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Yes, but you had the expectation that things would get better (and I'm assuming you had the skills to make much more). My friends who aren't involved in the te

by adregan 13y ago

Yes, but you had the expectation that things would get better (and I'm assuming you had the skills to make much more). My friends who aren't involved in the tech industry have quite a long row to hoe when it comes to making more money. I had a friend (who loves cooking and is accomplished in restaurant work) struggle to find anything above $13-15 an hour in NYC (and that's hard work at a busy restaurant), and it doesn't often get better than that. For some, living in below average accommodations isn't a necessary stop along the way but the destination, and that stinks.

qq66 13y ago
50% of people live in below-average accommodations.
- habitue 13y ago
  No, 50% of people live in below-median accommodations.
danielweber 13y ago
Your first paragraph is something important, but not what I was talking about, and not related to the rest of your comment. First, as long as money has any meaning, people with more of it are going to live better than people with less of it. Maybe it would be more fair if all young people lived below average and all older people lived above average, but it's a huge reconstruction of society. Second, NYC is the fifth most expensive city in the world[1]. I presume your friend is there because he's getting something besides money for his work -- adulation of customers, or a chance to make it really big. Or, it's a deliberate consumption choice. He wants to live in walking distance of Broadway and great restaurants. Well, that's a choice in how he spends his money. I could live in a mansion in my city and complain about how expensive it is, but I shouldn't expect any sympathy because I choose to live someplace expensive. I could deliberately have 8 kids and then complain about how much times my kids require, or I could be a Olympic gymnast and complain about how much training I have to do, or I could keep a cluster of 40 PCs in my living room to play 40 simultaneous WoW games and then complain about how much it all costs. There's nothing magical about consumption choices because they go into "housing" versus "free time" or "computers" or "nights at the opera." If someone was renting the most expensive cars in the US and complaining about how he can't afford something, the answer would be very similar to another person who was renting the most expensive real estate in the US. Living on top of Mount Everest is expensive, even if you were born there. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/internationalproperty/10555550/The-20-most-expensive-cities-in-the-world-2014-in-pics.html?frame=2783020 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/internationalproperty/10... NYC is the most expensive in the US. Of course rankings change over time.

by adregan 13y ago

qq66 13y ago

50% of people live in below-average accommodations.

habitue 13y ago
No, 50% of people live in below-median accommodations.

danielweber 13y ago

Your first paragraph is something important, but not what I was talking about, and not related to the rest of your comment. First, as long as money has any meaning, people with more of it are going to live better than people with less of it. Maybe it would be more fair if all young people lived below average and all older people lived above average, but it's a huge reconstruction of society. Second, NYC is the fifth most expensive city in the world[1]. I presume your friend is there because he's getting something besides money for his work -- adulation of customers, or a chance to make it really big. Or, it's a deliberate consumption choice. He wants to live in walking distance of Broadway and great restaurants. Well, that's a choice in how he spends his money. I could live in a mansion in my city and complain about how expensive it is, but I shouldn't expect any sympathy because I choose to live someplace expensive. I could deliberately have 8 kids and then complain about how much times my kids require, or I could be a Olympic gymnast and complain about how much training I have to do, or I could keep a cluster of 40 PCs in my living room to play 40 simultaneous WoW games and then complain about how much it all costs. There's nothing magical about consumption choices because they go into "housing" versus "free time" or "computers" or "nights at the opera." If someone was renting the most expensive cars in the US and complaining about how he can't afford something, the answer would be very similar to another person who was renting the most expensive real estate in the US. Living on top of Mount Everest is expensive, even if you were born there. [1] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/internationalproperty/10555550/The-20-most-expensive-cities-in-the-world-2014-in-pics.html?frame=2783020 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/internationalproperty/10... NYC is the most expensive in the US. Of course rankings change over time.