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I won't talk about the college and home ownership questions other than to say that families have figured out how to live happy, healthy lives on far, far less.

I won't talk about the college and home ownership questions other than to say that families have figured out how to live happy, healthy lives on far, far less. Go to a good state school, get some scholarships, don't live in Manhattan. This is a poor answer. Just because other people are happy with something doesn't mean everyone is. What do you mean "don't live in Mahnattan"? I want to live in Manhattan. Who are you to say which of my desires are valid and invalid?

mseebach 16y ago
He didn't say that, he said that you don't need to live in Manhattan to have a dignified life. Nobody contests that a million dollars can buy you a lot of very nice things. The point is that too many people spend too much time fretting about going to Thailand when they get a million dollars, while completely missing the fact that a trip to Thailand is maybe $1000. It's mostly a question of priorities, and if you make your whole life about getting a million dollars, guess what happens once you get there? You're likely to start obsessing about five million, rather than retire to that beach in Thailand.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- Locke1689 16y ago
  Maybe, but his thesis that most people say that want a million dollars but don't actually want the things that cost a million dollars is unsupported. I was playing devil's advocate (I probably don't want to live in Manhattan) but the idea is that none of us really know how many people actually want things that cost a million dollars and how many people just want what he terms "freedom."
tptacek 16y ago
The bearer of bad news about statistics, demographics, and what the rest of the country gets by happily on.
sp4rki 16y ago
Your dreams and desires have nothing to do with living a fulfilling "dignified" life. His answer is so full of truth. You don't need to live in Manhattan to be happy, the same way you don't need to be in the bay area to start a successful startup. If you think that the only way to be happy (in your case) is to live in Manhattan, then you have bigger problems with your priorities than the amount of money you need to live comfortably. I've love to buy a sporty Jaguar coupe which costs around 110k over here, but since I don't have that kind of money to spend on a car I make due with my 1998 truck. I'm happy. I'll probably buy a 370z in the next six months. It's not a Jaguar, but I will still be happy and live a free and dignified life.
- Sandman 16y ago
  Will you be as happy as if you had a Jaguar?
  - sp4rki 16y ago
    Probably. Happiness does not (more like shouldn't, but that's another topic) have a direct correlation to the amount of money or luxury possessions a person owns. But even if having the Jag would make me happier, that's not the issue at hand. I don't need to live in Manhattan, drive a Jaguar, own a million dollar apartment, and date Emmanuelle Chiriqui to be happy. Granted those things might make me happier... the same way I might be less happy because I have to fight horrific traffic in Manhattan, the car is actually too expensive on the maintenance side and under performs, I make a bunch of improvements to the apartment but then realize that because of the market it's now undervalued, and Emmanuelle Chiriqui is actually cheating on me with an Irish midget. So yeah... Having a Jaguar, might make me happy. Having a Jaguar might also make me unhappy. The real question is if I need the Jaguar to be happy, and I can truthfully answer that I don't really need it to feel I have a fulfilling life. Once again, if you NEED to have the - enter whatever costly material possession here - to be happy, you're doing something wrong.
jimbokun 16y ago
The real point is that, if you think you need a million dollars before you can live in Manhattan, then: 1) you will never live in Manhattan, 2) you will never have a million dollars. In other words, if you do not have the ingenuity to solve the first, you certainly do not have ingenuity to solve the second.

mseebach 16y ago

He didn't say that, he said that you don't need to live in Manhattan to have a dignified life. Nobody contests that a million dollars can buy you a lot of very nice things. The point is that too many people spend too much time fretting about going to Thailand when they get a million dollars, while completely missing the fact that a trip to Thailand is maybe $1000. It's mostly a question of priorities, and if you make your whole life about getting a million dollars, guess what happens once you get there? You're likely to start obsessing about five million, rather than retire to that beach in Thailand.

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
Locke1689 16y ago
Maybe, but his thesis that most people say that want a million dollars but don't actually want the things that cost a million dollars is unsupported. I was playing devil's advocate (I probably don't want to live in Manhattan) but the idea is that none of us really know how many people actually want things that cost a million dollars and how many people just want what he terms "freedom."

tptacek 16y ago

The bearer of bad news about statistics, demographics, and what the rest of the country gets by happily on.

sp4rki 16y ago

Your dreams and desires have nothing to do with living a fulfilling "dignified" life. His answer is so full of truth. You don't need to live in Manhattan to be happy, the same way you don't need to be in the bay area to start a successful startup. If you think that the only way to be happy (in your case) is to live in Manhattan, then you have bigger problems with your priorities than the amount of money you need to live comfortably. I've love to buy a sporty Jaguar coupe which costs around 110k over here, but since I don't have that kind of money to spend on a car I make due with my 1998 truck. I'm happy. I'll probably buy a 370z in the next six months. It's not a Jaguar, but I will still be happy and live a free and dignified life.

Sandman 16y ago
Will you be as happy as if you had a Jaguar?
- sp4rki 16y ago
  Probably. Happiness does not (more like shouldn't, but that's another topic) have a direct correlation to the amount of money or luxury possessions a person owns. But even if having the Jag would make me happier, that's not the issue at hand. I don't need to live in Manhattan, drive a Jaguar, own a million dollar apartment, and date Emmanuelle Chiriqui to be happy. Granted those things might make me happier... the same way I might be less happy because I have to fight horrific traffic in Manhattan, the car is actually too expensive on the maintenance side and under performs, I make a bunch of improvements to the apartment but then realize that because of the market it's now undervalued, and Emmanuelle Chiriqui is actually cheating on me with an Irish midget. So yeah... Having a Jaguar, might make me happy. Having a Jaguar might also make me unhappy. The real question is if I need the Jaguar to be happy, and I can truthfully answer that I don't really need it to feel I have a fulfilling life. Once again, if you NEED to have the - enter whatever costly material possession here - to be happy, you're doing something wrong.

jimbokun 16y ago

The real point is that, if you think you need a million dollars before you can live in Manhattan, then: 1) you will never live in Manhattan, 2) you will never have a million dollars. In other words, if you do not have the ingenuity to solve the first, you certainly do not have ingenuity to solve the second.