Mediocre housing is 90% better than places I have lived. How about a DORM? It's like a prison cell without a toilet.
Cry me a river.
My son rents a room in a house. He has bathroom privileges and use of the kitchen. $500/month. A full up single bedroom apartment would cost him $1200 in the same area. It's good enough to keep him fed, clothed and running up his student loans toward a June 2006 graduation date. He's gone from flipping burgers to selling real estate to being a real estate broker in 2 years. He'll have a business degree in June. That comes from working his ass off. He chose not to be a minimum wage burger flipper. Remaining poor is a choice in this country.