Envy Apartment

Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots." />EXPAND The Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston has 182 lots. Stephen Paulsen Elizabeth Perez loves her trailer park . But if she's ever forced to move, at least she has a back-up plan. A chatty 45-year-old with a wide smile, Perez has lived at and managed the Trinity Duval Mobile Home Park in southeast Houston since 2008. Used mobile homes here typically sell for $12,000 to $38,000, depending on their size and condition, she says. She remembers one woman buying a home for just $2,000, using her IRS refund. The Duval Mobile Home Park first opened in the 1950s. It was purchased last year by Trinity Community Group , a trailer park management company — and Perez worried about the future of the park. “I kept thinking, ‘Shoot, they're going to want to tear it down,’” Perez said. “I was kind of scared.” The company promised it would keep the park operational , according to Perez. Still, Perez accepts...

Last year, the Miami- Dade County Commission shot down a plan that would have forced local developers to include some affordable apartments in every new project. Commissioner Javier Souto claimed the idea was "social engineering," one of the most profoundly stupid things said in South Florida politics this decade. According to the study, almost two-thirds of Miami's poor are stuck spending more than half of their income on rent or living in roach-infested hellholes. "These households are defined as very low-income renters who do not receive government housing assistance and who paid more than one-half of their income for rent, lived in severely inadequate conditions , or both," HUD's researchers write. "High rents in proportion to renter incomes remain dominant among households with worst-case needs, leaving these renters with substantial, unmet need for affordable housing." Larger cities, including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, techn...

Collect this idea Rooftop lounge at The Dylan in West Hollywood As the second-largest city in the U.S. with the biggest population in California, Los Angeles has mountains, beaches and deserts all within a short driving distance . In addition to a multitude of outdoor activities, L.A. offers job opportunities galore ; its diverse economy is the third largest in the world, after Tokyo and New York. Some of L.A.’s biggest industries include culture , fashion, education, sports, entertainment, medicine and a booming startup tech field that is thriving on the Westside ( nicknamed Silicon Beach ). Los Angeles is often called the creative capital of the world , as one in six residents works in the creative industries of music, TV or film. Not surprisingly, the city has a thriving arts scene . There are more than 800 museums and art galleries in Los Angeles County —   more per person than any other city in the world. And for night owls, the nightclub and restaurant scene offers plenty of...