I was doing a comparison for rent charges when the housing market was at its peak in the 80s in Hertfordshire (where I grew up) compared to now, and here’s what I found:
1989:
Average Rent for a 3-Bedroom House: Around £300/month or £3,600/year.
Average Annual Wage for a Qualified Floor Layer: About £14,000.
Percentage of Income Spent on Rent: About 26%.
2024:
Average Rent for a 3-Bedroom House: Around £1,700/month or £20,400/year.
Average Annual Wage for a Qualified Floor Layer: About £26,300.
Percentage of Income Spent on Rent: About 78%.
My conclusion is in 1989, a floor layer would spend roughly a quarter of their income on rent. By 2024, that figure has jumped to over three-quarters of their income. Rent prices have increased far more than wages over the years, making it harder for people to afford housing, and we wonder why we have a homeless problem in the UK!
consumerism running through them like a tumor in em, ageism, sexism, racism, chauvinism, capitalism running through em like the rumor business, separatism, skepticism, modernism, atheism, television running through em like an organism, mechanism, despotism, poisoning the ecosystem...... on and on.... ugh miss you lauryn hill.
I love when you get crazy eyes there at the end hahaha.
Anyways from the top. The video games not the old school ones because those for sure were escapism. For me as a kid it was escaping my parents fight or escaping being stuck at grandmas all weekend watching QVC. But now as an adult where games are more structured and some are hyper realistic I always thought it was escaping but you're right, I used to say to my boyfriend I know you play because you can control that narrative you have a say in what happens in that reality when this one here is so uncertain, it is getting back to the reality that we know when things were known and predictable. Now that makes complete sense to me why as an elder millennial there are so many of us who retreat to gaming. Why there are so many of us who have made a real living off of it and others who dream of that life.
Also with the music. I'm so glad I stayed away from mainstream music for much of my teen into adult years. It really is troublesome to watch good artists not get recognition in that world. The bands I went and saw and listened too never ever even got invited to those awards shows or even thought of for album of the year but those records for sure changed my life. One of my favorite bands is an Indy/emo/Christian (even though most the band doesn't not call themselves Christian) band called mewithoutyou out of Philadelphia. Their music changed my life for the 22 years they were a band. The point is there is so much talent that will never get heard by the masses and I'm okay with it though. I don't think music that is that good is meant for everyone.
And finally yes. We all need to just not. Fuck the man! And the woman! All of them! This system is so broken and I know now more than ever we were put here to do something about it. They are trying to stop you, silence you, stop people from hearing you for a reason friend! We are many. We have had enough. I really want to know the number of us who didn't vote this year. I know that number means something too. We are growing and they don't like it that's for sure.
I was doing a comparison for rent charges when the housing market was at its peak in the 80s in Hertfordshire (where I grew up) compared to now, and here’s what I found:
1989:
Average Rent for a 3-Bedroom House: Around £300/month or £3,600/year.
Average Annual Wage for a Qualified Floor Layer: About £14,000.
Percentage of Income Spent on Rent: About 26%.
2024:
Average Rent for a 3-Bedroom House: Around £1,700/month or £20,400/year.
Average Annual Wage for a Qualified Floor Layer: About £26,300.
Percentage of Income Spent on Rent: About 78%.
My conclusion is in 1989, a floor layer would spend roughly a quarter of their income on rent. By 2024, that figure has jumped to over three-quarters of their income. Rent prices have increased far more than wages over the years, making it harder for people to afford housing, and we wonder why we have a homeless problem in the UK!
consumerism running through them like a tumor in em, ageism, sexism, racism, chauvinism, capitalism running through em like the rumor business, separatism, skepticism, modernism, atheism, television running through em like an organism, mechanism, despotism, poisoning the ecosystem...... on and on.... ugh miss you lauryn hill.
hahaha hell yes, brother. hell yes
I love when you get crazy eyes there at the end hahaha.
Anyways from the top. The video games not the old school ones because those for sure were escapism. For me as a kid it was escaping my parents fight or escaping being stuck at grandmas all weekend watching QVC. But now as an adult where games are more structured and some are hyper realistic I always thought it was escaping but you're right, I used to say to my boyfriend I know you play because you can control that narrative you have a say in what happens in that reality when this one here is so uncertain, it is getting back to the reality that we know when things were known and predictable. Now that makes complete sense to me why as an elder millennial there are so many of us who retreat to gaming. Why there are so many of us who have made a real living off of it and others who dream of that life.
Also with the music. I'm so glad I stayed away from mainstream music for much of my teen into adult years. It really is troublesome to watch good artists not get recognition in that world. The bands I went and saw and listened too never ever even got invited to those awards shows or even thought of for album of the year but those records for sure changed my life. One of my favorite bands is an Indy/emo/Christian (even though most the band doesn't not call themselves Christian) band called mewithoutyou out of Philadelphia. Their music changed my life for the 22 years they were a band. The point is there is so much talent that will never get heard by the masses and I'm okay with it though. I don't think music that is that good is meant for everyone.
And finally yes. We all need to just not. Fuck the man! And the woman! All of them! This system is so broken and I know now more than ever we were put here to do something about it. They are trying to stop you, silence you, stop people from hearing you for a reason friend! We are many. We have had enough. I really want to know the number of us who didn't vote this year. I know that number means something too. We are growing and they don't like it that's for sure.