# Why do people with good jobs still live out of their cars? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 1, 2018, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927 "2018-08-01T13:54:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/61 "2018-08-01T19:53:01Z")
> [@Orwell](#): > > The old “I’d rather live in my car than live in flyover country” syndrome, huh? :dubious: Yes, some parts of flyover country are that damn bad. For gay, feminist, or transgendered women some parts of flyover country are more dangerous than living in their cars in urban areas. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/62 "2018-08-01T19:58:25Z")
I have a friend whose sister lived 45 miles outside of San Francisco but was paying $46,000 a year to rent a house for her mother, brother, and herself. It was brutal financially. She made an arrangement with her company and actually moved to Las Vegas to live. She catches a 6 am Monday morning flight to Frisco and works there three days, staying in a small company paid studio apartment, and then she flies home Wednesday night, works from home on Thursday and Friday, and has the weekend for herself. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/63 "2018-08-01T20:04:22Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Or she could get a forbearance on those $143,000 in student loans and get an apartment in San Jose. Well that is something else. If she teaches within the California system can she get those loans removed? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/64 "2018-08-01T20:36:18Z")
This isn’t just a problem in Silicon Valley. In Branson, they can’t find enough workers, and[the workers can’t find enough housing.](https://www.npr.org/2018/07/11/627351318/caught-in-the-extended-stay-motel-trap) And the city just [tightened the limits on how many people can share a house.](http://bransontrilakesnews.com/news_free/article_d0d12a98-7bcb-11e8-b77b-9b3eeaebad98.html) ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/65 "2018-08-01T20:48:05Z")
I have to ask, why is a woman with a bachelors and a masters struggling as a college adjunct faculty member? She could more than likely go get certified to teach high school English and make a reasonable salary. It’s maybe not what she WANTS to do, and it doesn’t probably play into her narrative of what she is, but it’s something she’s qualified to do that would keep her from living in her car. This is starting to look more and more like a choice than some horrible, crushing random fate type situation. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/66 "2018-08-01T20:52:11Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > Sorry to tell you this but you really do NOT know Kansas and especially Lawrence. Often nicknamed the “San Fransisco of the midwest” because its a major liberal stronghold.[HERE](http://www.libertypress.net/index.php/events-2/884-annual-lawrence-pride-picnic)is a link to their own Pride events and gay newspaper. I don’t know… KU fucked a friend of mine as far as tenure was concerned, most likely because he is openly gay. ---
**Author:** ![EscAlaMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/escalamike/32/4177_2.png) [@EscAlaMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EscAlaMike)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/67 "2018-08-01T21:26:41Z")
> [@ZPG\_Zealot](#): > > There are also cultural factors to consider. Rural or rural adjacent areas where rent it cheap are sometimes cultural wastelands and depression induced by living in such places outweighs the depression caused by having to live out of a car. The low-rent rural and rural adjacent areas can also be flat out dangerous to anyone who isn’t white, Protestant, heterosexual and steeped in whatever the local community is. Wow, what an ignorant post. ---
**Author:** ![ZPG\_Zealot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47c2d/32.png) [@ZPG\_Zealot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZPG_Zealot)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/68 "2018-08-01T21:46:37Z")
> [@EscAlaMike](#): > > Wow, what an ignorant post. Have you ever lived in flyover country? I have (and too a certain extent unfortunately still do). It’s hell. It’s the kind of cultural blankness compounded by hatred and discrimination that make Eastern bloc communism seem tame (and I base that on having experienced both). ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/69 "2018-08-01T22:00:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I have to ask, why is a woman with a bachelors and a masters struggling as a college adjunct faculty member? She could more than likely go get certified to teach high school English and make a reasonable salary. > > It’s maybe not what she WANTS to do, and it doesn’t probably play into her narrative of what she is, but it’s something she’s qualified to do that would keep her from living in her car. This is starting to look more and more like a choice than some horrible, crushing random fate type situation. I am guessing she is the type who has a million excuses for everything that is “wrong” with her life. I am also guessing you could offer her a good paying, full-time job in Ohio (making enough to easily pay for rent in a nice area), _and_ pay for her moving expenses, and she would come up with excuse after excuse on why the job is not right for her. ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/70 "2018-08-01T22:29:29Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > … if she does move to a less expensive area she could at least get started on the process even if she is waiting tables for money. Has to beat living out of her car. It does? Why does it have to beat living out of her car? Which details of her life can you use to prove this? Which details of her life might you not know, that could be preventing her from making that decision? ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/71 "2018-08-01T23:48:58Z")
So, one thing we’ve learned from this thread is that people disagree over the relative awfulness of living out of one’s car vs. living in Kansas. I’m tempted to make a poll… ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/72 "2018-08-01T23:59:28Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I have to ask, why is a woman with a bachelors and a masters struggling as a college adjunct faculty member? She could more than likely go get certified to teach high school English and make a reasonable salary. I think for many college teaching positions she’s going to be competing with a bunch of PhD holders, so it may not be so easy for her to find a teaching job in Lawrence, Kansas, or wherever. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/73 "2018-08-02T00:00:45Z")
Well, to paraphrase Yogi Berra: “Silicon Valley? Nobody lives there anymore- it’s too crowded” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/74 "2018-08-02T01:14:00Z")
> [@JcWoman](#): > > I’m probably way over simplifying, but from what I can tell the biggest “job centers” (i.e. major metro areas) have very high housing costs/cost of living, and the places with low-reasonable cost of living have next to no professional jobs. Somewhat. My impression is housing costs are more tied to population density than population itself. I live in Indianapolis, which has about the same population as Seattle, Washington DC or Boston. But real estate is much cheaper here as we only have about 2,000 people per square mile, as opposed to the 10,000+ per square mile in the other cities. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/75 "2018-08-02T01:25:28Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think for many college teaching positions she’s going to be competing with a bunch of PhD holders, so it may not be so easy for her to find a teaching job in Lawrence, Kansas, or wherever. Sure, but I’m talking about high school, so having a master’s is a good thing, not a bad thing. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/76 "2018-08-02T01:30:48Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > So, one thing we’ve learned from this thread is that people disagree over the relative awfulness of living out of one’s car vs. living in Kansas. I’m tempted to make a poll… I’ve lived in Kansas. It’s a close call, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/77 "2018-08-02T03:36:26Z")
I wonder, its not unheard of for companies to provide employee housing. Couldnt her college find her a place to live in one of its student dorms? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/78 "2018-08-02T07:49:07Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I wonder, its not unheard of for companies to provide employee housing. Couldnt her college find her a place to live in one of its student dorms? I’m sure that if they were actively trying to recruit her over Harvard, Stanford, and Princeton they could come up with something. ---
**Author:** ![SamuelA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@SamuelA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SamuelA)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/79 "2018-08-02T12:34:27Z")
So what’s so bad about living out of your car? I mean, specifically, not just any car, but a vehicle that is suited for the purpose. Either a van converted into a camper, an actual RV, or if it’s a car, a Toyota Prius. (the Prius is a good vehicle to live out of because it’s both roomy on the inside and the hybrid drivetrain lets you run the A/C and heat and keep your devices charged with minimal noise and fuel consumption) You could shower at a gym and do your laundry at a laundromat. So you’ll be clean and have clean clothes. You can park in safe spots, the streets of somewhere like the Bay Area in California are probably pretty safe. You can hang out at starbucks or the hundreds of more specialized places a major city will have until bedtime after work. And you’re saving on the order of $24,000+ every year. So when vacation time rolls around you can actually go somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927/80 "2018-08-02T12:47:56Z")
Still not clear on where she keeps the husband and the two dogs. In the trunk? Regards, Shodan [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-people-with-good-jobs-still-live-out-of-their-cars/818927.md?page=5)