4 ms·

Right, but now you're forced to get a new job in a new place, or at the very least have a very lengthy commute. What's the point of having a family and kids if

by Arizhel 10y ago

Right, but now you're forced to get a new job in a new place, or at the very least have a very lengthy commute. What's the point of having a family and kids if you're spending 3-4 hours a day just commuting to work? Or worse, having to live in Texas? This of course assumes that there's even jobs for you in TX or other low-cost locations. Basically, if you want to be a decently-paid professional and have a rewarding career, location is going to be very important to you, and you're not going to have time or money for kids. If you really want kids, you should make that your priority, and forget about education and career, and just work on having a stable job in a low-cost place, perhaps working in fast food and trying to work your way into managing a McDonald's where you might be able to get $40k. With kids and working at McD's as a cook in your younger years, you should qualify for tax benefits and probably some social programs like SNAP to help make ends meet.

amyjess 10y ago
I'm typing this from work -- I work at a B2B telecom in an inner-ring suburb of Dallas -- and all I have to do is look around the office and see lots and lots of white-collar professionals who live and work in the suburbs and have spouses and children, including everyone on my team (well, one guy on my team doesn't have kids, but he's married and owns a house in a conservative suburb). I remember when I used to sit next to the sales department, and some of them would talk about their kids all the time. Very few people live in the city, and some people in the more business-y departments have given me some very strange looks when I tell them I live in an inner-ring suburb that's only 15 minutes away; most of them live in distant exurbs and have fairly long commutes. This is what the corporate world is like all across the country. To answer specific points: > Right, but now you're forced to get a new job in a new place, or at the very least have a very lengthy commute. People change jobs all the time, and they typically get raises and promotions out of it Oh, and having a long commute and spending lots of time at work is considered a bonus to many people who have kids. Work is the best way to get a breather from the screaming babies at home. You know the guy who's always super-excited and happy to be in the office at 8:00 Monday morning? He's obviously a father. > Or worse, having to live in Texas? I actually love living in Texas. I've lived here my entire life, and the only reason I'm even considering moving later this year is because of SB6, and even then I'm going out of my way to move to a suburban environment that reminds me of home (I've pretty much decided on Torrance, CA, though Orange County is still a backup). > This of course assumes that there's even jobs for you in TX or other low-cost locations. And it's not like Dallas doesn't have any tech industry. We're even called the Silicon Prairie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Prairie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Prairie Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is the fourth largest metro area in the country, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land is the fifth-largest [0]. It's patently absurd to say there are no jobs here. Both metro areas individually (Dallas: 7.1M; Houston: 6.7M) are more populous than San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#11) and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (#35) combined (6.6M). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistic...
- Arizhel 10y ago
  >Oh, and having a long commute and spending lots of time at work is considered a bonus to many people who have kids. Work is the best way to get a breather from the screaming babies at home. You know the guy who's always super-excited and happy to be in the office at 8:00 Monday morning? He's obviously a father. So it all falls on the wife to do the vast majority of the child-rearing and domestic duties (in addition to their employee job), as supported by many current studies. No wonder so many women are opting out. Anyway, I think the population figures speak for themselves and support my arguments. The US is at either ZPG or probably even NPG except for immigration, and statistics show a huge portion of children are born into poverty.

by Arizhel 10y ago

amyjess 10y ago

I'm typing this from work -- I work at a B2B telecom in an inner-ring suburb of Dallas -- and all I have to do is look around the office and see lots and lots of white-collar professionals who live and work in the suburbs and have spouses and children, including everyone on my team (well, one guy on my team doesn't have kids, but he's married and owns a house in a conservative suburb). I remember when I used to sit next to the sales department, and some of them would talk about their kids all the time. Very few people live in the city, and some people in the more business-y departments have given me some very strange looks when I tell them I live in an inner-ring suburb that's only 15 minutes away; most of them live in distant exurbs and have fairly long commutes. This is what the corporate world is like all across the country. To answer specific points: > Right, but now you're forced to get a new job in a new place, or at the very least have a very lengthy commute. People change jobs all the time, and they typically get raises and promotions out of it Oh, and having a long commute and spending lots of time at work is considered a bonus to many people who have kids. Work is the best way to get a breather from the screaming babies at home. You know the guy who's always super-excited and happy to be in the office at 8:00 Monday morning? He's obviously a father. > Or worse, having to live in Texas? I actually love living in Texas. I've lived here my entire life, and the only reason I'm even considering moving later this year is because of SB6, and even then I'm going out of my way to move to a suburban environment that reminds me of home (I've pretty much decided on Torrance, CA, though Orange County is still a backup). > This of course assumes that there's even jobs for you in TX or other low-cost locations. And it's not like Dallas doesn't have any tech industry. We're even called the Silicon Prairie: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Prairie https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicon_Prairie Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington is the fourth largest metro area in the country, and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land is the fifth-largest [0]. It's patently absurd to say there are no jobs here. Both metro areas individually (Dallas: 7.1M; Houston: 6.7M) are more populous than San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward (#11) and San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara (#35) combined (6.6M). [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistical_Areas https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Metropolitan_Statistic...

Arizhel 10y ago
>Oh, and having a long commute and spending lots of time at work is considered a bonus to many people who have kids. Work is the best way to get a breather from the screaming babies at home. You know the guy who's always super-excited and happy to be in the office at 8:00 Monday morning? He's obviously a father. So it all falls on the wife to do the vast majority of the child-rearing and domestic duties (in addition to their employee job), as supported by many current studies. No wonder so many women are opting out. Anyway, I think the population figures speak for themselves and support my arguments. The US is at either ZPG or probably even NPG except for immigration, and statistics show a huge portion of children are born into poverty.