Since the Great Recession, I have helped thousands of people to reach the finish line in their career. Today, I will answer another question.
Question: I want to find an ideal career or design my career, but I can’t in this economy. A recent CityLab article showed that there are only 28 U.S. counties, where a person can afford a one bedroom apartment. What do I do?
Answer: Unfortunately, the research cited by the National Low Income Housing Coalition is true. Although, it is referring to the 1.8 million full-time minimum wage workers, according to last year’s Bureau of Labor Statistics report.
Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee are the greatest risk, due to their large population of minimum wage workers.
As a result, many people have decided to live with roommates, friends, or family members to save money.
It is either that or working 103 hours a week at minimum wage to afford a one bedroom apartment at the fair market rate.
With some persistence and luck, you can find a one bedroom apartment below fair market rate in your city. Otherwise, you should consider the 28 U.S. counties, where you can afford a one bedroom apartment. Most of these counties are in the Western United States.
Alternatively, some Americans opt for unconventional lifestyles like working remotely and living in vehicles (e.g. travel trailers, school buses, or full-size vans). Additionally, you do not have to limit yourself to life in the USA. You can live abroad and work remotely from one or multiple locations. You can also work in the USA for half of the year and work abroad for the other half of the year.
In this below video, I offer more solutions to address this problem. It does not matter if you are living in a recession. What matters are the steps that you are taking to find or design your career in any economy.