Is 700k the new 300k? (Marlborough, Burlington: new house, purchase, construction)

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by WestieWhitie

They do vary among populations but the idea that one race is inherently smarter or dumber than the other is, well, racist. It has absolutely nothing to do with race and everything to do with how the culture handles those showing higher than average intelligence and aptitude.

But as others have said this thread had gone off the rails, why don’t we get back to b*thing about expensive houses?

Lol right?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This is total nonsense. I spent my career doing product development in metro Boston high tech. If you don’t have the aptitude, you’re going to have lousy productivity no matter how hard you work at it. You’re either born with the cognitive ability or you’re not. You need to be at a certain level to create intellectual property. You don’t get to be your manager’s manager without being competent along the way.

Let's face it. If your father was a factory worker instead of a doctor and you had lived one town away in New Bedford, your career probably would have been working for minimum wage and making sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. But because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you now have the luxury of dining at Jersey Mike's daily while looking down at the people serving you.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Let's face it. If your father was a factory worker instead of a doctor and you had lived one town away in New Bedford, your career probably would have been working for minimum wage and making sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. But because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you now have the luxury of dining at Jersey Mike's daily while looking down at the people serving you.

Please put extra mayo on that.

[FCMA]

Originally Posted by GeoffD

Please put extra mayo on that.

Garçon - please destroy this sandwich with globs of nauseating pus for no tip.

[matrix5k]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Let's face it. If your father was a factory worker instead of a doctor and you had lived one town away in New Bedford, your career probably would have been working for minimum wage and making sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. But because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you now have the luxury of dining at Jersey Mike's daily while looking down at the people serving you.

My wife's father was a factory worker. She makes close to 200k/year now working 32 hours/week. Does that count?

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

My wife's father was a factory worker. She makes close to 200k/year now working 32 hours/week. Does that count?

It sounds like your wife has a strong work ethic. In the example I provided, the doctor father probably got the slacker son the fancy job.

[msRB311]

The new CFO where I work told us about her parents jobs and where she came from. She’s done well. It’s possible to break the glass ceiling but again it sounds like she was very intelligent and was able to break the ceiling that way.

[jayrandom]

Originally Posted by WestieWhitie

Aptitude and talent are nothing if they’re not developed and nurtured, and sadly you could be born an Einstein yet die an absolute nothing in a culture where education is not valued, violence and thuggery is glorified and leaders want you as nothing but a guaranteed mindless vote and a broke, powerless victim whose aid money they can grift.

Originally Posted by GeoffD

This is total nonsense. I spent my career doing product development in metro Boston high tech. If you don’t have the aptitude, you’re going to have lousy productivity no matter how hard you work at it. You’re either born with the cognitive ability or you’re not. You need to be at a certain level to create intellectual property. You don’t get to be your manager’s manager without being competent along the way.

Originally Posted by massnative71

Let's face it. If your father was a factory worker instead of a doctor and you had lived one town away in New Bedford, your career probably would have been working for minimum wage and making sandwiches at Jersey Mike's. But because you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, you now have the luxury of dining at Jersey Mike's daily while looking down at the people serving you.

It's a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. How you are raised is immensely important, but at some point people have responsibility for their own progress in life. I certainly don't have to look much further than my aunts and uncles, all of whom had the same parents and roughly similar opportunities (with the exception of strong gender expectations) and ended up with wildly different life outcomes.

It's also probably worth noting that economic success isn't the only indicator of a good life. My aunt never went to college, will never be rich, and has never lived more than 10 miles from where she grew up, but is the single happiest and most fulfilled person I have ever known.

[BostonMike7]

Originally Posted by jayrandom

It's a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. How you are raised is immensely important, but at some point people have responsibility for their own progress in life. I certainly don't have to look much further than my aunts and uncles, all of whom had the same parents and roughly similar opportunities (with the exception of strong gender expectations) and ended up with wildly different life outcomes.

How's the old saying go. "You can lead a horse to water....."


Being able to provide your kids with good opportunities is one thing, but it's on them to make something of it. I've seen quite a few kids come in for internships that there parents helped set up, and take full advantage of that and really do well for themselves. Smart, motivated. I gladly wrote them letter's of recommendation to a Grad school program, or watched them get hired up by a good company at graduation. Then there was that one VP's kid who strolled in at 10AM and slept in the bathroom almost every day. I don't think anyone here was too eager to hire him. Still it's definitely an advantage in life to have such opportunities presented to oneself.


My Grandfather was actually a factory worker in the Schrafft's building in Charleston back when it made candy in the 50's. I have some cool pics taken inside there. My dad flipped pizzas until I was 14.

[GeoffD]

Originally Posted by massnative71

It sounds like your wife has a strong work ethic. In the example I provided, the doctor father probably got the slacker son the fancy job.

Jeez. I had job titles like Chief Architect in 200+ engineer startups. I spent 30 years making sure I was the most competent person in the building. Any development project that blew up got assigned to me. I had Electrical Engineering and Computer Science degrees as an undergrad with Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society. Academic scholarships and loans paid most of college. Yep. Slacker and family connections were the secret to my success.

My slacker years started at the Great Recession after I broke 50 when I opted to telecommute from a couple of vacation homes for my cash flow instead of climbing back into the Boston tech startup grind again. I’d had enough of the long hours and pressure. I decided I’d rather ski 100 days and chill on the sailboat.

In the nature-nurture thing, I had smart parents who had advanced education. They made sure I was fed intellectual rocket fuel growing up. Intellectual curiosity. Critical thought. A lot of autonomy and personal responsibility. Work ethic & education ethic. That was all from birth to maybe age 10 or 12 when it matters. It’s a huge advantage.

And my grandfather was chief engineer at Dawson Brewery in New Bedford. In the company photos, he was the guy in the coverall who made the company go. My maternal grandfather had a similar background in Pennsylvania Dutch country.