Man, that $1,500 a month rent sure is "ridiculously low."

I take this as God telling us that skyscrapers are evil

So, I looked into this. $1500 is literally above 2022's average rent for a 3BR apartment by a bit.

Rent usually goes up by something like 2 or 3 percent per year. Consequently, this guy says a rent that's just a touch above the current expected average is "ridiculously low."

So, there's a bit of an issue in looking at small town data. That is, they usually only have 5 year estimates. So, we have to do a bit of guesswork.

The most recent data available is from 2021. From that dataset, the national average for a 3BR is $1301. 2022 nationwide data from the single year says $1449. Multiply that by 1.03 and we get an expected average of $1492 per month for 2023. As such, we can expect that the values for the 2023 would be about x value multiplied by 1.15. It's a guess, but an informed guess.

Will see what we can find regarding specific places later. But for now, I need to run to the market.

I wonder what the urban/rural split looks like on the rent price

Just ran this. Ran correlation between urban % of population on the county level and median gross rent total, for just studios, and for each BR count. All had about a 0.56 correlation, except studios, which was at 0.4.

Visual of correlation between urbanity of a county and its median rent price

Pretty funny that the U.P. place known for being expensive is still about $100 cheaper per month for a 3 BR than his dream $1500 scenario.

And note, also, that this is just 3 BR as a metric; meaning, it'll show up here whether you rent a 3 BR apartment or home. So, the reality is probably that this is overestimating the price when you compare it to his fantasy price for a 3 BR APARTMENT.

So true

Is it normal for people to label such ludicrously exorbitant spending as $1000 a month for vacations as tenants of the "middle class lifestyle"?

I bet the average Daily Poor subscriber can spend a tenth of that on vacations and still enjoy them a hell of a lot more

Happy Thanksgiving from The Daily Poor!

Which one of you is leaking this info to the public?

Fortune, of course, is a monster, and she toys with those for whom she intends catastrophe, showing her friendly face and lifting them up before dashing them down wen they are least prepared for it. Think about that. You know what she is like and how she behaves, and you know too, that anything you had from her hands was not worth having, and in losing those things you have lost nothing of importance.

- Lady Philosophy in Boethius' Consolation

How happy were men long ago,
when they were content with nature
and not yet corrupted by wealth:
their hungers were easily sated
by acorns they found on the ground.
They had not yet learned to mix
sweet honey into their wine.
They did not dress up in silks
dyed bright with Tyrian purple.
They fell asleep on the grass
and drank from a nearby stream.
In the hot noons they would sit
in the shade of a towering pine.
They did not chop down these trees
to fashion the keels of boats
to sail on the seas and venture
to unknown shores and peoples.
No bugle calls then had sounded
to summon men to bloodshed
in hatred or naked greed
that stained the fi elds with blood,
for what could men gain from killing?
Look at us now and compare
our lives to those of the ancients.
As fierce as the fi res of Etna
is the lust of men for plunder.
Shame, shame on the man
who first dug gold from the earth
and brought the bright baubles of jewelers
into the light of the sun.

- Boethius, The Consolation of Philosophy

Those who have a lot need a lot. It’s expensive to be rich!

Lady Philosophy in Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy