the price of a 3.5 ROOM private house in Hadera, which is about 1.5 hours away.

Frell me...

The "family home", which is a 4 bedroom house would not sell for less than a cool 2 million

Okay, you win.

[Gatefan1976]

I think Womble "wins" here.
That 4 bedroom home sits on a 1/4 acre block and has 12 rooms in it and I dread to see what kind of price that would be in Israel.

[Gatefan1976]

Last Off-Topic post mods, please bear with me.

Well assuming that the $28/hour is based on Australian dollars....conversion to US dollars would make that approximately $20/hour....I'm currently making $16/hour...so you're still making more than me but hardly making out like a bandit

Oh god no, what I am trying to point out is while you might get 16 bucks an hour, there are many, many more who would get half of that and they are trying to have families and pay all the bills.

and yeah for stuff like groceries you can usually find pretty good deals (probably because if they started hyper-inflating the costs of those like they did for groceries in pre-WW2 Germany they'd look like real jerks)

Sure, but "on average" you pay the same for groceries as I do. That 4 buck difference in our pay is 152 bucks a week on a full time roster (38 hours/week). There are MANY people in the US who on minimum wage would have to do almost an additional 20 hours to make up that difference in pay!!
That's just crazy!!
Also, those on the lower/middle spectrum of pay are far more likely to spend their wages, rather than saving them, which boosts the economy far more than just looking at the stock market.

In my neck of the woods (Buffalo, NY area) it seems like the only apartment complexes that roll all the utilities into the rent payment are ones that label themselves "luxury apartments" and are charging at lease 1200$US/mo....or studio apartments.....they'd be more affordable but also it would be a much smaller space...basically studio apartments are hotel rooms with the added bonus of a small kitchenette (so living area and bedroom are one and the same with a studio apartment)

We have weekly rent and it's 400 bucks a week and the only utility it includes is the local rates for water/sewerage (but we still have to pay for actual water use)

In other areas of the US, however, it might be possible to find affordable full-size apartments with the utilities all included but in mine most apartments have either no utilities included or include some (usually heat and water/sewer)

I hope you find something MG, but just bear in mind the job factor. I doubt you will find a job in more rural USA that pays the rates you get now. Yes, you can get more space for less cost, but will you be able to afford it even then?

Sorry for the tangent from the topic mods.

[Falcon Horus]

Jobs, real estate and economy under covid are a hot topic here in Belgium.

Our job market is stagnent at the moment, though more people are back at work, from home or otherwise. The real estate business is booming and the economy isn't sinking entirely to the bottom of the covid-pit.

[Annoyed]

Jobs, real estate and economy under covid are a hot topic here in Belgium.

Our job market is stagnent at the moment, though more people are back at work, from home or otherwise. The real estate business is booming and the economy isn't sinking entirely to the bottom of the covid-pit.

Jobs and the economy are going to be hot CV related topics for years in most places.

[Gatefan1976]

Picked the wrong year to ditch the politics thread

[mad_gater]

Last Off-Topic post mods, please bear with me.


Oh god no, what I am trying to point out is while you might get 16 bucks an hour, there are many, many more who would get half of that and they are trying to have families and pay all the bills.

Sure, but "on average" you pay the same for groceries as I do. That 4 buck difference in our pay is 152 bucks a week on a full time roster (38 hours/week). There are MANY people in the US who on minimum wage would have to do almost an additional 20 hours to make up that difference in pay!!
That's just crazy!!
Also, those on the lower/middle spectrum of pay are far more likely to spend their wages, rather than saving them, which boosts the economy far more than just looking at the stock market.

We have weekly rent and it's 400 bucks a week and the only utility it includes is the local rates for water/sewerage (but we still have to pay for actual water use)

I hope you find something MG, but just bear in mind the job factor. I doubt you will find a job in more rural USA that pays the rates you get now. Yes, you can get more space for less cost, but will you be able to afford it even then?

Sorry for the tangent from the topic mods.

well when that time comes I'll likely be sharing that apartment with my sister so that'll help with costs (provided we can keep from killing each other in that apartment )