Moral norms have changed, and tolerance is one result. The terms "bums" and "un-wed mother" were degrading, and painted all in those categories as being of the same ilk. A homeless person may be that way not because of being a vagrant, but rather through unfortunate circumstances, such as a job loss or divorce. A single mom could be a divorcee.

I paid $4000 for my 1986 house trailer. I pay $125 for lot rent and property tax is almost nothing.

The idea of forcing single mom's to live in group homes is an idea that thankfully died long time ago. It's always interesting as well as extremely annoying to hear people criticize single mom's while completely ignoring it not elaborating the correspondingly deadbeat dad.

No one ever "forced" them to live there... OMG... Who ever told you that?

It was needed back then, in the days before men lowered their standards of marrying only chaste women.

The home for un-wed mothers was a safe loving place for girls to live while they pondered their choice of keeping or giving the child up for adoption.
( bills were usually paid by the adopting parents)

Those were different times when women felt ashamed for not having waited for marriage and what all.

Those homes provided a much needed helpful solution for the problems girls were facing at that time.

The girl, for her sake, could conveniently and quietly "go away" and when she returned no one was the wiser. It was her choice to save her reputation.
It was a societal issue... in those days.

No one forced anyone to live there.

Who did you think could do that?? The government?


BTW:
Way back in those earlier days.. I think it was late 30s Loretta Young had a "secret" love-child with Clark Gable. Both their movie contracts specified being fired before scandal. So She secretly took a long trip to Europe.
She came back a few years later w/her baby saying she adopted it.
The child's name was Judy Young later (Lewis)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judy_Lewis
She grew up never knowing Clark Gable was her father until she got married and her husband told her indicating that everyone else in Hollywood knew it.

The way prices are appreciating in the Seattle area, it will be worth a million within 5 years.

And whoever buys it will be paying thousands in property taxes each year for the privilege of keeping it.

Progress.

I know several people who are one paycheck from losing the roof over their heads. The increases in rent from year to year are higher than the increases in their wages. Another guy got sick for a month, lost his job, and then lost his apartment because of it. Luckily, friends took him in.

There are a lot more people in that situation than perhaps you realize.

I'm sure there are situations with extenuating circumstances... sure.

But it has been my experience in the last 76 years of my life ... to notice that mostly all people with any reasonable desire or drive will NEVER accept living on the street as a way of life.

No one could have come from much poorer existence than I.
Believe me.

I've been there...as a child when my father deserted us and my pregnant mother in our $25/mo apartment...leaving us w/nothing. My mother had to rent out the spare room for $9.
Then she had to collect and sell her pregnant urine to the hospital lab for $5 by taking two buses each way every week. We received a ton of coal twice a year from " the relief society"
Christmas time our used-toys were ( one to each child) were donated by the fire department.
Despite rent paid... we were still evicted because the landlord moved his family in.

So I came home from school to find my pregnant mother and our furniture on the street.

But... She did as much to help us get a roof as she could and by that night our furniture was stored in the basement of a kind passer-by and we were at my g'mother's house.

As soon as my sister was born my mother took a job and made sure we had a roof.

As a 19yo young man ...I was forced out on my own. with only the clothes on my back.

I quickly asked a contractor in a diner, if I could do day labor.
He paid me $8 a day for pushing a wheelbarrow and digging dirt all day.
I had to get a motel @ $5 per day and eat and buy gas with the other $3.
It took a week of wearing the same clothes to get enough money to buy other clothes and wash those in the laundromat.

And again when I was a separated/married adult ... in the late 60s I too fell on many hard times not knowing where my next dollar was coming from... but I dug in deep and held on.

I had to borrow $300 from my job's credit union to avoid loosing my house... and it took 10 months to pay it back.
In the mean time I was on a self imposed budget of $2 per day for gasoline and lunch... but I made sure I did it.
After my divorce I raised my two daughters alone. I had to work two jobs to do it... but I did it.

I know that when people really want to .....they can find a way.

I know I'd never let myself live on the street... I'd do something... wash dishes or what ever was needed.

I appreciate your story. I'm sure the tough experiences you went through are a reason why you feel the way you do. I can understand that.

But it's a more difficult proposition to get back on your feet in 2018 than it was in 1971, when one person working at a gas station could support a family, and even a janitor could afford to buy a house in some places (I know a guy who did).

We'll have to agree to disagree here. Have a great day.

It's really bizarre that women are expected to be "chaste" but men are not.

True. In fact most women nowadays and some even back in the day...hope their future husband has some experience and certainly not a virgin.

Archaic and offensive

WOW! Talk about topic creep....
Mark D.

Weird how the topic of real estate turned into yet another polarizing discussion about general society...

To bring the topic back to the original post, very few, if any, people I know could afford their present house new. Some might, but they'd still be living off of ramen noodles for quite a few years to do it.

Here in the Seattle area there are some houses that sold for 200K-300K or so back in the 90's that are closing in on a million in value, especially within the city limits. That is how much the real estate property values have skyrocketed.

one day these inflated prices will come down, again, and the current owner will get burned.
Our communities really can't support million dollar starter homes. No wonder kids today are
lost and reckless.

I am a german, visited several states, I saw the county and the cities, east-coast states, NJ - garden state,
Delaware, Pennsylvania and of course Maryland/Carroll County etc. are beautiful places to live.
But I didn`t like the bigger cities, couldn`t fell in love with them.

But Seattle, I went there to buy my Packard, was a fantastic city.
To me it is the most attractive & beautiful city of the United States and under the top 3 of the world,
maybe number one!
Seattle is the only big city I should like to live in.
It seems that many people are seeing this now in the same way....

Btw., the most ugly city was Cincinnati. I remember visiting Dayton/OH where I bought my Cadillac.
I had some time, there was a big shortwave station in Cincinnati, and once there were american people
in a restaurant, talking to each other how beautiful it is, so I went there. NO - never again!

Regards,
SIXMILLION DOLLARMAN

If you liked Seattle you'd probably really like San Francisco. Kind of a similar vibe but a lot less of the rainy, cloudy weather. But boy is it expensive. A house in SF these days is well north of a Million.

San Francisco has the most restaurants per capita by far of any other U.S. city. Seattle is #5;
https://www.eater.com/2012/8/1/6559451/ ... -us-cities

Yes, I think so, the view on the Pacific and the clean fresh air is fantastic.
But SF has no winter, no snow, it will be too hot for me.

One of my vintage TV guides sellers lives there.

I know SF only from "Streets of San Francisco" and Bogart`s movie "Dark Passage" (best
police drama movie ever made).

The seller wanted to invite me to the restaurant in the space needle, but I was too short in time.
I had a fix and paid night flight back to Baltimore/MD.
I am really sorry that I didn`t had the time.
I remember there was a shop with old radios and one ~1959 Zenith TV set - with missing knobs....

Regards,
SIXMILLION DOLLARMAN

Seattle is not the nice town it once was.
More than 12,000 people are experiencing homelessness in King County
https://seattle.curbed.com/2018/6/1/174 ... ing-county

Seattle’s homeless population went up 44% in the last two years
https://q13fox.com/2017/12/06/seattles- ... two-years/

The overall crime rate in Seattle is 115% higher than the national average.
https://www.areavibes.com/seattle-wa/crime/

Dave