6 ms·

This 25 year old is enjoying a new high paying job (that he absolutely loves) after leaving the military. After one month of employment we've eliminated half ou

by walesmd 18y ago

This 25 year old is enjoying a new high paying job (that he absolutely loves) after leaving the military. After one month of employment we've eliminated half our credit card debt and will tackle the rest over the course of the next six months. We're currently shopping for our second vehicle and educating ourselves on the VA Home Loan process as we intend to buy a home at the end of the year.

endtime 18y ago
22 here, grad school. Though, admittedly, I made that decision about 18 months ago.
electromagnetic 18y ago
Well this 21 year old is enjoying a long 'vacation'. I'm immigrating to Canada so I left working as an electrician in the UK and am currently using the free time as I wait for all the papers to go through to concentrate on my writing. I currently have no financial concerns even though I haven't done a days work in over half a year, because between 17 and 20 I made so much money doing electrics that I didn't have to worry about anything. With a guaranteed job offer here in Canada I'm actually looking forward to being able to work, not for the money but to give me something to occupy the day. My 24 year old brother just recently quit his job and is currently riding out the crisis in the UK programming for some of the community projects he likes online.
- cperciva 18y ago
  I'm immigrating to Canada Welcome! I hope all the paperwork goes smoothly and you get settled well.
  - electromagnetic 18y ago
    Thank you. We've got a family friend in immigration, so he's helped a lot as the information given is really contradictory. It's not always clear with him either because he can't tell anyone how to get into the country easier, so he's kind of stuck just giving answers... but it's still better than the website. We're hoping I don't need a police check in Canada as it can take up to 120 days, but another family friend can get them rushed and complete in 3 days. So I guess I'm kind of lucky my wife's family is so connected.
    - dmix 18y ago
      Which city are you moving to in Canada? I'm building an app for electricians and I'm always looking for feedback from people with domain experience (also if you hack that's a plus too). We're in Toronto and moving to Vancouver soon.
jdileo 18y ago
This 36 yr. old east coast entreprenuer is taking his wife, three kids and life savings to silicon valley to build a great technology company! All the core fundamentals of success hold true in this economic environment, if not more so. The only people that should "stay home" are those that seek the quick hit. If you want to truly build something great and long-lasting......I believe the American dream to be alive and well!!
- daveambrose 18y ago
  What are you looking to achieve in SV that you can't here in NYC? (Not to generally say which is a better city for startups, but just curious to your reasoning).
  - jdileo 18y ago
    I agree with PG and MA and many others that a startup, especially a good one, has a much better shot in a startup hub. Both the SV infrastructure and mentality value those that build great technology. While it is true that there exist other pockets of this (NYC, Boston, Austin, etc). SV is not a pocket, it's the entirety of the community and that has massive value.
auston 18y ago
22 year old - working at a start up for a decent salary - and wrangling the last of my debt (<$5k). I never attended college, so I was able to forgo college debt. No plans to buy a house (yet) - but have plans to start a company in late 09' or 10'.
nostrademons 18y ago
27 here, working at Google and loving it, saving close to 80% of my monthly take-home pay. Debt free, with investments relatively intact. However, I've got a friend from college (history major) who's about to turn 26. She's ensconced in grad school now, but previously had a string of temp/secretarial jobs. She wrote this lately: "What's really got me bugged is the possibility that I might do everything right, I might have been a good student, good friend, good worker, good citizen, and still might not ever have a home or a family. That I might have done everything a "successful" person does, yet end up with none of the things I truly wanted most. It's not that I have a specific image of that "picket-fence" life. I'm not worried about "having it all"; it's the fact that I might not be able to swing any of it. "If I knew this in high school, I'd have done more drugs." It seems like one's success in today's world is directly proportional to your ability to believe that all your elders are lying to you. I was always pretty contemptuous of authority, so I did the end run around all my teachers and school administrators and taught myself stuff - stuff that was useful outside of school, not just inside the academic bubble. Perhaps this is as it should be - I remember in one upper-level physics class, the professor said "You should be getting most of this out of the textbook" and a student helpfully added "Or in class." The teacher said, "No. If you're only learning from class, you're in trouble. I should be mostly superfluous." The students were basically flabbergasted. But if your success is proportional to how much you believe authority figures are lying to you, what does that mean for the authority figures? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What happens to the social structure when people realize their leaders are basically lying, cheating, and stealing from them?
- menloparkbum 18y ago
  It seems like one's success in today's world is directly proportional to your ability to believe that all your elders are lying to you. Rather than outright lying, much of it is due to the generation gap. Parents and other elders are just suggesting what worked for them. Doing everything right by being a good student, good worker, and good citizen was almost a surefire way to a successful, stable life until "Generation X" started to come of age.
  - nostrademons 18y ago
donw 18y ago
Twenty-eight, working for a startup in SV, and building a product in my spare time. Debt-free, in spite of a row of some bad fiscal/personal disasters and paying for school. Putting about 60% of my take-home in the bank at the moment. Looking at trying an experiment at the end of the year and 'going homeless' for three months after my lease expires. The worst case is I find out that it's hard and I don't like it, but it'll cut my monthly expenses down to nothing for a few months. Will look at buying a home in a few years, as I plan to turn into a traveling hacker for a year or two once my full-time gig is up. I have zero sympathy for liberal arts majors who spent years in school, sans job, and now can't find a employment because they lack both marketable skills and the gumption to start a company.

by walesmd 18y ago

endtime 18y ago

22 here, grad school. Though, admittedly, I made that decision about 18 months ago.

electromagnetic 18y ago

Well this 21 year old is enjoying a long 'vacation'. I'm immigrating to Canada so I left working as an electrician in the UK and am currently using the free time as I wait for all the papers to go through to concentrate on my writing. I currently have no financial concerns even though I haven't done a days work in over half a year, because between 17 and 20 I made so much money doing electrics that I didn't have to worry about anything. With a guaranteed job offer here in Canada I'm actually looking forward to being able to work, not for the money but to give me something to occupy the day. My 24 year old brother just recently quit his job and is currently riding out the crisis in the UK programming for some of the community projects he likes online.

cperciva 18y ago
I'm immigrating to Canada Welcome! I hope all the paperwork goes smoothly and you get settled well.
- electromagnetic 18y ago
  Thank you. We've got a family friend in immigration, so he's helped a lot as the information given is really contradictory. It's not always clear with him either because he can't tell anyone how to get into the country easier, so he's kind of stuck just giving answers... but it's still better than the website. We're hoping I don't need a police check in Canada as it can take up to 120 days, but another family friend can get them rushed and complete in 3 days. So I guess I'm kind of lucky my wife's family is so connected.
  - dmix 18y ago
    Which city are you moving to in Canada? I'm building an app for electricians and I'm always looking for feedback from people with domain experience (also if you hack that's a plus too). We're in Toronto and moving to Vancouver soon.

jdileo 18y ago

This 36 yr. old east coast entreprenuer is taking his wife, three kids and life savings to silicon valley to build a great technology company! All the core fundamentals of success hold true in this economic environment, if not more so. The only people that should "stay home" are those that seek the quick hit. If you want to truly build something great and long-lasting......I believe the American dream to be alive and well!!

daveambrose 18y ago
What are you looking to achieve in SV that you can't here in NYC? (Not to generally say which is a better city for startups, but just curious to your reasoning).
- jdileo 18y ago
  I agree with PG and MA and many others that a startup, especially a good one, has a much better shot in a startup hub. Both the SV infrastructure and mentality value those that build great technology. While it is true that there exist other pockets of this (NYC, Boston, Austin, etc). SV is not a pocket, it's the entirety of the community and that has massive value.

auston 18y ago

22 year old - working at a start up for a decent salary - and wrangling the last of my debt (<$5k). I never attended college, so I was able to forgo college debt. No plans to buy a house (yet) - but have plans to start a company in late 09' or 10'.

nostrademons 18y ago

27 here, working at Google and loving it, saving close to 80% of my monthly take-home pay. Debt free, with investments relatively intact. However, I've got a friend from college (history major) who's about to turn 26. She's ensconced in grad school now, but previously had a string of temp/secretarial jobs. She wrote this lately: "What's really got me bugged is the possibility that I might do everything right, I might have been a good student, good friend, good worker, good citizen, and still might not ever have a home or a family. That I might have done everything a "successful" person does, yet end up with none of the things I truly wanted most. It's not that I have a specific image of that "picket-fence" life. I'm not worried about "having it all"; it's the fact that I might not be able to swing any of it. "If I knew this in high school, I'd have done more drugs." It seems like one's success in today's world is directly proportional to your ability to believe that all your elders are lying to you. I was always pretty contemptuous of authority, so I did the end run around all my teachers and school administrators and taught myself stuff - stuff that was useful outside of school, not just inside the academic bubble. Perhaps this is as it should be - I remember in one upper-level physics class, the professor said "You should be getting most of this out of the textbook" and a student helpfully added "Or in class." The teacher said, "No. If you're only learning from class, you're in trouble. I should be mostly superfluous." The students were basically flabbergasted. But if your success is proportional to how much you believe authority figures are lying to you, what does that mean for the authority figures? "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What happens to the social structure when people realize their leaders are basically lying, cheating, and stealing from them?

menloparkbum 18y ago
It seems like one's success in today's world is directly proportional to your ability to believe that all your elders are lying to you. Rather than outright lying, much of it is due to the generation gap. Parents and other elders are just suggesting what worked for them. Doing everything right by being a good student, good worker, and good citizen was almost a surefire way to a successful, stable life until "Generation X" started to come of age.
- nostrademons 18y ago

donw 18y ago

Twenty-eight, working for a startup in SV, and building a product in my spare time. Debt-free, in spite of a row of some bad fiscal/personal disasters and paying for school. Putting about 60% of my take-home in the bank at the moment. Looking at trying an experiment at the end of the year and 'going homeless' for three months after my lease expires. The worst case is I find out that it's hard and I don't like it, but it'll cut my monthly expenses down to nothing for a few months. Will look at buying a home in a few years, as I plan to turn into a traveling hacker for a year or two once my full-time gig is up. I have zero sympathy for liberal arts majors who spent years in school, sans job, and now can't find a employment because they lack both marketable skills and the gumption to start a company.