$1100

Last night Todd Price came by and we paid a visit to my Hoosier Mexican neighbors. Todd is the only person writing for the local alt-weekly who also speaks Spanish, and he’s researching a potential story. At the neighbor’s house there were a bunch of people gathered around the TV watching Univision, mostly sitting on the floor as there seemed to be little furniture, though chairs were brought in from another room for us guests. I didn’t follow much of Todd’s conversation with Victor, since it was in Spanish, but afterward he debriefed me. I learned that they’re paying $1100 for rent. That’s for a two-bedroom apartment, roughly twice what the landlord was charging before the storm. I’ve heard of rents skyrocketing, but this is my first direct experience, and I’m not quite sure what to think about it. On the one hand, there are nine people living there, including several wage-earners, so maybe they can afford it. On the other hand, this not a luxury condo by any stretch of the imagination. $1100 seems like a lot. In fact, that’s about what our monthly mortgage payment is.