Are there places in the US that have low(er) costs of living and jobs? Not NH or ME, that’s for sure… I suppose the economy has to be better somewhere, though.
MonkeyMule is a New York City native (well, Brooklyn, actually, which is a 'whole nother thing). 
I can’t speak for him and wouldn’t attempt to, but I have talked to him since this thread started. He’s very much aware he’s been an ass in the past and is very embarrassed about it. I have no doubt he will try to make amends as soon as he is in a position to do so. Doesn’t negate any stupidity he may have done, of course, but sometimes in life you do get lucky enough to get a do-over. I hope that’s the case here.
And he’s not all bad, and can be thoughtful, as any of you who may have received books from him can attest to.
your humble TubaDiva
The Midwest might be a good place to start. I don’t really know for sure. If I were that desperate for a new start, I wouldn’t limit my living choices to one city, particularly the most expensive city in the US. That was my only point.
Haj
The classifieds here (central Illinois) are filled with apartments for $2-300, and HOUSES for $500 and up. Is that low?
(note: seriously. I have no idea what it costs to rent in Chicago or NYC or really anywhere…)
An apartment the size of your hotel room at Chidope would probably go for around $1500/month in NYC.
I believe I have underestimated. If you had the two-room like we did, it would probably be closer to $2500.
Hmmm. A crappy studio/one bedroom out here in the San Gabriel/Inland Valley ('burbs of Los Angeles), even in the gang-infested areas, is typically $700-$900.
Hear I can get a 4 bedroom house with a pool for $100k out in Arkansas, while the 2 bedroom down the street with a postage-stamp sized yard just sold for around $400k… :eek:
To bad I love me my SoCali, and I’m not willing to relocate. 
Yowza!
Yeah, in my town of about 38000 (that’s including a tiny suburbish place), there’s a 2 bedroom, 1 bath for $375/month. That’s in a pretty good neighborhood.
There’s a 3 bedroom with a basement for $450, but I don’t know the neighborhood.
Finally, there’s a 2 bedroom with a garage, water, sewer, garbage all paid for $500/month.
Those are all houses, not apartments, by the way.
Just sayin’…
With respect, TubaDiva, I don’t believe that you’ve given the best example.
It is my understanding that there is a customary policy in the New York publishing houses that employees have the perquisite of being able to obtain copies of the books published by their houses for their own use. It is also customary to exchange books with employees of other publishing houses, and a small amount of distribution to outsiders is winked at. There is, however, a very large grey boundary area between legitimate use and abuse of this policy.
I have no information about the extent to which MonkeyMule has given his former employer’s books to Dopers or the circumstances thereof (save for one particular example of his seeking to give a large box of his house’s books to another Doper). However, I do not find this to be a particularly persuasive counterexample to my experiences with him.
In any event, I have no intention or desire to deny him a second chance, or to impede anyone else who seeks to do so. However, I think that anyone who wants to offer him a second chance should do so on a fully informed basis.
Well MM if you get desperate, and want to move to Ontario, my lousy roomates moved out with no notice, so I am looking for new ones and if you know anything about computers, you are could almost certainly get a job here www.stream.com which is a half an hours drive from the house, starting pay is $10/hour, which ain’t great, but it’s something. Rents cheap, $300 (Cdn) a month, includes everything but food.
well I don’t know about anything else, but THANKS Johnathan Chance for the link to Mediabistro.com! Being out of work for a year I’m willing to look anywhere for a lead, no matter how paltry…
hmm…maybe I’ll run the Tribune company…
FTR, if MM wants to move to Baltimore and not Brooklyn, I can get him a job with my company, no problem. I’ll even waive my referal bonus which will allow him to be appointed with no out of pocket cost to him. Housing down here is a lot cheeper than NYC also. Unfortunately, it’s not publishing, it’s sales, but it’s not hard to be successful here, hell, I am, how hard can it be?
Perhaps MM could get out of his depression by looking on this as a great opportunity to explore another country? Check-out the description for Summer Jobs in Britain 2004:
“Lists over 30,000 exciting vacancies in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland for the summer of 2004 including not only paid jobs and voluntary work but also vacation traineeships which give on-the-job work experience relevant to a possible future career.
Summer Jobs in Britain explains when and to whom to apply and gives information on wages (up to $400 per week), when the work is available, and what experience (if any) is required. It also includes tips on work permits, including the Work in Britain scheme for American students, and information on taxation, and the British national minimum wage.”
I cannot help, but I can second that Dopers are the best.
Last December I mentioned I haven’t been getting income for years and couldn’t get my son anything for Xmas.
Well.
There were some wonderful Dopers who mailed my son great stuff!
I was getting attached to the UPS man.
But really you guys(most of you) are great.
This may be a little late but I pay 800 a month for a tiny 1bd in Santa Rosa, California and this is one of the cheaper places in CA to live (compared to areas w/in the Bay Area).
Oh, and it’s not too great a part of town, either. I live about 3 blocks from school and will only walk to and from in the daylight.
Uhm. This is for TubaDiva. I just wanted to thank her for the care she showed. Admittedly, she didn’t know about the lurking horror that was about to show up, but the thing is, she really stepped up to the plate for a Doper in need, and I’d like to thank her for that.
In other news: I’ve got to agree, if MM’s looking for a job and a joint to be in… and he’s got the option… try somewhere else. Georgia, I hear, is nice and has a good job market.
If I didn’t love this city so much, from an objective standpoint, I’d go somewhere else, myself. Cost of Living is killing me.
Ummmmm…what about family?
Holy crap! I just looked through the local classifieds and 1 bedroom apartments here range from $600-800/month and 2 bedrooms from $800-1150! I knew that there was a report a couple years back that the adjusted cost of living(by wages vs expenses) was second highest in centeral/seacoast NH- coming in only after Silcon Valley- but this is rediculous.
To put that in some perspective, a 1BR in Washington (downtown, not the burbs) costs a minimum of $1000, more often $1200. Efficiencies are under $1000, but not by a lot. Those NH prices are quite low comparied with DC, but then so are most.