5 ms·

The Germans seem to be far ahead of the curve here. From a financial planning perspective, buying a home results in: 1) The vast majority of your assets becomi

• coldtea 10y ago
  >Your future mobility to pursue jobs in other cities, becoming significantly constrained Perhaps the idea of people who haven't adopted this is that, unless they like doing so, humans should not have to live like nomads moving here and there to pursue this or that financial opportunity, but instead should be allowed to grow roots in some place, help shape it and improve it, connect with their neighbors, etc.
  • kbart 10y ago
    "humans should not have to live like nomads moving here and there to pursue this or that financial opportunity, but instead should be allowed to grow roots in some place" Why? It's a choice best left to each person, telling somebody what they should do and how to live their lives is patronizing at least.
    • coldtea 10y ago
      What part of "unless they like doing so" you've missed? :-)
  • whack 10y ago
    Nobody is forcing anyone to move or "live like a nomad." But why take steps that will make it much much harder for you to change your mind later? 5 years from now, if you've been unemployed for a long time and a great job opportunity opens up in a city 2 hours away, you may realize that moving 2 hours away in exchange for a paycheck, is a perfectly valid choice to make.
    • shostack 10y ago
      Arguably the job market forces people to move.
  • Kalium 10y ago
    People are allowed to grow roots, shape and improve a place, and connect with their neighbors all they like. This is the state of places like the USA today. People aren't allowed to demand that the economy provide them with all the means they might wish for to do these things in any arbitrarily selected location.
    • marcosdumay 10y ago
      > People are allowed to grow roots, shape and improve a place, and connect with their neighbors all they like. Well, their landlord may disagree. That is, if they are renting... what is what this discussion is about.
      • Kalium 10y ago
        That's covered under the second point.
  • taurath 10y ago
    The way the economy has been for the last decade in the US is that if you're not in a city that is up and coming you're in a town that is rotting, as all the jobs or industry that used to prop up the town are leaving for somewhere cheaper. Because we are being pushed to a new global economy and we have no social safety net, moving places is required just as much as changing jobs is, unless you happen to be in one of the anointed fields that is benefiting from globalization.
  • hx87 10y ago
    I'd say that 1-year roots are still roots and are every bit worth nurturing as 30-year ones. Even if I live in a place for a single year, I still want to improve it and connect with my neighbors. This idea that an experience is less worthy of cultivation because its duration is short just seems bizarre to me.
    • coldtea 10y ago
      >This idea that an experience is less worthy of cultivation because its duration is short just seems bizarre to me. The stay having an short deadline means the cultivation will be cut short too. Heck, in 6 months most people haven't even fully unpacked their things or made new friends -- so it's not like they'll have grown roots in a year -- especially since they know that they'll be leaving in a year anyway.
      • hx87 10y ago
        I'm probably an outlier then--I'm fully unpacked by the end of the 3rd day and made new friends by the end of the second week, and from my point of view an excellent friend is an excellent friend, whether for 6 months or 30 years.
• codingdave 10y ago
  1) Right. That is called your "home". You invest most of your efforts and resources there to provide a home for yourself and your family that can be a long-term stable place to live. 2) Again, this is OK if you want a "home". Your recommendations are based on assumptions that people want to maximize their money. Most people I talk to (most people over 30, at least) are willing to have less money in exchange for a better overall life. How to balance money with intangibles is a personal choice. But the "financial planning perspective" is just one piece of the puzzle, not the big picture.
• kbart 10y ago
  "2) Your future mobility to pursue jobs in other cities, becoming significantly constrained" Not necessarily. I can always rent out my flat for about the same monthly fee I pay for mortgage and rent a flat myself in other city/country in case of a good job opportunity. Sure, being in a debt for few decades has many drawbacks, but restricted mobility is not one of them.
  • ghaff 10y ago
    It still reduces mobility vs. just renting though. Now you're a landlord and probably dependent on the rental income to pay your rent in the other city/country. Obviously, it's all doable. But it's clearly a constraint (even if it's a worthwhile one) relative to not owning.
    • umeshunni 10y ago
      Not to mention that, at least in the US, most owned homes are single-family homes in the suburbs and the rental market for those is significantly different than a flat in the city.
• sickbeard 10y ago
  Excessive mobility has an adverse effect on families and children. It makes sense to rent if you are single, but it makes more sense to plant yourself somewhere when you are a family.
  • enraged_camel 10y ago
    Why? I have friends who moved a lot during their childhood (due to parents' jobs/obligations, e.g. military), and they're some of the most well-adjusted and social people I know. Having to rebuild one's social circle from scratch every few years can be a very valuable and beneficial skill for a child.