The Mariel mailbox

The best part of my job (and sometimes the worst) is the reader mail I get. Here's a letter from one reader in the same boat as so many of us Gen X 30 types who want to do the grownup thing but can't afford it.

From Angelica and LA:
"We are leaving to NC in the near future also. Housing is out of our reach. Two decent regular type jobs with just about 83K before taxes (basically half that) with two car payments and rent in LA… forget about it. It will never become reality for us."

And a lament from Dan in Brooklyn:

"My wife and I make about 90,000 per year combined. I have two kids , one goes to college and we pay full tuitions, the other one is in the 8th grade. We can not afford anything around here and when I hear the politicians claiming that "more and more people
are buying houses" I go to the toilet and flush it! Where the hell are these people? My job is in New York and I want to stay here.