Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The clustering effect thing needs to change IMO. Seems bad for the environment and it's drastically changing COL. I thought things might ease up with WFH but it doesn't seem that they have. People seem more materialistic than ever and living in as posh a zip code as possible seems to have become the American dream...but oh yes childcare...people don't want to pay for it.
People kind of make that choice themselves.
I'm from this area of TN, but lived for about five years in Des Moines, IA, Carmel, IN, and spent probably about a year in Burlington, MA on business travel over those years.
If I had kids, there's no way I'd want them to grow up here. The area has a bad drug problem. Crime is high in most counties. There really aren't a lot of amenities here geared toward families. With a couple of exceptions, the schools are bad. The area isn't diverse, and the politics are getting worse.
Aside from weather and outdoor opportunities, the other three places I've lived/spent a lot of time in are just much better places to live overall.
They do make that choice themselves so it's sometimes hard to understand all the complaints. I live in boston, have lived here my whole life and it gets more and more expensive. People complain like they are martyrs forced to live here and pay. I am not happy about how expensive it is either....but again I've lived here my whole life, I didn't just up and move here and I'm doing ok. I guess i find it hard to understand why people continuously move to expensive cities and complain about the COL. I get that people move to certain places for a job...but if the job isn't paying enough to buy what you want it doesn't seem worth the move.
They do make that choice themselves so it's sometimes hard to understand all the complaints. I live in boston, have lived here my whole life and it gets more and more expensive. People complain like they are martyrs forced to live here and pay. I am not happy about how expensive it is either....but again I've lived here my whole life, I didn't just up and move here and I'm doing ok. I guess i find it hard to understand why people continuously move to expensive cities and complain about the COL. I get that people move to certain places for a job...but if the job isn't paying enough to buy what you want it doesn't seem worth the move.
But living in Boston is a privilege I'd probably never have.
If you had kids, they'd be exposed to a wide range of diversity, perspectives, and people, that they'd never have access to here in my neck of the woods of small town Tennessee.
I worked for a Burlington-based tech company for years. In 2014, entry level staff in Burlington made $79,600. I'm sure it's much more today.
I make more than that now, and I'm comfortable, but I'm in a crappy place in Tennessee. I'd much rather live in metro Boston, even if I had to give up my garage, or some other level of "creature comfort." No tax break is worth living in this level of poverty, addiction, and stupidity.
But living in Boston is a privilege I'd probably never have.
If you had kids, they'd be exposed to a wide range of diversity, perspectives, and people, that they'd never have access to here in my neck of the woods of small town Tennessee.
I worked for a Burlington-based tech company for years. In 2014, entry level staff in Burlington made $79,600. I'm sure it's much more today.
I make more than that now, and I'm comfortable, but I'm in a crappy place in Tennessee. I'd much rather live in metro Boston, even if I had to give up my garage, or some other level of "creature comfort." No tax break is worth living in this level of poverty, addiction, and stupidity.
My priorities were not diversity and exposure.
It is not as though people from small towns, or TN, or small towns in TN are cut off from the rest of the world.
As msRB311 said there is plenty of poverty and addiction and stupidity. Everywhere. I don't get why people think the crime is so bad here. My experience has been that this area is very safe. I could let my kids go and do without worrying about abduction or them getting shot or stabbed, etc. I never locked my door, I could go out at night alone and not be afraid.
Let's not drift too far from the topic, the problems of child care becoming worse.
__________________
- Please follow our TOS.
- Any Questions about City-Data? See the FAQ list.
- Want some detailed instructions on using the site? See The Guide for plain english explanation.
- Realtors are welcome here but do see our Realtor Advice to avoid infractions.
- Thank you and enjoy City-Data.
Well I think childcare issues are becoming worse because of so many people drifting towards big expensive cities. That's where the jobs are and it's having a trickle down effect. It is expensive to live in or near a big expensive city. You might have a high salary or you might not. If you have kids regardless of how much you make you will be expected to pay whatever the going rate for childcare is. Doesn't matter if you're a highly paid CEO or working at Burger King. If you have kids you will need childcare and it seems like everyone is expected to pay the same thing. That is the problem I see. And that is in addition to housing and everything else.
I get what you are saying. I'm one of those older people and I do understand how financially difficult it is now, for one most of those things affect me as well, rising interest rates on my mortgage, grocery bills, health care (insurance premiums and co-pays, meds) and second, my kids and grands are facing it too. As well I have had to help them here and there.
One thing I have noticed between my generation and this one (and even my parent's generation and mine) is that each expects they should have more starting out. I guess that could be keeping up with the Joneses. My parents (and their peers) rented basically a one room flat, with shared bathrooms, and had little furniture (or things) buying one piece at a time and had one car, no phone, for years. There was no wifi, internet, cable or streaming. My generation was very similar. We started out with near nothing, renting our dwelling, bought used furniture, etc. (I know, blah, blah, blah). We rarely went out to eat or took vacations and trips.
I have seen young couples starting out for decades. Most have bought a house within a year, all new furniture, two new cars, new cell phones, computers, wifi, big screen TVs, 100000000 stations. Any many are already far in debt. The expectations seem to increase with each decade.
I think it is a combination of ridiculous cost of living and a mentality that we deserve it all.
My husband and I never really go out to eat, we don’t spend money on stuff we don’t really need, and next spring break will be the first time in years that we will have an out of state vacation. I still can’t afford to work anything less than full-time, when factoring in our mortgage, rising property taxes and grocery bills, and putting aside money for savings/retirement. My husband makes more than what my dad made years ago and my parents were better off then than we are, not once has my mom ever worked anything other than part-time.
As for wanting all sorts of luxuries being more of a younger generation thing, I know of multiple older people taking out second mortgages, or pulling from their retirement savings to pay for their daughter's weddings. I remember one paralegal describing how every year at their office they have at least one couple near or at retirement age filing for bankruptcy because they overspent for a daughter’s wedding. Financial irresponsibility is definitely not limited to just the younger generation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by msRB311
Completely false? I don't know about that. My point was that for many families it's not possible to live on just one income today. Times have changed, childcare prices/options have changed. Back in the day people had more options in terms of childcare. Either they didn't need to work or they would leave kids with a family member, a neighbor, or had an older sibling who could watch the kids. These things are almost unheard of these days. People are less generous in terms of watching other people's kids for free or for a small price. They likely have their own jobs and kids to take care of.
People are more afraid of who to live kids with these days and God forbid a kid under 10 or 11 be left home alone for a few hours after school. Bringing a kid to work is almost unheard of. Parenting is not easy today, there's a ton of judgement on what people do with their kids not to mention laws. Can you imagine anyone working in a field today with a baby on their back? DCF would be there in a heartbeat
You blamed feminism as the reason women have to join the workforce. Which isn’t accurate, as women have always worked.
Last edited by Mike from back east; 11-10-2023 at 09:56 AM..
Reason: Merged 2:1
A lot of people seems to think they're entitled to the best life has to offer. It's like the saying, you deserve the best has really spiraled. I think social media has a lot to do with it. Constantly looking at influencers sitting around their newly updated kitchens with their botoxed faces and designer threads. Others see those images and think that's reality and what they should be doing too. If someone can afford those things great. But I do wonder how some people afford all they do. From the new house to the highly priced beauty treatments to the vacations and private school. No wonder people complain about childcare. It's the last thing they want to spend money on.
Story in WaPo today about how child care problems are about to get a whole lot worse. Key culprit is the end of federal funding on 30 Sept 2023.
This link WILL get you in past the paywall. (WaPo allows me ten gift links per month, this is one of them.)
There's a bar chart showing wages of various workers, bottom of the barrel are fast food cooks, day care workers are the next step up, but still 2nd from last.
There are off-year elections in some states today, child care is not on any of the ballots. Does it ever stop raining?
This link WILL get you in past the paywall. (NYT allows me ten gift links per month, this is one of them.)
Title: "At Least 2 Million Children Have Lost Medicaid Insurance This Year"
Still, here are some excerpts:
Quote:
At least two million low-income children have lost health insurance since the end of a federal policy that guaranteed coverage through Medicaid earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to new analyses by researchers at the Georgetown Center for Children and Families and KFF, a health policy research organization.
The figures, which are likely a significant undercount, represent one of the fastest and most dramatic ruptures in the American safety net since Medicaid went into law in 1965, experts say. Many of the children were qualified for federal assistance but lost it because of bureaucratic mistakes, such as missing paperwork or errors by state officials.
The trend is accelerating: In the coming weeks, she said, new state numbers will probably show that three million children have lost coverage.
What a fiasco. Where's all that pro-life and family values happy talk when kids need it?
No child should ever be without care, especially in the "greatest country."
What a future. No investment in kids; put nothing in, get nothing out -- but worse problems later.
__________________
- Please follow our TOS.
- Any Questions about City-Data? See the FAQ list.
- Want some detailed instructions on using the site? See The Guide for plain english explanation.
- Realtors are welcome here but do see our Realtor Advice to avoid infractions.
- Thank you and enjoy City-Data.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
