3 ms·

I agree. Everyone wants to live a certain kind of lifestyle, and kids aren’t worth the sacrifice for many. Without fail, the people I see having kids are all p

by thrav 8y ago

I agree. Everyone wants to live a certain kind of lifestyle, and kids aren’t worth the sacrifice for many. Without fail, the people I see having kids are all people who grew up with an economic head start, and further distanced themselves with extremely high paying jobs (private equity, hedge fund, commercial real estate, VC, big tech). I don’t know anyone with kids where the husband is not killing it financially, and they all still complain about having limited money. This is true in the Bay Area, where I live now, and back in Texas (Dallas, Austin, San Antonio), where I’m from.

sorenn111 8y ago
Your story is so anecdotal and influenced by the people you know that it is practically irrelevant. Not trying to jump down your throat, but "people I see" and "I don't know anyone" renders your statement useless.
kitsunesoba 8y ago
What if it’s not an unwillingness to sacrifice, but an unwillingness to take on risk and uncertainty that increases with financial success? We now have an entire generation that has been saddled with crippling debt and has been given little to nothing in the way of tools to escape. Many of them saw something similar happen to their own parents, watching them struggle to keep the boat floating as they grew up. Is it really so strange that this group would approach having children with great caution and only commit once they acquire some level of assurance of reliable and reasonably strain-free access to resources? This is especially true for those who’ve “made it” to some extent and have managed to procure freedom from debt — they’re going to do everything in their power to avoid winding up in those circumstances a second time. I don’t know, to me the attitude reads as more calculated and responsible than anything else.

3 ms·

I agree. Everyone wants to live a certain kind of lifestyle, and kids aren’t worth the sacrifice for many. Without fail, the people I see having kids are all p

by thrav 8y ago

sorenn111 8y ago
Your story is so anecdotal and influenced by the people you know that it is practically irrelevant. Not trying to jump down your throat, but "people I see" and "I don't know anyone" renders your statement useless.
kitsunesoba 8y ago
What if it’s not an unwillingness to sacrifice, but an unwillingness to take on risk and uncertainty that increases with financial success? We now have an entire generation that has been saddled with crippling debt and has been given little to nothing in the way of tools to escape. Many of them saw something similar happen to their own parents, watching them struggle to keep the boat floating as they grew up. Is it really so strange that this group would approach having children with great caution and only commit once they acquire some level of assurance of reliable and reasonably strain-free access to resources? This is especially true for those who’ve “made it” to some extent and have managed to procure freedom from debt — they’re going to do everything in their power to avoid winding up in those circumstances a second time. I don’t know, to me the attitude reads as more calculated and responsible than anything else.