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I can't tell if this is sarcasm - you realize this is just "median American lifestyle," right? The idea that you can afford a house and a boat and time with yo

I can't tell if this is sarcasm - you realize this is just "median American lifestyle," right? The idea that you can afford a house and a boat and time with your kids on a single upper middle class income in, say, Missouri is called "normal" outside of SF/NYC.

jgmmo 9y ago
Upper middle class isn't normal. It doesn't just happen. Example: Only 32% of Americans have bachelor degrees.
- komali2 9y ago
  That statistic seems kind of random. I have a bachelor degree and was definitely not pulling upper middle class on it (liberal arts degree) until I went to a bootcamp and switched careers into web dev.
  - civilian 9y ago
    I think the "32% of Americans have bachelor degrees" factoid is not meant to say that "everyone who gets a degree is upper-middle class" but that "a bachelor degree is _usually_ a gate/hoop you have to get through in order to have a good chance of being upper-middle class, and only 32% of Americans get through that filter."
- adventured 9y ago
  The US median income is about $37,000 currently. Among the highest in the world. You can earn that in just about every state in routine jobs that millions of people work (thus median). It also means you can very likely earn that income without a four year degree (since after all only 33.4% [1] of Americans now have bachelor degrees and their median income is around $60,000 now per the BLS). Now combine two median incomes. You can very easily earn $80,000+ in a household, doing routine jobs without a bachelor's degree (a high school diploma is required), in thousands of typical mid-size locations in the US that are dramatically less expensive to live than the coastal cities. Meanwhile, job openings have jumped to an all-time high.[2] While the supply of labor is at a very low level. Pairing two median incomes delivers an upper middle class life, and does so easily given just a few years of continued improvement after reaching the median. That enables you to buy a good house in those other parts of the country (99% of the nation that is) and it enables you to live quite well if you're at all prudent. So there's your target: figure out how to get into the top 50% among the employed, not exactly a high bar. [1] http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-americans-have-college-degrees-than-ever-before http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-a... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/job-openings-in-u-s-surged-to-record-6-16-million-in-june https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/job-openi...
  - bittercynic 9y ago
    It may not seem high to you, but to those in the bottom quartile, it may seem impossibly high, with no clear path in anything approaching the right direction.
lifeisstillgood 9y ago
Does that really exist still? Can you have a house, a life and kids on one income? It seems to have vanished in the U.K.
- cylinder 9y ago
  Yes, it still exists in the US. Suburbs of Texas, and middle America. If you have a decent education and are willing to forego urban amenities and public transportation, you can do it. You'll need to work at a large corporation to have good health insurance though. This lifestyle isn't for everyone though, myself included, but definitely seen many European families move to suburbs of Houston for energy jobs and they seem to enjoy the different lifestyle (pool in backyard, heat, etc)
  - jermaustin1 9y ago
    As one who grew up in the suburbs of Houston, TX (Well a small commuter town NEAR Houston), I couldn't get out fast enough, though. I think its a grass-is-always-greener thing. You want what you didn't have growing up.
    - cylinder 9y ago
      Exactly ... I would never go back. For some, it's paradise.
    - methodover 9y ago
      It's funny; I'm thinking of moving back to TX. I'be been living cheap in the SF Bay Area, saving a bunch, planning on starting a tech business of my own someday. But it's so expensive out here. My savings would go so much farther back in Austin. I spent so much time and effort getting out of TX, and now I'm going right back. Ironic.
      - atxmiddleclass 9y ago
        As you know, Texas is huge. Talking about Texas in general is about as useful as talking about the USA in general. Urban Austin and a Houston suburb are barely comparable.
pfranz 9y ago
I've always heard "Lifestyle Business" as a contrast to a "Startup." Startups being, huge growth, VCs, and an "exit." Lifestyle business being more like a traditional business, slow growth, minimal outside investment, etc. This article paints it more of a digital nomad, which I haven't seen much of. The difference between running a lifestyle business and just "median American lifestyle" is owning the business (although, effectively you are living a median American lifestyle). I've always likened it to building a successful contracting business, car dealership, or chain of donut shops. Ideally letting you live upper-middle class, fairly steady (businesses rarely are long-term), and possibly something you could sell off when you retire.

jgmmo 9y ago

Upper middle class isn't normal. It doesn't just happen. Example: Only 32% of Americans have bachelor degrees.

komali2 9y ago
That statistic seems kind of random. I have a bachelor degree and was definitely not pulling upper middle class on it (liberal arts degree) until I went to a bootcamp and switched careers into web dev.
- civilian 9y ago
  I think the "32% of Americans have bachelor degrees" factoid is not meant to say that "everyone who gets a degree is upper-middle class" but that "a bachelor degree is _usually_ a gate/hoop you have to get through in order to have a good chance of being upper-middle class, and only 32% of Americans get through that filter."
adventured 9y ago
The US median income is about $37,000 currently. Among the highest in the world. You can earn that in just about every state in routine jobs that millions of people work (thus median). It also means you can very likely earn that income without a four year degree (since after all only 33.4% [1] of Americans now have bachelor degrees and their median income is around $60,000 now per the BLS). Now combine two median incomes. You can very easily earn $80,000+ in a household, doing routine jobs without a bachelor's degree (a high school diploma is required), in thousands of typical mid-size locations in the US that are dramatically less expensive to live than the coastal cities. Meanwhile, job openings have jumped to an all-time high.[2] While the supply of labor is at a very low level. Pairing two median incomes delivers an upper middle class life, and does so easily given just a few years of continued improvement after reaching the median. That enables you to buy a good house in those other parts of the country (99% of the nation that is) and it enables you to live quite well if you're at all prudent. So there's your target: figure out how to get into the top 50% among the employed, not exactly a high bar. [1] http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-americans-have-college-degrees-than-ever-before http://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/326995-census-more-a... [2] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/job-openings-in-u-s-surged-to-record-6-16-million-in-june https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-08/job-openi...
- bittercynic 9y ago
  It may not seem high to you, but to those in the bottom quartile, it may seem impossibly high, with no clear path in anything approaching the right direction.

lifeisstillgood 9y ago

Does that really exist still? Can you have a house, a life and kids on one income? It seems to have vanished in the U.K.

cylinder 9y ago
Yes, it still exists in the US. Suburbs of Texas, and middle America. If you have a decent education and are willing to forego urban amenities and public transportation, you can do it. You'll need to work at a large corporation to have good health insurance though. This lifestyle isn't for everyone though, myself included, but definitely seen many European families move to suburbs of Houston for energy jobs and they seem to enjoy the different lifestyle (pool in backyard, heat, etc)
- jermaustin1 9y ago
  As one who grew up in the suburbs of Houston, TX (Well a small commuter town NEAR Houston), I couldn't get out fast enough, though. I think its a grass-is-always-greener thing. You want what you didn't have growing up.
  - cylinder 9y ago
    Exactly ... I would never go back. For some, it's paradise.
  - methodover 9y ago
    It's funny; I'm thinking of moving back to TX. I'be been living cheap in the SF Bay Area, saving a bunch, planning on starting a tech business of my own someday. But it's so expensive out here. My savings would go so much farther back in Austin. I spent so much time and effort getting out of TX, and now I'm going right back. Ironic.
    - atxmiddleclass 9y ago
      As you know, Texas is huge. Talking about Texas in general is about as useful as talking about the USA in general. Urban Austin and a Houston suburb are barely comparable.

pfranz 9y ago

I've always heard "Lifestyle Business" as a contrast to a "Startup." Startups being, huge growth, VCs, and an "exit." Lifestyle business being more like a traditional business, slow growth, minimal outside investment, etc. This article paints it more of a digital nomad, which I haven't seen much of. The difference between running a lifestyle business and just "median American lifestyle" is owning the business (although, effectively you are living a median American lifestyle). I've always likened it to building a successful contracting business, car dealership, or chain of donut shops. Ideally letting you live upper-middle class, fairly steady (businesses rarely are long-term), and possibly something you could sell off when you retire.