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And this is a choice one makes. It doesn't make living in your own place a necessity and is certainly not an excuse for not saving for retirement. Retirement needs to take priority if there is a conflict, but, ideally, you can earn enough to have both.
Living with roommates sucks, IMHO, but it was OK while getting on your feet. I would never live with a roommate again if I could avoid it. If I were to become single, I would rent the largest place I could realistically afford while still being able to accomplish my goals. Studio is just fine for me, I hate to clean and don't know what I would do with a 2BR house by myself.
They were Wall Street guys, probably $250K salary give or take. Some were doctors and lawyers. The commute from our town where I went to HS was 2.5 hours each way to NYC. But, you could get a big house for the kids, wife doesn't work and the schools are great. Living an hour away from NYC and the house price went from $250k to way over $600k.
Those people are not the norm. Most people are not that affluent.
That's because of a choice you made. You are single and live in a 2BR, right? You could, if you wanted to, live in a studio or 1BR. In fact, that's likely what you would do if if you worked at your company's HQ in Boston, even with the higher salary. Single renters in expensive metros just don't rent places with extra bedrooms for themselves. Just. Doesn't. Happen. You could do the same where you live. Living closer to the job so that you could walk/bike/take transit to work would also save a small bundle of money that could be saved for retirement.
I live less than six miles from the job site. It's about fifteen minutes door to door. One of the managers on site drives from Lafayette, which is sixty miles each way. That's asinine to me, as there is not a substantial drop in property prices like there would be in Boston or something. He's just wasting gas and driving the car into the ground.
There is a certain threshold of comfort most people won't fall below. I'm not going to get a roommate to sock back that $350/month. I'd rather be $350/month poorer and live by myself. Each person has to draw their own line between comfort and savings, and while most people probably do go to the excess on comfort and lifestyle, I wouldn't want a million saved up if it meant I spent twenty years living like a pauper to get it. Deprivation is not really living IMO.
I live less than six miles from the job site. It's about fifteen minutes door to door. One of the managers on site drives from Lafayette, which is sixty miles each way. That's asinine to me, as there is not a substantial drop in property prices like there would be in Boston or something. He's just wasting gas and driving the car into the ground.
There is a certain threshold of comfort most people won't fall below. I'm not going to get a roommate to sock back that $350/month. I'd rather be $350/month poorer and live by myself. Each person has to draw their own line between comfort and savings, and while most people probably do go to the excess on comfort and lifestyle, I wouldn't want a million saved up if it meant I spent twenty years living like a pauper to get it. Deprivation is not really living IMO.
Everyone has a different experience about what is deprivation. It comes down to attitude. Other people in other cultures would find living alone anathema.
It's fine if you don't want to cut your lifestyle below a certain point. But it's still a choice and you should acknowledge as much.
Everyone has a different experience about what is deprivation. It comes down to attitude. Other people in other cultures would find living alone anathema.
It's fine if you don't want to cut your lifestyle below a certain point. But it's still a choice and you should acknowledge as much.
Everyone has a different experience about what is deprivation. It comes down to attitude. Other people in other cultures would find living alone anathema.
It's fine if you don't want to cut your lifestyle below a certain point. But it's still a choice and you should acknowledge as much.
Or they just don't have the means.
I've been in parts of Vietnam where extended families are living in maybe a 400 sq foot house with dirt floors, no electricity or running water. You couldn't even legally do that here but it does satisfy the necessity for housing. The contrast also serves an example of America's consumption problem where so many people really think they NEED a 1bd-2bd apartment all to themselves. You just don't.
More practically, Europe it's MUCH more common to have roommates well past college. The economy isn't as good and housing is much more expensive. Most young people who are just starting out cannot afford their own place. It's common in major cities in the US as well. San Francisco or NY, for example, it's very common. Out where I live where the cost of housing is much lower it's harder to find people that I wouldn't object to living with. There's less normal people sharing housing and a larger percentage of people that can't hold a job, maybe have substance abuse problems. You can still find them, of course, you just need to look a little harder, especially as you get older than your early 20s/college age where it's completely normal. But that's kind of like needing a new car. You just don't. I'm sure it's nicer to drive a brand-new BMW than a Geo Metro, but the Geo Metro gets the job done too.
I've been in parts of Vietnam where extended families are living in maybe a 400 sq foot house with dirt floors, no electricity or running water. You couldn't even legally do that here but it does satisfy the necessity for housing. The contrast also serves an example of America's consumption problem where so many people really think they NEED a 1bd-2bd apartment all to themselves. You just don't.
More practically, Europe it's MUCH more common to have roommates well past college. The economy isn't as good and housing is much more expensive. Most young people who are just starting out cannot afford their own place. It's common in major cities in the US as well. San Francisco or NY, for example, it's very common. Out where I live where the cost of housing is much lower it's harder to find people that I wouldn't object to living with. There's less normal people sharing housing and a larger percentage of people that can't hold a job, maybe have substance abuse problems. You can still find them, of course, you just need to look a little harder, especially as you get older than your early 20s/college age where it's completely normal. But that's kind of like needing a new car. You just don't. I'm sure it's nicer to drive a brand-new BMW than a Geo Metro, but the Geo Metro gets the job done too.
Why are you comparing America to the third world where lots of people cram into a space not much bigger than a dog kennel? Is that what we should do to save money for retirement, cram four or five into a 400 sq ft room?
There is sometimes a blurry line between wants and needs. Most Americans err on the side of wants, but inferring people should cram into 400 sq ft rooms or have bunches of roommates is ridiculous.
Why are you comparing America to the third world where lots of people cram into a space not much bigger than a dog kennel? Is that what we should do to save money for retirement, cram four or five into a 400 sq ft room?
There is sometimes a blurry line between wants and needs. Most Americans err on the side of wants, but inferring people should cram into 400 sq ft rooms or have bunches of roommates is ridiculous.
Not 5 people in a 400 sq ft space, no. We're talking more like 2 roommates in a 500 sq ft apartment. This is common throughout Europe, and we're talking Western, not third world, countries.
It's only cramped if you have a lot of *stuff*. You don't need that much space to walk around, sleep, cook, shower, or eat. It's the "stuff" that gets you.
Also, a lot of it is peer pressure. It is common for people to say that they "couldn't stand to live like that", yet in situations/cultures/places/times where everyone must do so and there are no other options, it doesn't bother them after a while, they get used to it. They are not uncomfortable, and they are not suffering. To them, it's just how life is.
It's all about what you expect, not what you need. It's not even about being comfortable so much as not being disappointed relative to what you think you "deserve" or are "supposed" to have.
Why are you comparing America to the third world where lots of people cram into a space not much bigger than a dog kennel? Is that what we should do to save money for retirement, cram four or five into a 400 sq ft room?
There is sometimes a blurry line between wants and needs. Most Americans err on the side of wants, but inferring people should cram into 400 sq ft rooms or have bunches of roommates is ridiculous.
If you want to, yes.
And I completely agree with you, inferring that people should cram into 400 sq foot rooms or have bunches of roommates is ridiculous. People can infer anything they want from anything and very often come up with completely ridiculous inferences, nothing new there.
I haven't seen anyone come that close to implying that people should cram into 400 sq foot rooms or have bunches of roommates. I have, however, seen a lot of people thinking they NEED to live to typical middle-class American standards. That is actually fairly endemic in American culture. People should do whatever they want, imo. Just realize the typical American middle-class lifestyle is one of abundance. Nothing wrong with that at all. I enjoy a lot of those things greatly. What I don't do is try and convince myself they are necessities.
And I completely agree with you, inferring that people should cram into 400 sq foot rooms or have bunches of roommates is ridiculous. People can infer anything they want from anything and very often come up with completely ridiculous inferences, nothing new there.
I haven't seen anyone come that close to implying that people should cram into 400 sq foot rooms or have bunches of roommates. I have, however, seen a lot of people thinking they NEED to live to typical middle-class American standards. That is actually fairly endemic in American culture. People should do whatever they want, imo. Just realize the typical American middle-class lifestyle is one of abundance. Nothing wrong with that at all. I enjoy a lot of those things greatly. What I don't do is try and convince myself they are necessities.
Exactly. Just because you want something doesn't mean it's a human necessity - this is easy to forget in times of plenty but important to remember and apply when things get lean, or when you have to prepare for things to be lean.
I'd be willing to bet that even Emigrations wouldn't give a hoot about having roommates if he/she was raised and lived in a society where it was the norm.
Humans are a social species and perceived social norms can easily take over your deepest desires without you having any idea that it happened!
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