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.
That is what I said. It wasn't easy. But saying it wasn't easier 30 years ago is ridiculous. The markets in major metro areas are significantly different when compared to today. A drop in interest rates is not going to compensate for homes prices that have skyrocketed 500%.
In 1980, even after the first wave of deindustrialization, Middle American cities such as Dayton were remarkably close to par with their coastal peers. Per capita income in the Seattle area was only 16 percent greater than in the Dayton area. In metro Boston, the edge was only 6 percent. In New York, 14 percent. In Washington, 31 percent. And in the San Francisco Bay Area, 33 percent.
We brought a NYC co-op in early 1980's for $25,000. We sold it in late 1990's for $50,000. We thought we did well. Today its value is $600.000. Twenty years ago, no one knew Russian and Chinese investors were going to change NYC real estate values.
We brought our house in 2007. Today its value is $100,000 less than our purchase price.
Real estate is a crapshoot. The American Dream is to own a house, but it can be one lousy investment.
Totally agree. Made $25k in 5 years on my first house and was elated; second house I've had for 20 years and I don't think it's gone up a dime! I'll be glad when it's paid off but it do feel a little sick when I hear people pulling hundreds of thousands of dollars out of their house!
30 years ago, college was attended at half the rate as now.
Not to downplay the weight of student loans -but, your parents (or grandparents) weren't saddled by student debt for the simple reason that they were less likely to go to college.
Here are some student-things I see but don't understand:
Pursuing a degree instead of a career.
Living on campus instead of at home - if circumstances allow.
Driving a new or new-ish car.
Not working. At all.
Finding time for video games or running marathons - take your pick - but not having time to get a job.
Look - I'm not saying that it's easy or that there aren't circumstances beyond everyone's control where, well, catastrophe has happened.
But - 70% of students have loans. I'm confident some proportion of that 70% is NOT due to catastrophe.
It's too late for those who owe - but it is not too late to insist on sound fundamental financial education for all young people before allowing them to choose college.
Here are some student-things I see but don't understand:
You forgot one:
Attending an out-of-state, or worse, private college, when the student's state of residence has a very good state school that would be less than half the cost of the 'college they fell in love with'.
For most undergraduate majors, it's going to make very little difference where you went to school. Your choice of major (STEM vs humanities) is going to matter much more to your future success than if you went to Penn State ($18K in-state) vs UPenn ($52K).
Sounds good until a major repair bill rears its ugly head then suddenly those monthly numbers are out of alignment and the loanowner is behind the eight ball.
That is about the only thing better about renting. The landlord is responsible for the repairs.
For most undergraduate majors, it's going to make very little difference where you went to school. Your choice of major (STEM vs humanities) is going to matter much more to your future success than if you went to Penn State ($18K in-state) vs UPenn ($52K).
Terrible example. UPenn is one of the most selective colleges in the world. It will absolutely make a difference going there vs Penn State. That's not to say you don't make a very good point. But, UPenn is one of the schools that is worth it.
Attending an out-of-state, or worse, private college, when the student's state of residence has a very good state school that would be less than half the cost of the 'college they fell in love with'.
For most undergraduate majors, it's going to make very little difference where you went to school. Your choice of major (STEM vs humanities) is going to matter much more to your future success than if you went to Penn State ($18K in-state) vs UPenn ($52K).
Even worse is when people go to out of state private colleges for music or other fine arts degrees when the chances that those will ever be more than a fun hobby for them is slim...and then they have a $100k in loans to repay with a $25k/year job.
I don't get the criticism of those who have received money from parents, unless of course those kids are rubbing it in other people's faces. I actually got an inheritance, but wound up buying much less house than I could actually afford because it represented all that I needed at that time. The thing is higher income parents are more likely to teach personal financial management to their children and that is what compounds, among other factors, the inequities across generations.
Would it be okay to criticize college students from low income families who rely on Pell grants - funded by all of us taxpayers - because students from high income families would not qualify?
My advice to millennials is to be as open as possible when looking for jobs or a place to live. I once turned down a job in Florida a year after getting my degree, when at the time I was back waiting tables. I had a bias against FL then, but in retrospect it would have been a great opportunity in a totally different field than the one I'm in now.
Last edited by verybadgnome; 06-11-2019 at 10:10 PM..
I'm going to defend the new or newish car "thing." Inspection standards for condition and emissions don't allow for the jalopies we used to drive. Repairs are most costly because state standards demand total replacement for many things. It's a lot of expense to keep repairing and it might fail inspection anyway. It used to be fairly simple to just get a $500 car and get it to pass inspection... just something to go from A to B. Not anymore.
Young people generally can come up with $250/month, reliably demanded. They do NOT have $5000 upfront AND up to $2000/year in repairs.
I'm going to defend the new or newish car "thing." Inspection standards for condition and emissions don't allow for the jalopies we used to drive. Repairs are most costly because state standards demand total replacement for many things. It's a lot of expense to keep repairing and it might fail inspection anyway. It used to be fairly simple to just get a $500 car and get it to pass inspection... just something to go from A to B. Not anymore.
Young people generally can come up with $250/month, reliably demanded. They do NOT have $5000 upfront AND up to $2000/year in repairs.
Move to a state with no car inspections like Florida. Also my father lives in a state with inspection.used to be every year when I lived there now it's every 2 years, smog is one of the big tests and he uses one of those Sta-bill type products that you put into your gas tank to remove emissions. He's older and has an old car and I doubt be drives even 2000 miles a year.
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.
