[2tab]

The curios thing about these anecdotes is that as dysfunctional as somewhere like the Soviet Union was, getting a affordable apartment in only 10 years would be a great deal for many today. In many metro areas property values have increased more the savings from the median income, meaning that the application, or aspiration, of the majority of people is going in reverse.

[atemerev]

The apartment was subsidized, but not free. Unless you were a part of Nomenklatura (the ruling class government officials), you could probably hope for a 40 sq.m (430 feet) apartment somewhere in Khruschyovka (a poorly built 5 floors block housing) at the outskirts of your city. After 15 years of hard work.

Perhaps it is better than nothing, however, living in Soviet Union's surrealistic "economy" was not worth that.

[ThePawnBreak]

> In many metro areas property values have increased more the savings from the median income, meaning that the application, or aspiration, of the majority of people is going in reverse.

That's because a lot of people want to live in cities like Berlin. But don't worry, the Soviet Union had a solution for that, too!

You would get assigned a job by the central committee, based on grades, people you know, who you're married to, things like that. So a lot of people would get assigned to very undesirable places, such as villages or very small cities, thus solving the problem of too many people in large metros. Do you think that's an acceptable tradeoff?

[jupp0r]

> getting a affordable apartment in only 10 years would be a great deal for many today

I agree, but the same applied for buying a car and other rare goods as well. The whole system was unsustainable. The almost comical dysfunction of it is probably hard to believe if you didn't experience it first hand. 10 years after the wall came down my dad came into the kitchen announcing that today we could have picked up our first car, which was one of those [1], in the late 90s.

[1]: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/No1-4GsQa-g/maxresdefault.jpg

[2tab]

That is what is curious. Something comically dysfunctional should be be absurd and outlandish but isn't. Saving 15 years for down payment so you can have some sort of cost control and housing stability in a modest apartment outside of a city is the reality, or even unattainable, for many people without assets today.

[andrewmutz]

It would be a shame to have to pass on any job that required relocation for 10 years.

[bubblewrap]

Prices are rising because that is what people are willing to pay. You can in fact get very cheap housing in Germany, outside of the big cities.