Yeah it’s a struggle here in Calif unless you are part of the ten percent don’t have to be part of the one percent but part of the ten percent will be fine
Our house is small two bedrooms with two cats and water is about basically 70/month per person
This was double what we paid in Martinez where we were before where there was no meter.
The complex divided the entire 120 unit water bill by the residents and they came out to be about 35 each usually
So we took a lot of baths Haven’t taken even one here and our cost is already double but yes we wash clothes here we had no machine in the apt complex
Power and gas just fyi it’s the same PGnE and since our new place is about 100pct larger our bill is double
It’s a little different though as gas use is more here but electricity less
Our SF house only has heating via gas and no AC
AC is essential in Martinez where temps can get past 100f in summer and heating essential too as it gets cold in winter . Ice on the cars
Our one bedroom we used between 80 in mild months and up to 140 in the deepest summer and coldest winter months
Here it’s varying between 200 to 250 bucks a month
SF rarely gets close to 80f and is mild weathered
Winters are less cold then the East Bay
We keep our thermo on 70f and we use only energy efficient bulbs and watch our power use
Most larger homes pay 500 to 600 a month for power and gas
Just in case anyone of you want to move here
Some info for you to figure
Good lord what a bum job having to trap and kill stray dogs
On my street In SF our garbage trucks come by before dawn so we have to have our bins out the night before
They don’t ever wake us up so must be pretty quiet
Garbage truck drivers make good pay here about the same as bus drivers , around 100k /year
Better than most people And well deserved it’s a tough job
Think I’d rather drive a bus than handle garbage but then the garbage is never crazy and never causes a disturbance that requires you to handle and call the police
And you don’t have to fight traffic as you are mostly out during the late night/early morning
True, but it is very common, especially in your city. Some people (especially businesses) dont have an option waiting around for the cheap public service.
But even the gov service you need to pay if you go drop it off yourself. My dump charges 4 2nt/kg. If you think about the cost of gas, maintenance, buying the equipment, hiring a driver plus a collector, insurance (company, vehicle and labor) and so in. it starts making sense
I would argue that it isnt expensive enough because people are still happy to buy copious amounts of trash for no good reason other than it is convenient or they dont care. But again, what is a government to do? I say charge 100nt per kg, that’s the price of waste (made up number for examples sake, not serious). What happens? the already rampant illegal dumping multiplies. What can the government do? It is a hard problem ultimately, the people need to give a shit .
Actually it’s worse than that. There’s a limit to the amount of trash the government is willing to take. If you generate too much waste they will not take it. Also they do not serve in areas that are not residential, meaning if you are located there the trash truck will not come at all.
Yes, that’s what I mean by remote areas. We are talking residential, for sure. I rented a new place last year that is off the course as well, we just do as everyone does and drive it to a road on the route. = free. most places in Taiwan has door service nearly daily for free. I call this spoiled, to the point of waste creation.
Yup, exactly. So back to my question: What can the government do? they cant make it expensive, they already enable the population beyond reasonable means and the people still complain. What can they do to please the populace? I view temporary music during working hours an easy compromise for excellent trash pickup services. imagine taiwan if trucks came every other weak!
Why continue to play the song at all? Garbage collection sites/times are established and set. Unless you’re completely new to the neighborhood, in which case you’ll ask someone when/where the garbage collection takes place, you should know the time. I do appreciate the truck drivers who play the tune as they approach their collection spot and then turn it off seconds later.
There really is no reason. You can find the times online/in the app. If someone is so old that they can’t do that, they just pop over to li Zhang’s real quick and boom they’re set.
It was pretty grim actually.