Nickel and Dimed

Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich is an interesting read. At first, I thought it was going to be a snobby white woman who thought that the labor she was submitted to was not her cup of tea since she’s a journalist living at a comfortable pay. But as I kept reading, I noticed that her target audience was not big industry professionals who look at Wall Street or watch FOX Headlines all day. Her tone throughout the book is comedic and conversational, I could not stop laughing because of the small anecdotes she would add about her daily experiences. For example, while working in the Convalescent home and housekeeping/maid service in Maine, she wrote about how hard it is to find a place to live for cheap. The only places to live were motels and we found that to be a common theme throughout the three states she experiments, but I found that it’s also a theme here in Los Angeles. My friend moved to Los Angeles from North Carolina and had to move right back home after three months because she could not find an affordable place to live. She was paying $175/week at a motel with a bed and shower. Most of the apartments only rented singles for about $900/month or a one bedroom for $1200/month. She had to move back home because she was living with her parents in a four bedroom house in with rent of $750/month. I just found it all amazing… I also found this article from Virginia, which showed that more people are becoming homeless, but it doesn’t include those that are living in motels.
http://www.fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2009/022009/02282009/448316