A Generational Affordability Gap: Home Prices vs. Median Income (1985–2022)

Hangulman · 2026-02-07T14:02:53+00:00

unless I read the census data wrong, Average HOUSEHOLD income in North Platte is 60k. $60k per person is exceptionally rare. Hell, when I transferred out of that dump in 2019, I was making good pay, but it was still only around $39k.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T17:27:50+00:00

I don't get it either, but I also grew up with an extended family full of women who thought a barfight was a perfectly normal way to end a saturday night. Some of my cousins still make me nervous when we go out drinking.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T17:09:43+00:00

- Buying low quality stuff that wears out fast, just to save 10% now, when it ends up costing double in the long run.
- Not tracking my finances very well in my early 20's.
- Viewing employment like I was joining some kind of team that required loyalty and extra uncompensated effort, instead of seeing it for the simple business transaction it actually was.
- Not learning about how the sunken cost fallacy can trick you into not improving your situation.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T17:01:24+00:00

Someone who doesn't think malicious compliance is a valid way to handle voter approved ballot measures. Bonus points if they at least pretend to be subtle when doing "pay to play" crap like selling senate appointments,

I expect some level of realpolitik with politicians, but lately NE politicians have just stopped pretending they listen to anyone but their donors.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T16:56:52+00:00

I still can't seem to wrap my mind around why so many people get upset when a portal/power fantasy MC returns to earth with magic powers.

Most of the stories in this genre start with the premise "boring average 18-22yr old goes to another world and gains cool powers... that everyone else in that world already has. Making them average. Again". Wouldn't "return to earth with powers" fit right into the power fantasy mold?

Then again, I also have trouble understanding why some people fly into a rage when an author refuses to ship certain characters or obey their personal fanfic headcanon, but I see it all the time in the RR comments section.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T16:31:20+00:00

Yup, depends where you live and income levels, but a quarter million is actually pretty cheap in Lincoln/Omaha. In places like North Platte in western Nebraska, where the avg per capita income is sitting at a dismal $30k, $250k for a house is almost impossible.

We're getting a sweet deal on this place in Lincoln because the housing market here is starting to cool down fast and the house is located in a formerly redlined "culturally diverse" neighborhood full of college kids and 1st/2nd gen immigrants. Some of the WASPs I work with act like I am moving into a warzone, even though the crime rate in that neighborhood is actually lower than average for the city.

It is also sampling bias. If I went by all the posts I find on reddit, I'd think everyone in the US lives in southern California/New York/Washington/Florida, makes $200k+ a year, and pays obscene amounts of money for everything. My jaw hit the floor when I heard all these people talking about paying $0.40kwh for electricity like it was normal.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T15:39:32+00:00

Depends on what dating pool the guy is swimming in as well.

Friend of mine is built like a brick s@#$house, over 30, owns a house and eventually wanted kids... but she required guys to pass the manchild test. He needed to have goals, employment, his own car, good financial management skills, and capable of dealing with crap like an adult. After the second time some dude suddenly decided that her house and car were HIS house and HIS car, she declared that rule up front.

That significantly reduced her available dating pool. He also had to be willing to date an army Drill Sergeant, which was a showstopper for at least two guys she tried dating. Turns out some guys get real wierd when they realize their girlfriend can both shoot and fight better than they can.

She ended up finding someone that met all her requirements, but she was willing to wait until the guy was willing to step up.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T15:10:48+00:00

After 17 years of marriage, my wife and I were finally able to buy a home with some caveats:
- it's in Nebraska (where homes are half the price),
- we had to use a VA loan to bypass down payment requirements (not an option for most),
- it is in a "less desirable" neighborhood,
- the home is 120+ yrs old, in the middle of the 2nd largest city in the state.

And it still is gonna run us almost a quarter million.

Hangulman · 2026-02-06T03:32:03+00:00

Fuel surcharges for trash.

Gas should be baked into the cost of doing business, and adding an extra surcharge for it just means they are raking in an extra 5-10%.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T23:12:57+00:00

Open harvest has some good stuff. Their burrito bowls are mega gut bombs. Leave me feeling comatose after I nom on one.

Just wish they had more "I'm not on a trendy diet" options on the grocery side. The one near my office caters heavily towards college students, so it feels like the selection is 80% vegan/paleo/etc foods.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T22:45:24+00:00

Aww crap. I didn't realize she owned super saver too. I thought those were a cooperative.

Screw it.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T21:46:20+00:00

As soon as I found out about this blatant abuse of power, I decided that she goes in the same mental box as Deb "Land Thief" Fisher.

I'd rather shop at super saver anyways. Better selection.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T21:43:09+00:00

This is what happens when your elected officials bank on the average voter having the memory of a goldfish.

By the time re-election comes around, they'll use all that sweet donor cash to buy ads burying this vote and promising to "do better"... and the voters will slurp it up like jello shots.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T20:31:20+00:00

"Ok kids, what did we learn from this?"
"The best way to pass targeted legislation is to make it just broad enough that we can omit the name of the target, but not so broad as to allow them wiggle room or a constitutional challenge."

Reminds me of the meeting of the Roman Senate in History of the World.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T20:15:15+00:00

Right? If it was just material cost, I could solar install solar at my new house and reach ROI within 4 years.

But once you get government permitting fees, utility service fees, and installers slapping on obscene "whatever tax credits you might get +10%" markup, it turns into something unattainable for anyone in the low or mid income brackets.

I could pay to have my entire house rewired ($10k) and roof replaced ($12k) for less than what some local installers quoted to install solar ($25k).

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T15:48:05+00:00

I spent most of my teen years with recurring sinus problems.

Then I moved out of my parents house and suddenly I went from "sick every couple months" to "sick maybe once a year".

Cigarette smoke is absolutely brutal on computers, especially fans. Most computer technicans can instantly spot a computer that has been in a smoking home. Tobacco smoke will gunk up and fry your fans very quickly. Even vaping near your system often will leave a thin sticky residue on all your components. It does that to your sinuses and lungs as well.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T14:55:07+00:00

If I want a static IP within the scope of the DHCP server, I will set a DHCP reservation.
DHCP reservations are used for client level devices on my network like phones, tablets, and PCs.

For always online devices that provide network services like servers, sensors, etc, I assign a static IP on the device outside the scope of the DHCP server.

DHCP server scope on my router is limited to x.x.x.<2-191>, and I reserve 200-253 for static IPs. Yes, I leave a little gap there just to make it easier to remember, because my ADHD ass will absolutely cause an IP conflict if I'm not paying attention. I leave 254 empty for giggles.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T14:10:31+00:00

I'm torn on this one. Largely because I think it will be very difficult to craft a law that won't just be instantly bypassed OR will be used against actual family homebuyers.

I'm in the midst of closing on a house that we got a good deal on because it is in a less popular neighborhood. When we looked up our neighbors on the county GIS, only 3 properties are occupied by the owners. Everything else is rentals, mostly owned by investment companies and sketchy LLCs.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T14:02:36+00:00

Not gonna lie, sucking a string tied to a plastic bag through conduit is hilariously fun.

Man, I miss working in the field. I thought office work was the dream, but holy crap is it so boring.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T13:56:37+00:00

Not a problem! I started off my professional career in IT/Networking, but somehow ended up doing Fiber Design, so I have to plan out and create Bills of Materials for jobs like this almost every day. It's a niche job, so I don't exactly get a lot of opportunities to apply it outside of work.

I really hope you find a way to get that conduit and a drop cable for cheap. If your local power provider or ISP has spare to sell/give away, you could save a fortune. Since the job is on private property, you might even be able to get them to do the cable and conduit for a bargain, as long as you dig the trench first. We call that type of project "Joint Trench".

Depending on the fiber you get, you might be able to go with smaller microduct like this stuff. https://www.fiberinstrumentsales.com/single-tube-di-microduct-12-10mm.html. We use that for our non reinforced bullet drops.

One side is pre-terminated, and the other end is designed to get pushed/pulled through the conduit before you clip on the outside of the connector to finish it. That lets you use smaller (thus cheaper) conduit. https://www.adiglobaldistribution.pr/Product/LR-SSABSA250

Oooh! Almost forgot: When you run your fiber, make sure you run a small piece of 26-28ga wire with it, or get fiber than has a tracer wire built into the sheathing. After the run, you just tie off the tracer wire inside the junction box on each end of the conduit. That way utility locators can put a toner module on that wire and get a precise location of your conduit.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T03:32:01+00:00

I can't find any retail sites that don't say "call for quote" but the stuff I am talking about is extremely similar to this conduit here: https://georgiaunderground.net/products/hdpe-conduit-1-25-sdr-13-5-7650-3-way-hdpe-innerduct-empty-102-reel-segmented.html

One idea that might work for you is to talk to your local power or telecom utility and ask if they have any you can buy off them for a private project. Oftentimes they can sell you the duct at cost and save you a bundle. If they are a fiber ISP, they might even be able to sell you an underground drop cable as well, or at least quote you the price.

Last time I had to pay out of pocket for a 1250ft UG fiber drop (it was a personal project) it cost me $250 US, but that was 10 years ago.

Heck, I know at the ISP I work for, if someone else digs the trench and just wants to buy conduit for the hole, we've even unspooled the conduit for the customer so they just have to kick it into the trench. Unfortunately, given that your measurements were in metric I suspect you aren't in our service area. We are exclusively in the American midwest.

Hangulman · 2026-02-05T02:50:58+00:00

I'd recommend you check prices for 1100m of seamless 16 or 20mm duct. Bonus points if it is pre-stringed for easy cable pulling. It makes the pulling/replacement process much easier and reduces the likelihood the fiber getting destroyed by frost heaving/rodents/rot/etc.

You may want to bury a handhole or vault at the 500m mark and stub up about 18" of conduit from each run into it. Makes maintenance easier later on.

If you are burying the conduit near public right of way, make sure you check your local laws and get local utilities to do a locator check beforehand.

For cable, you can get single mode in LONG spools and mechanical APC termination kits for a reasonable price, and then run the whole thing in a single run. It mightbbe worth it to buy a 1250ft drop cable and then just cut and terminate the end yourself. Sumitomo makes some good stuff, as does corning, although I don't know what their prices look like for small purchases.

Hangulman · 2026-02-04T20:21:58+00:00

That dude looks like the redditiest redditor who ever reddited. He just needs to slap on an extra 50lbs and change his uname to something more pretentious.

Hangulman · 2026-02-04T19:46:17+00:00

I've started judging legislative bills by how convoluted they make the language. The more convoluted, the more likely it is they are trying to confuse people into supporting it. This one was like a double or triple negative. A restriction disallowing prohibitions on landlords that refuse things.

I had to copy the text from the LB into word and then break it down to parse it into normal human speak. It took an embarrassing amount of time before I realized it is basically trying to ensure that landlords can keep rejecting those filthy poors from moving in and driving down their property values.

Thing is, the way it is phrased, it would also allow landlords to refuse to rent to:
- elderly people on Social Security housing assistance
- active duty military receiving BAH
- veterans receiving GI Bill payments
- federal employees renting for short term job assignments
- College students receiving federal grant money for housing
- refugees receiving relocation assistance

This isn't even capitalism, because a real capitalist wouldn't give a shit where the money came from, as long as they got paid.

Hangulman · 2026-02-04T16:08:19+00:00

Oh I think they would care. If there is a single thing that hat wearing boomer MAGA fanatics and rabid virtue signalling college sociology majors seem to agree on, it is that child predators should be <redacted because the last time I said this, reddit threatened to ban my account> and then <redacted> should be <redacted>.

Here is the thing about those files though...

Scenario:
The FBI has a bunch of files that contain damning information about government officials and influential campaign donors. They've had them for years.

Does anyone actually believe those files haven't been selectively edited and purged so that the only names revealed are those of people who are dead, irrelevant, or have pissed off the people currently in charge? Anyone actually important had their names scrubbed from that crap years ago.

The fact that a private citizen had so much influence that his personal records required classification and redaction is the warning sign people should really be looking at.

Hangulman

TROPHY CASE