[Vision2020] Rent Prices Was: Sen Schroeder

[Saundra Lund]

I agree with Chas -- while there are **definitely** houses that rent for
$1200/month (i.e., I saw a *very* nice house in Fort Russell renting for
that in June & another *very* nice house behind the arboretum in the same
time frame) and more in Moscow, there are lots of decent apartments,
duplexes, and houses that rent for substantially less than that.  I feel
pretty comfortable saying that since I helped several people (students,
non-students, and faculty) find housing as recent as last spring, summer,
and even into the fall.

And, no, I don't have any special connections.  I was actually pleasantly
surprised at how much the rental market has loosened up since the last time
I helped folks find homes three or four years ago.

None of that means that there isn't still a need for truly affordable
housing in Moscow for our residents because there *definitely* is.  When you
do the math for a couple of young adults working two minimum wage jobs, you
can easily see the problem of paying $600-700/month rent for a nice two
bedroom apartment (WSG included), particularly when those minimum wage jobs
*don't* include health insurance.  If, for instance, you slip in the ice
some bad neighbor has failed to shovel for weeks and break your arm . . . 

Donovan wrote:
"I have been to almost every apartment complex in Moscow, and unless you are
living in subsidized housing, you are paying at least $550 a month for a
large one bedroom or two small bedroom one bath, or you are living in
something small or nasty. Most of them are older apartments too, around for
my parents or when my sister was a Frosh at UI."

And, that's not true at all.  Perhaps, Donovan, you are somewhat out of
touch since you no longer live here and haven't lived here in awhile?
Clearly you've not seen nearly as much as you think you've seen, at least
more recently.

You'd do a lot better, IMHO, trying to make your case if you didn't make
crap up whole cloth up or use the worst examples (of which there are plenty)
to over-generalize.  Yes, there are some overpriced crappy rentals in
Moscow, but there are lots more, IMHO, reasonably priced decent rentals in
Moscow -- I've actually seen them with my own eyes, Donovan, and recently,
too.

If you want to go after slumlords, I'll be right there with you; what I
won't do is sit silently while you try to portray the rental market in
Moscow as something that it's not.  There's definitely lots of room for
improvement, but it's nowhere as grim as you want to portray, IMHO.

It is possible, you know, to advocate for change without trashing those who
don't deserve to be trashed.


Saundra Lund
Moscow, ID

The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do
nothing.
~ Edmund Burke

***** Original material contained herein is Copyright 2009 through life plus
70 years, Saundra Lund.  Do not copy, forward, excerpt, or reproduce outside
the Vision 2020 forum without the express written permission of the
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-----Original Message-----
From: Chasuk [mailto:chasuk at gmail.com] 
Sent: Thursday, February 19, 2009 7:16 PM
To: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
Cc: Ellen Roskovich; Andy Boyd; vision2020 at moscow.com; Saundra Lund
Subject: Rent Prices Was: [Vision2020] Sen Schroeder

On Thu, Feb 19, 2009 at 18:08, Donovan Arnold
<donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I am sure we have heard more. And so they wonder why rent is $1200 a month
> in Moscow and $700 a month in the Treasure Valley,

Rent is $1200 a month in Moscow?  That certainly isn't an average, or
even the mean.  I've never paid more than $600 a month in Moscow, and
I've lived in some pretty nice apartments.  I'm renting a 4 bedroom
home now, and I don't pay $1200 a month, or anywhere near it.