From September 30, 2016
Knowing the Value of Money
I was in New York City a few weeks ago during a truly unbearable hot
spell. I had no idea how hot the city gets in the summer. I know now and
won't repeat my mistake. I made my way to China Town for Dim Sum then
walked around in Little Italy wishing I had gone there instead. Later I
found my way over near the Flatirons Building when I passed the ancient
ATM machine pictured above. It looked like a cousin of R2D2 or some
patron of the STAR WARS bar. And that reminded me of a dinner in I had
in Key West a year earlier.
In February 2015 I had dinner with a couple of New Yorkers who were
friends of a friend before the four of us went to see NEXT FALL at the
Waterfront Theater. I had not met this gay couple before that night, but
after listening to them speak for a short time I assumed they are among
the 1%. If they aren't, they are pretty close. One is a writer and the
other is a really Big Shot at one of the big three television networks. I
remember asking the TV executive about the cost of living in the city. I
referenced BRAVO's Million Dollar Listing New York and asked what
regular people had to pay for housing. He said a million dollars
minimum. I tried to clarify my question by referring to busboys,
bartenders, sales clerks at Macy's, and people that work for tips or an
hourly wage. He restated his answer: a million dollars. I said that
can't be right. He insisted it was.
Now I know busboys and shoe salesmen at Macy's can't afford to pay a
million dollars for a place to live. I am sure they rent - I just don't
know where or how much they pay. But that's not the point. I wondered
what kind of reality must these two men live in to not understand that
real people can't afford to live in a million dollar universe.
I have had the same feeling about most of those yo-yos in congress and
candidates who think there is no need to raise the minimum wage. I
haven't been paid an hourly wage since my third year in college - that
was a very long time ago. I still remember making decisions on what I
could afford to buy to eat based on how long I had to work to pay for
it. I can't imagine how difficult it is for people who work for $7 or
$8 per hour to pay for a place to live and feed their children. In Key
West you'll have to pay $3.99 for a loaf of bread and about $4.50 for a
gallon of milk. That's more than a sales clerk on Duval Street makes
after W2 deductions. I just don't get how people who have so much can
have so little understanding of people who have have so little. It's as
if the 1% live in an alternate reality not unlike the patrons of the
STAR WARS bar.
If you are thinking of buying a place in Key West, please consider working with me,
Gary Thomas,
305-766-2642. I am a full time Realtor at
Preferred Properties Key West. I am grounded in reality and know the value and limitations of money.
Update Marcy 25, 2021. I met with a couple I sold a fixer house to a few years ago. The place is finally done. It looks great. It cost more than they planned. I warned them. But it worked out. They told me they laughed at something I kept telling them "It's only money!" I realize money really is a big deal. Not to the rich. They piss it away. Money means a whole lot to people who have to work for it to take care of themselves and their kids.
I wish I could go back to New York, heat and all. I miss the theater, restaurants, looking up, looking down, fearing subways, getting annoyed by just about everybody.