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Good, realistic post. As I said earlier in response to someone's statement that we're not rich because we bought "palaces", I live in a 942 s.f. condo. I paid $180K for it in 2010--it has since gone down somewhat in value. But in many areas where posters on this forum live, you can get a friggin' 3-bedroom house for $180K! Plus, my property taxes on that little condo are almost $5K a year. And I have to live with a 90-minute commute to work in order to live somewhere that cheap.
I also could have lived in a small apartment closer to work in an urban area and the rent would have been just $50 more than my monthly payment for mortgage/taxes/insurance/maintenance. That was my backup plan in case I couldn't get a mortgage--I would rent but have a half-hour commute.
In only bought the condo at age 52, after my daughter graduated from high school. Before that, in order to live in a decent town with a commute of a little more than an hour with good schools and family nearby, I rented a three-bedroom house for $2200. That house was built in 1890, had a leaking roof, crooked doorways, a basement that flooded when it rained, and the furnace broke down regularly. I was thrilled, however, to find a house in my hometown with an affordable rent like that--and I wasn't yet making six figures.
People who live in inexpensive areas don't get this.
We do get it, I'll never really understand why people choose to live in expensive areas like that, but we do get it.
I have a friend who could work in any # of cities, yet he chooses DC and then gets mad when I show him mansions near where I live for the same price he is looking for a small 2 bedroom 1.5k sq ft home. The funny thing is the amount of money he would get paid wouldn't be that much different, I think I actually make more than him (in the same field) and I live in a small town in the midwest.
We do get it, I'll never really understand why people choose to live in expensive areas like that, but we do get it.
I have a friend who could work in any # of cities, yet he chooses DC and then gets mad when I show him mansions near where I live for the same price he is looking for a small 2 bedroom 1.5k sq ft home. The funny thing is the amount of money he would get paid wouldn't be that much different, I think I actually make more than him (in the same field) and I live in a small town in the midwest.
Well, for some of us, the choice is because it is home. My family moved to northern NJ five generations ago because there was good farmland, something that was becoming scarcer in The Netherlands where you have to fight the sea for farmland. Up until i hit adulthood in the late 70s, mine was still a sleepy small town untouched for the most part by that huge city.thirty miles to the east. But then came the 80s. Within about a ten-year period, developers mowed down every acre of woods, flattened natural hills, and filled in swamps and ponds to build huge houses for the swarms of people moving out of the city and into the suburbs. A lot of long -time, blue-collar people were forced out and did leave the state at that time. Some of us stayed. My job was in the city, my parents and siblings and friends were in North Jersey. My entire life was there.
I moved back to my hometown to raise my daughter so that her "daycare" could be Grandma. I even lived in my childhood home for a time after my divorce, with my parents, a grandmother, and my divorced brother. My mother is the only one of those people still living, and I'm grateful my daughter had that time to live in a multigenerational home and get to know and love them while they were here.
After my daughter graduated, I moved to a less expensive part of Jersey, but the commute is longer. I had to get my time in and hit 55 to be eligible to collect my pension, so I couldn't exactly leave my job.
I can leave it now and collect the pension, but I will still have to work for a while somewhere to kill my debt. And hell yeah, I am willing to relocate now! I will always love New Jersey and New York City, but it is wearing on me to commute and pay to be here.
We do get it, I'll never really understand why people choose to live in expensive areas like that, but we do get it.
I have a friend who could work in any # of cities, yet he chooses DC and then gets mad when I show him mansions near where I live for the same price he is looking for a small 2 bedroom 1.5k sq ft home. The funny thing is the amount of money he would get paid wouldn't be that much different, I think I actually make more than him (in the same field) and I live in a small town in the midwest.
allow me to explain: large urban areas offer cultural, intellectual, personal, and social networks that are simply non-existent in many places.
If you are an educated, savvy, worldly, and engaging person attempting to find like-minded people outside of a few large metro hubs it is virtually impossible.
essentially, you pay for what you get. I split time between Vegas and the Upper West Side in NYC. You can get a mansion for 300k in Vegas and appear to live the good life...but the people are woefully ignorant, flake y, dishonest and boring..it's a town full of dolts that bring people food, booze, or sex for a fee....
compare this to living in Boulder, CO. In a coffee shop i got to rapping with a dude about a need, we met a few more times, and are now building an app jointly. One of his buddies is even willing to give us some seed money for another part of the venture.
There is a premium for living in dynamic urban hubs...access to ideas and access to capital.
We do get it, I'll never really understand why people choose to live in expensive areas like that, but we do get it.
I have a friend who could work in any # of cities, yet he chooses DC and then gets mad when I show him mansions near where I live for the same price he is looking for a small 2 bedroom 1.5k sq ft home. The funny thing is the amount of money he would get paid wouldn't be that much different, I think I actually make more than him (in the same field) and I live in a small town in the midwest.
Everyone has different priorities. Some people want the big house and yard at an affordable price and don't mind living in quiet, less-lively areas. Others are willing to pay a higher premium in housing costs and deal with less space to be near interesting places like shops, museums, restaurants, concerts, and sporting events in the big cities.
I'm with you on not understanding people who want it both ways though!
These people are definitely not frugal. It's likely a combination of living in a high income area, being on the organic/whole foods tip, and keeping up with the Jonses--or rather people who are of the same social ilk but earning more money than them;i.e, the neighbors are all doctors and lawyers but one doc is a general practitioner on Long Island and the other is a plastic surgeon on 5th Ave.
Also kids, those little buggers cost a lot. If you earn over a certain amount you get no financial aid. So two kids at some private college is like 100k a year that comes out of your pocket.
We do get it, I'll never really understand why people choose to live in expensive areas like that...
Mostly for the opportunity. If you want a high-paying job, you have to live within commuting distance of it. In my field, this means New York, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, maybe 3 or 4 other cities.
allow me to explain: large urban areas offer cultural, intellectual, personal, and social networks that are simply non-existent in many places.
If you are an educated, savvy, worldly, and engaging person attempting to find like-minded people outside of a few large metro hubs it is virtually impossible.
essentially, you pay for what you get. I split time between Vegas and the Upper West Side in NYC. You can get a mansion for 300k in Vegas and appear to live the good life...but the people are woefully ignorant, flake y, dishonest and boring..it's a town full of dolts that bring people food, booze, or sex for a fee....
compare this to living in Boulder, CO. In a coffee shop i got to rapping with a dude about a need, we met a few more times, and are now building an app jointly. One of his buddies is even willing to give us some seed money for another part of the venture.
There is a premium for living in dynamic urban hubs...access to ideas and access to capital.
Lol, if you think you need to live in a high cost of living city to meet educated and worldly people. Boulder, CO is a college town, not exactly the upper west side. What about St Louis, Austin, Dallas, KC, Denver, Portland, Minneapolis, Chicago, etc. you don't need to be in NYC, San Fran, LA, or DC to have access to capital or educated people.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Opacy
Everyone has different priorities. Some people want the big house and yard at an affordable price and don't mind living in quiet, less-lively areas. Others are willing to pay a higher premium in housing costs and deal with less space to be near interesting places like shops, museums, restaurants, concerts, and sporting events in the big cities.
I'm with you on not understanding people who want it both ways though!
Yes, I think you got what I was saying. I was talking about people who feel they need to live in these places to be happy and then complain about how expensive everything is.
If you have an SAT score of 1400+, it's "suicide" (very figuratively) not to get a topnotch education. There are too many underachievers already. Don't encourage people who are capable of doing serious professional or academic work to laze off.
I work with many people that make 80-150k each year, and many are single young professionals. You'd be surprised at how many don't even have 5k in their savings accounts. People simply receive money and spend money. They dowse themselves in luxury. I don't really care what they do with their money, but people can't control themselves, no matter how much they earn.
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