How much is enough in life?

neo_mao

Been There., Done That., It Was Shit.,
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I lived in NYC for 4 years and by the end of it hated it and couldn’t wait to get out. Crowded, smelly, disgusting. Try wearing a suit on the subway in summer...fucking nasty.

I then moved to a suburb and though it was nice, I have to agree with madman that felt so indistinct. It was actually nice in that the town didn’t let a lot of businesses in so it was mostly residential - but the flip side is that it just so overcrowded. Driving to the train station in the morning was ludicrously busy and it was always a fight in the platform with a bunch of soccer mom and dads to get into the train first.

Now I am in a much more rural town and I have to say it’s the favorite place i’ve Lived so far. Nice and quite...no malls, lots of space between houses, no cookie cutter designs, lots of trees and farms - feels like an old New England town. The downside is that I am further out from the city but hey, i been working from home the past year so that’s been nice. When I do go back to work i’ll probably start driving in anyway - which will be nice to get off the trains after almost 20 years...
 
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evil wasabi

The Jongmaster
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Anyways, look at the traditional upper middle class road to success.

1. Get out of college
2. Get a fat job
3. Get married
4. Have a bunch of expensive kids.
5. Move to long island and buy a house you can barely afford and taxes you can't afford.
6. Join a country club.
7. Die of a heart attack at age 50.

My former boss’s husband died around 45 of a heart attack. Checks all the boxes you listed, except about long island, which can be any affluent burb.
 

madman

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Poor people also die of heart attacks at an early age. It's not limited to those who get fat jobs and get married.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
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What the fuck is it with you and your obsession with poor people. Jesus Christ our lord and savior please give this poor madman a heart attack this year, thank you and amen.
 

madman

Blame madman, You Know You Want To.,
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What the fuck is it with you and your obsession with poor people. Jesus Christ our lord and savior please give this poor madman a heart attack this year, thank you and amen.

Was my statement incorrect? No it was not. Thank you for your concern.
 

LoneSage

A Broken Man
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[madman REDACTED]

edit: I would give wasabi $100 for deleting madman. It's no great loss, guys. He needed us more than we needed him, which we didn't need him at all.
 
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RAZO

Mayor of Southtown
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I lived in NYC for 4 years and by the end of it hated it and couldn’t wait to get out. Crowded, smelly, disgusting. Try wearing a suit on the subway in summer...fucking nasty.

I then moved to a suburb and though it was nice, I have to agree with madman that felt so indistinct. It was actually nice in that the town didn’t let a lot of businesses in so it was mostly residential - but the flip side is that it just so overcrowded. Driving to the train station in the morning was ludicrously busy and it was always a fight in the platform with a bunch of soccer mom and dads to get into the train first.

Now I am in a much more rural town and I have to say it’s the favorite place i’ve Lived so far. Nice and quite...no malls, lots of space between houses, no cookie cutter designs, lots of trees and farms - feels like an old New England town. The downside is that I am further out from the city but hey, i been working from home the past year so that’s been nice. When I do go back to work i’ll probably start driving in anyway - which will be nice to get off the trains after almost 20 years...

I'm not Rural yet but one day when I retire I plan on moving to a Rural town like you mentioned. I'm more burbs now, very quiet, hardly any street lights, after 8pm everyone is pretty much inside and no one's on the street except for some late night joggers. It's almost pitch black at night and all you see is the lights from inside homes. Small block parties between neighbors in the summer, everyone knows their neighbors and say hi when they see them. I love to shit where I live but I still put up with the shitty traffic on the GS Parkway going into the city, but to be fair since the Pandemic and everyone working from home, traffic has been great. Man, it's night and day from living in the City. I never want to move back to the city or near a city again.

I never understood why anyone would want to pay 4g's in rent to live in some shoe box apartment in NYC. I mean I understand if you work in the city and have a serious career making bank and want to live near by close to work but you have rich kids living in the city with mommy and daddy money because they want to experience the city life, because it's exciting. Get the fuck out of here. My goal is to live one day in some rural town, in a nice size house with a good amount of land. Those towns where houses are like 1/2 mile apart from each other. Like the house in the movie Scream. The one that Drew Barrymore gets killed. She gets stabbed outside and no one is there to help if something goes down. That's more for me.
 

neo_mao

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I'm not Rural yet but one day when I retire I plan on moving to a Rural town like you mentioned. I'm more burbs now, very quiet, hardly any street lights, after 8pm everyone is pretty much inside and no one's on the street except for some late night joggers. It's almost pitch black at night and all you see is the lights from inside homes. Small block parties between neighbors in the summer, everyone knows their neighbors and say hi when they see them. I love to shit where I live but I still put up with the shitty traffic on the GS Parkway going into the city, but to be fair since the Pandemic and everyone working from home, traffic has been great. Man, it's night and day from living in the City. I never want to move back to the city or near a city again.

I never understood why anyone would want to pay 4g's in rent to live in some shoe box apartment in NYC. I mean I understand if you work in the city and have a serious career making bank and want to live near by close to work but you have rich kids living in the city with mommy and daddy money because they want to experience the city life, because it's exciting. Get the fuck out of here. My goal is to live one day in some rural town, in a nice size house with a good amount of land. Those towns where houses are like 1/2 mile apart from each other. Like the house in the movie Scream. The one that Drew Barrymore gets killed. She gets stabbed outside and no one is there to help if something goes down. That's more for me.

Its great - we have 1 traffic light in the whole town. Plus, the further you go out from the city you get so much more for you money. Really the only downside I see so far is that because there is not alot of commercial business the taxes are kind of bonkers - but you live in NJ so you know all about that already :)
 

RAZO

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Its great - we have 1 traffic light in the whole town. Plus, the further you go out from the city you get so much more for you money. Really the only downside I see so far is that because there is not alot of commercial business the taxes are kind of bonkers - but you live in NJ so you know all about that already :)

Yup, the farther out you go, the more you get. I have a cousin who lives out in a town called Lebanon (Near PA). Good schools, big house, great neighborhood but she has to travel almost an hour and a half to get to work. She has it good though, she works some days from home, and some days she has to drive in but she has to be at work at like 9 and only works for a few hours and go's home. Her house is like twice the size of mine and much newer and she only paid an extra 50g's. I think she's also paying the same in taxes. Taxes in NJ I think are the highest in the country.

The commute would drive me nuts though if I had to do it everyday. Plus I can't work from home and I don't have a set schedule were you work 8 hours and leave. My day starts at 7:30 and some days I don't leave work till 8 and sometimes I work 6-7 days a week so that commute would drive me insane. I'm happy where I'm living now and the commute isn't too rough (30-40 min). I get less for my money but not as stressed out either. Much better quality of life.
 
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NeoSneth

Ned's Ninja Academy Dropout
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I'm not Rural yet but one day when I retire I plan on moving to a Rural town like you mentioned. I'm more burbs now, very quiet, hardly any street lights, after 8pm everyone is pretty much inside and no one's on the street except for some late night joggers. It's almost pitch black at night and all you see is the lights from inside homes. Small block parties between neighbors in the summer, everyone knows their neighbors and say hi when they see them. I love to shit where I live but I still put up with the shitty traffic on the GS Parkway going into the city, but to be fair since the Pandemic and everyone working from home, traffic has been great. Man, it's night and day from living in the City. I never want to move back to the city or near a city again.

I never understood why anyone would want to pay 4g's in rent to live in some shoe box apartment in NYC. I mean I understand if you work in the city and have a serious career making bank and want to live near by close to work but you have rich kids living in the city with mommy and daddy money because they want to experience the city life, because it's exciting. Get the fuck out of here. .

It seems like a vast majority of California is coming to this realization. It simply is not worth it. Companies seem to agree as well. The mass exodus of CA has begun....


Kind of like Dave Ramsey success stories. They are mostly all people who make like $100-$200 combined or had some big windfall.

It's similar in the FIRE subreddit. There's some solid people that worked to retire at 40 or 50, but then there are some in their 30's with NW over $1MM. It almost always starts with getting a free house or inheritance, and they act like it's normal and everyone can achieve FIRE at 30.
 
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RAZO

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It seems like a vast majority of California is coming to this realization. Is simply is not worth it. Companies seem to agree as well. The mass exodus of CA has begun....




It's similar in the FIRE subreddit. There's some solid people that worked to retire at 40 or 50, but then there are some in their 30's with NW over $1MM. It almost always starts with getting a free house or inheritance, and they act like it's normal and everyone can achieve FIRE at 30.

Also in NYC as well. People are moving out in droves.
 

norton9478

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It seems like a vast majority of California is coming to this realization. It simply is not worth it. Companies seem to agree as well. The mass exodus of CA has begun....




.

California (as a whole) won't build enough housing to meet the need of the population growth possible.
 

norton9478

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It's similar in the FIRE subreddit. There's some solid people that worked to retire at 40 or 50, but then there are some in their 30's with NW over $1MM. It almost always starts with getting a free house or inheritance, and they act like it's normal and everyone can achieve FIRE at 30.

I only have a vague idea of what reddit is, so I wouldn't know.

I just miss dave ramsey and his success stories on the radio about how someone used his plan to eliminate debt after they inherited sold thier family business for half a million dollars.
 
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Lastblade

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California has the most f-up property tax. The tax is set at purchase date and never change, so as you live there longer and longer, you have less incentive to sell and move since your tax bill will only go up when you buy a new place. That is why supply is always low, I guess people wait until they move out of state or die before they sell.
 

norton9478

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Yup, the farther out you go, the more you get. I have a cousin who lives out in a town called Lebanon (Near PA). Good schools, big house, great neighborhood but she has to travel almost an hour and a half to get to work. She has it good though, she works some days from home, and some days she has to drive in but she has to be at work at like 9 and only works for a few hours and go's home. Her house is like twice the size of mine and much newer and she only paid an extra 50g's. I think she's also paying the same in taxes. Taxes in NJ I think are the highest in the country.

The commute would drive me nuts though if I had to do it everyday. Plus I can't work from home and I don't have a set schedule were you work 8 hours and leave. My day starts at 7:30 and some days I don't leave work till 8 and sometimes I work 6-7 days a week so that commute would drive me insane. I'm happy where I'm living now and the commute isn't too rough (30-40 min). I get less for my money but not as stressed out either. Much better quality of life.

 

Setherial

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What amount of money do you need to hit in order to say “I’m good. No need to work anymore.”
Not sure, I cannot stand still so I will continue to work regardless if I would make millions. Needless to say, I might work less.
 

NeoSneth

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I only have a vague idea of what reddit is, so I wouldn't know.

I just miss dave ramsey and his success stories on the radio about how someone used his plan to eliminate debt after they inherited sold thier family business for half a million dollars.

His youtube channel is pretty active. I like some of the other hosts as well.
Clearly I'm not on board with his 10% tithe, but i sometimes listen in spurts to stay motivated about saving. I don't listen often, but it sets your mindset for saving and not buying shit you dont need. The right wing religious stuff I can ignore.

for example, im in the market for an extra car. I can easily afford something luxury, or I can get something practical. I want luxury, but his show reminds me to stay grounded. Also, i love listening to the idiots with mountains of debt trying to justify purchases on his show. it's sobering and hilarious.
 

norton9478

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There's lots I don't agree with either. And he occasionally says dumb shit. But hey, dude has to talk 15 hours a week. That ain't easy.
 

Fygee

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$3 million.

Pay off every penny of debt. Buy a new car. Live comfortably for the rest of my days.
 

RAZO

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As long as my house is paid off, my kids college is paid off and I have no serious debt, I would say 1 million with my pension and health benefits. Maybe have a little part time light gig just for something to do and a little extra income.

I would have to move out of Jersey though. Taxes are out of control.
 
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NeoSneth

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As long as my house is paid off, my kids college is paid off and I have no serious debt, I would say 1 million with my pension and health benefits. Maybe have a little part time light gig just for something to do and a little extra income.

I would have to move out of Jersey though. Taxes are out of control.

I've seriously considered paying the house off early. It's a bit of a tossup when you look at the financials. you could be potentially losing some serious compounding gains, but you mitigate a lot of risk during a market crash.
 

evil wasabi

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I've seriously considered paying the house off early. It's a bit of a tossup when you look at the financials. you could be potentially losing some serious compounding gains, but you mitigate a lot of risk during a market crash.

I look at the current movement to forgive student loans and think “why did I pay mine off, at all?” And for the people who didn’t go to school because they couldn’t afford it and didn’t feel comfortable taking on the private loans to compliment the federal assistance, how do we rectify that?
 
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