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> So is this the famous mid-life crisis everyone talks about? It sure sounds like it. Regarding "buying a Harley" I think that can act as a shorthand for "real

> So is this the famous mid-life crisis everyone talks about? It sure sounds like it. Regarding "buying a Harley" I think that can act as a shorthand for "realizing life is short and doing something for yourself now that you have the means and while you can enjoy it", which is a good idea in my opinion.

fennecfoxen 5y ago
Oh, life is far too short for a Harley. Buy a Ducati or something. ;) No seriously though the other reason 35-year-olds buy a motorcycle or convertible or similar pleasure vehicle is that they actually can afford it, unlike new grads just out of school? (I differentiate the pleasure vehicle from the utility vehicle; if you buy a little 125cc motorcycle as a car-alternative for zooming around town that's quite different than the speed machines, or the massive touring motorcycles that get SUV-grade gas mileage.) Anyway, this is one of the positive parts of middle age — maybe you're not actually rich, but you're usually much better off then you were in your twenties, might have a good start on a home or a retirement, and can afford a few personal luxuries, or children.
- brimble 5y ago
  In earlier decades, the mid-life crisis years were likely also about the time most parents' kids had either just left the house, or would very soon. If you have a kid at 20, they're (hopefully) leaving at 38....
  - WanderPanda 5y ago
    > If you have a kid at 20, they're (hopefully) leaving at 38.... The "(hopefully)" is interesting! Living in an Arabic country and having many Mediterranean colleagues I recently started to appreciate that different cultures have a very different point of view on when kids should leave their parents house. For them it is perfectly normal to stay with their parents until the age of 25-30, while e.g. in Germany this would be considered quite weird already.
kirubakaran 5y ago
Protagonist: "Life is short, I'll buy a motorcycle" Narrator: "And his life just got shorter"

fennecfoxen 5y ago

Oh, life is far too short for a Harley. Buy a Ducati or something. ;) No seriously though the other reason 35-year-olds buy a motorcycle or convertible or similar pleasure vehicle is that they actually can afford it, unlike new grads just out of school? (I differentiate the pleasure vehicle from the utility vehicle; if you buy a little 125cc motorcycle as a car-alternative for zooming around town that's quite different than the speed machines, or the massive touring motorcycles that get SUV-grade gas mileage.) Anyway, this is one of the positive parts of middle age — maybe you're not actually rich, but you're usually much better off then you were in your twenties, might have a good start on a home or a retirement, and can afford a few personal luxuries, or children.

brimble 5y ago
In earlier decades, the mid-life crisis years were likely also about the time most parents' kids had either just left the house, or would very soon. If you have a kid at 20, they're (hopefully) leaving at 38....
- WanderPanda 5y ago
  > If you have a kid at 20, they're (hopefully) leaving at 38.... The "(hopefully)" is interesting! Living in an Arabic country and having many Mediterranean colleagues I recently started to appreciate that different cultures have a very different point of view on when kids should leave their parents house. For them it is perfectly normal to stay with their parents until the age of 25-30, while e.g. in Germany this would be considered quite weird already.

kirubakaran 5y ago

Protagonist: "Life is short, I'll buy a motorcycle" Narrator: "And his life just got shorter"