50 ms·

Maybe because it actually makes economic sense to stay. Cost of living, mainly for housing, in high-paying regions means that after a certain age you won't real

Maybe because it actually makes economic sense to stay. Cost of living, mainly for housing, in high-paying regions means that after a certain age you won't realize the benefits of the higher wages since you won't be able to pay off your mortgage before your career ends. In fact rent or mortgage interest may capture all of the salary bump and more. Working a menial job in a depressed area makes a lot more sense when a house there only costs $125,000. I understand that those open to education can have a life transformation in a new city by acquiring new skills. But that's a small number of people. Most people work to live and not the other way around. Some just want three hots and a cot, family, and friends. And that is perfectly alright. Just for fun I searched Bloomberg for this phrase: "why do upper middle class people continue to live in overpriced cities despite having all their needs met". The second result was this one: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-percent-of-upper-middle-class-households-are-saving-money https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-p.... Maybe we are more alike than we realize...

wutbrodo 8y ago
> Just for fun I searched Bloomberg for this phrase: "why do upper middle class people continue to live in overpriced cities despite having all their needs met". The second result was this one: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-p... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-p.... Maybe we are more alike than we realize... The article is paywalled, but AFAICT it's not particularly true or relevant. The article you posted is from 4 years ago, and is based on the Fed's annual "Economic Well-Being" report. The most recent one was just released (https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201805.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-repor...), and it shows that ~40 of non-retired adults think that their retirement savings are on track. This comfortably encompasses the upper-middle class. The 2014 report is here (https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201505.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-econo...) and shows worse numbers for savings (the metrics seem to have changed, so I can't make a simple apples-to-apples comparison). AFAICT, the main changes have been to economic optimism and liquidity, both of which are better indicators of the contemporary economy[1] than they are of actual financial stability or level of savings. This is hardly surprising, given that we were still not that far out from a shaky economy in '14.

wutbrodo 8y ago

> Just for fun I searched Bloomberg for this phrase: "why do upper middle class people continue to live in overpriced cities despite having all their needs met". The second result was this one: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-p... https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-08-12/only-45-p.... Maybe we are more alike than we realize... The article is paywalled, but AFAICT it's not particularly true or relevant. The article you posted is from 4 years ago, and is based on the Fed's annual "Economic Well-Being" report. The most recent one was just released (https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201805.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/2017-repor...), and it shows that ~40 of non-retired adults think that their retirement savings are on track. This comfortably encompasses the upper-middle class. The 2014 report is here (https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-economic-well-being-us-households-201505.pdf https://www.federalreserve.gov/econresdata/2014-report-econo...) and shows worse numbers for savings (the metrics seem to have changed, so I can't make a simple apples-to-apples comparison). AFAICT, the main changes have been to economic optimism and liquidity, both of which are better indicators of the contemporary economy[1] than they are of actual financial stability or level of savings. This is hardly surprising, given that we were still not that far out from a shaky economy in '14.