

$1,000 a month for tiny room, bedbugs, seedy surroundings in the Mission - donsupreme
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/1-000-a-month-for-bedbugs-shared-bathroom-in-5668140.php

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elyrly
I'm tired of the Headline "SF housing/rent too expensive" articles. Move to
Oakland, Berkeley, South Bay anywhere else but San Francisco.

~~~
ilikemustard
My thoughts exactly. I don't understand why they feel forced to live in such
terrible, expensive conditions. Sure it may be temporarily inconvenient and
difficult to move, but wouldn't they be far better off somewhere else?? I just
don't get it.

~~~
donsupreme
If you are an immigrant with kids, presumably with very limited education, I
can imagine you would make choices that aren't the most logical from the world
view. Fear can be a powerful factor, however illogical they might be, perhaps
they know the area or they can't drive or they have a support system, etc

~~~
wcfields
If the mother is an immigrant then she probably works in some form of
unskilled labor that provides little pay and even more-so little job
stability. Chances are if she was ever late she'd be fired. Living in the
Mission provides proximity to the job which for many immigrants are gained
through personal relationships alone.

So, moving to a new area means that she'll now have to add an expensive and
long BART ride into her budget which will probably negate any savings. Plus,
she'll loose any childcare resources she currently has established with
friends that live in the area. There may/may not be jobs in the new area but
she won't be able to get any of them there because she lacks the personal
relationships with the immediate surrounding community to get a new job.

Moving is also an expense she can't afford, hence the SRO that doesn't require
a deposit. If she had moved in the past it probably was from an SRO to another
SRO with most of her belongings being things that could be gathered into a
friends car or walked down the street.

Also, living in SF provides a /much/ better future for the children over
Oakland where a residence in her budget would probably be unsafe to walk
outside at night.

