What the housing situation is like where you live
By kneeshka123
@kneeshka123 (392)
September 15, 2007 3:54pm CST
I am interested to find out what the housing situation is like where you come from.
I live in United Kingdom and we have many homeless people; people that live in cardboard boxes; rough on the streets, in shop doorways, etc. etc. I know that some of these people live this way because of their situation in life, some being addicts of some kind and, therefore find it too hard to commit to responsibility of this kind. But there are masses of people who are homeless because they just cannot afford to get anywhere to live.
Over here it is like a catch 22 situation. You can not get a private rented place because you have no job and you can not get a job because you have no address. Even if you have got a job, in the majority of cases you can't afford to rent anywhere because you don't earn enough money.
The rents over here are between £80 to £300 for Studio flats up to 2 bedrooms. So basically the wages you need to earn to be able to afford the rent are few and far between.
Housing is a neccessity in life - if we can't sort out housing for everyone, sometihng must be going wrong. Don't you think?
What do you think can be done to make the housing problem better?
Denise
1 person likes this
4 responses
@raghwagh (1527)
• India
16 Sep 07
I live in India and at our place also the situation is as you have described.Also currently the land prices are just touching the sky, thus for common man it has just become impossible to have their own house.Also because of the rising prices of houses and the concept of house lone is flurishing and banks are making a large profit by giving loans at higher rate.Also banks are locking people by giving loan options of 20 , 25 years thus ensuring their long term interests.
For poorer people still road is the house for them.Also there are many slumn where poor or job less people live.
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@kneeshka123 (392)
•
18 Sep 07
May I ask what happens to the people that are very poor and have nothing. Do they get free education like we do in England, and free health care?
Many people in England think themselves hard done by but they don't realise that many countries have no free services to help them. But I am just wondering what and how they manage without these services.
Denise
1 person likes this
@kneeshka123 (392)
•
1 Oct 07
I am sure it is corrupt over here but not so bad as it gets noticed. We have very long waiting lists for medical treatment so you could well die while you are waiting.
Denise
@raijin (10345)
• Philippines
16 Sep 07
We also have the same problem here about homeless people, as others just SQUAT around on private-owned lots. But I guess I'm lucky that we live in a quiet place, both of civlization and nature. We have large backyards and garden lot, with perimeter fences and are consist mostly bungalow houses.
We live near a mall, just about half an hour ride. We also have some apartment-type buildings here, for those who works at the mall to rent for.
Here, people and their families should be relocated or atleast brought back to their place of origin to avoid being homeless. Our government have a project to bring back these illegal settlers on their home provinces, so lands can be used purposefully by their immediate owners.
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@sandwedge (1339)
• Malaysia
16 Sep 07
"What do you think can be done to make the housing problem better?"
the housing/homeless problem is nothing new. it started when man decide to be selfish and move away from the village culture where helping another person and expecting monetary reward. the more modern the world gets, the selfish the society becomes.
how to fix the homeless problem? i think send them all off to live in communes aka village culture revisited....not village people the singers mind you.
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@kneeshka123 (392)
•
18 Sep 07
Yes That is why I have to laugh when they used to say that Africa was uncivilised. I think it is much more uncivilised to not look after your people which is what happens where I am whereas in Africa no one in a tribe would go hungary or be forced to live ioutside.
@dreamy1 (3811)
• United States
16 Sep 07
I'm also in Hawaii and the housing situation is horrendous. There is a severe lack of affordable housing. I swear I have never seen so many homeless people in my life before I moved here. Home prices are the highest in the US. I hate where I live (partly because of crazy landlord) I live in a very small one room studio and for the amount of rent I pay I can easily rent a house or nice apartment on the mainland (not in NYC that's still more expensive). It's very expensive to live here but the housing situation is just sickening.
1 person likes this
@kneeshka123 (392)
•
18 Sep 07
Someone was saying that the homeless can not sleep on the beaches obviously because of the tourists, but where do you find them sleeping because they have to sleep some where.
At least in Hawai it is warm whereas in England you freeze if you are homeless and risk your life.
Denise
