This is kind of an aside but it's always weird looking at caricatures of poverty from the 90s and earlier, where people live in modest homes they seem to own. Or people living alone in plain apartments in places like New York.

A six-figure salary in so many cities means that you can probably rent a decent apartment and never own anything. It's just so obvious that this system isn't working.

[–] DragonTypeWyvern@literature.cafe 15 points 9 months ago (1 children)

If there's one thing Hollywood is known for it's accurate depictions of the housing market.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 18 points 9 months ago (1 children)

You're right, but on the other hand, no one in the 1980s watched Married With Children and thought, "a shoe salesman? With a house? How absurd!" Because houses were affordable.

[–] problematicPanther@lemmy.world 12 points 9 months ago (1 children)

housing used to be affordable. I've seen the value of the modest house i grew up in increase in value after my parents sold it so much that I can't afford to even think about buying it now that i'm the age they were when they bought it. and it looks like the new owners have let it go to shit.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 10 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Exactly. People did talk about how homes on TV in the 1980s were unreasonably large, but the idea that Al Bundy's family or Roseanne's family couldn't have a house at all was not even one people considered. Because of course you could afford a house.

[–] bouh@lemmy.world 7 points 9 months ago

Also, you could afford a house at this time with only one person working in the couple. The wife usually stayed at home until they progressively all went to work.