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Boomers look surprised, and I think they fail to see the reality of current times. Decades ago, an university teacher, could afford to buy a home for his family

Boomers look surprised, and I think they fail to see the reality of current times. Decades ago, an university teacher, could afford to buy a home for his family , not too far from where he/she/* worked. Nowadays, even with FAANG salaries you can't buy a decent size home for your family even in a "30 minutes drive" radio from where your offices are. Imagine other professions who are not paid as much. People see through the "hustle mentality" grindset, usually only the ones telling you to hustle and grind are the ones making the big bucks. I understand there are outliers , people who did hustle and became very wealthy, but the problem I see is, the older generation fails to see the evident changes in the social and economical landscape that push their people towards this type of attitude towards work.

gsibble 4y ago
Exactly. This is why we don't want to break our backs working and they are clueless.
treis 4y ago
A lot of this is, IHMO, looking back at the past with rose colored glasses: People look back at home prices but don't account for interest rates. So yes, homes were cheaper for the boomers in the 70s and 80s but they were paying 10%+ interest on those homes. The actual monthly cost isn't much different. Cities were much cheaper but they were also much more violent. So those people that bought in Harlem for a song in the 70s and have a million+ home today went through some shit. Even today you can get a home basically for free if you're willing to have a crappy home in a shit neighborhood if you want the Boomer experience. Also, people had to move. Most of those boomers in California that made a bunch on their home moved from somewhere else because homes were cheap in California. People today can repeat that experience. Probably not the "greatest real estate appreciation ever" part but definitely the "cheap home with decent job prospects" part. Similarly with cost of living. Outside of a couple notable exceptions things like appliances, cars, clothing, etc. are cheaper and (at least arguably) better today than what it was back then. The big differences are health care and education. But even these are a mixed bag.
DesiLurker 4y ago
Exactly, here in silicon valley the housing is so expensive that even if you can afford a house with FAANG salary you'd have to keep doing it for next 30 years to be able to actually own the damn thing. I don't know how any of this is sustainable without having some kind of familial or mental breakdown.

gsibble 4y ago

Exactly. This is why we don't want to break our backs working and they are clueless.

treis 4y ago

A lot of this is, IHMO, looking back at the past with rose colored glasses: People look back at home prices but don't account for interest rates. So yes, homes were cheaper for the boomers in the 70s and 80s but they were paying 10%+ interest on those homes. The actual monthly cost isn't much different. Cities were much cheaper but they were also much more violent. So those people that bought in Harlem for a song in the 70s and have a million+ home today went through some shit. Even today you can get a home basically for free if you're willing to have a crappy home in a shit neighborhood if you want the Boomer experience. Also, people had to move. Most of those boomers in California that made a bunch on their home moved from somewhere else because homes were cheap in California. People today can repeat that experience. Probably not the "greatest real estate appreciation ever" part but definitely the "cheap home with decent job prospects" part. Similarly with cost of living. Outside of a couple notable exceptions things like appliances, cars, clothing, etc. are cheaper and (at least arguably) better today than what it was back then. The big differences are health care and education. But even these are a mixed bag.

DesiLurker 4y ago

Exactly, here in silicon valley the housing is so expensive that even if you can afford a house with FAANG salary you'd have to keep doing it for next 30 years to be able to actually own the damn thing. I don't know how any of this is sustainable without having some kind of familial or mental breakdown.