Boomers can’t downsize

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here is a big part of housing problem. Boomers including me can’t move due to home prices shooting through roof in places we want to retire.

Rehoboth Beach I like, Hamptons I like, Beach place North Carolina or South Carolina I like it maybe a lot place in a good part of Florida.

But prices those places are through the roof!! Way more appreciation than my DMV house the last three years.

And taxes way up on selling and buying homes and retirement places often have HOA fees.

I was shocked at Rehoboth prices when I was there last month. One bedroom condos by beach are price of a whole nice house by beach just 5 years ago.

And Florida I visited there my friends 495k house bought in 2016 is now 825k. To be honest it is crappy and his neighbor the nice homes are now 2 million!! 2 million for Florida!!

Boomers (and anyone else) can downsize if they want to. Where is it written that in retirement you get the same size, level of affluence etc as what you had when you working, just because you are in a certain age group?

I’m gen x and find your response interesting. The poster is choosing to live in the best place they can afford. So are you. So is everyone. No one complaining about boomers is structuring their life to make sure that they don’t have a big house in retirement for the purpose of making sure it’s on the market for a younger person to buy.

You might choose to downsize, but it won’t be because you feel you have a moral obligation to give up your house to a younger buyer. And you will sell it at the highest price you can get to maximize your profit. I doubt you are making any of your housing choices based on whether other families would benefit from you buying or selling. If no one is entitled to anything then no one is entitled to pressure a person of a certain age to make their home available to the market.

If someone suggested that you decline to bid up a house you wanted because it would drive up the cost of homes in the area, you would stand on your entitlement to pay what you can afford to get the house you want, regardless of the affect on the market.

+1 And that's the way it should be. Anyone claiming they're making their own housing decisions to benefit some other random family is lying. Anyone demanding that boomers downsize so a younger family can have their home is an entitled twit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This entire thread is a perfect depiction of the fear, palpitation, and worry over home prices.

Occam's Razor:

"If you have two theories that both explain the observed facts, then use the simplest until more evidence comes along".

"The simplest explanation for some phenomenon is more likely to be accurate than more complicated explanations".

"If you have two equally likely solutions to a problem, choose the simplest".

"The explanation requiring the fewest assumptions is most likely to be correct".

The simplest explanation is, house prices exploded upwards because of low interest rates. And to a lesser degree, the PPP crap, eviction moratoriums, people didn't pay rent for years, eduction loan moratorium, and the list goes on. Mistakes (or not!) were made. These actions have consequences.

Now, all of this free and cheap money is gone. I've said this many many times before. Cost of money is cost money. It fell to the lowest level it could, and there was nowhere to go but up. People who realized this THEN, prepared for it. People who expected this party to go on were oblivious to it, either by design or ignorance.

The chickens are coming home to roost. Cost of money has gone up. The most rapid rise in the last ~50 years. That has consequences. Right now, CASH is king. Yeah, yeah, inflation ...that theory won't hold water for too long. Our country cannot survive this kind of inflation, even a tiny bit. It'll fall apart. The slow frog boiling syndrome of ~2% inflation is the MOST our country can handle. And even then, when the cost of money was cheaper for the last decade, inflation DIDN'T go up. Ever thought why?

The Fed knows this. Their credibility and the future of the United States is on the line. They will not stop, at all, in raising the cost of money till inflation comes down. Measurably and on the streets. That has consequences. There will be pain, things will break, companies will go bust, govts WILL have to cut spending. There are no other choices.

The party has ended, we're dealing with the hangover now, and will be, for some time.

Government excessive regulations constrain supply.

Government massive deficit spending is huge demand with no corresponding production.

Government staple of distribution of unearned dollars to unproductive consumers explodes demand with no corresponding production.

Money printer goes brrrr… and 12 years of socialist zero percent rates.

The swamp is not smart and has itself in a corner about to be blamed for a disaster. That’s why it’s provoking WW3 to escape humiliation while preparing its bunkers.

[Anonymous]

Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

Not quite. The Boomers want to go back because they are bored, not because they are ready to get back into the grind of actually producing. They are looking forward to the meetings, water cooler chat, and long lunches where they can dispense their wisdom and perspective, not actually sitting down to grind out work product.

GenX and Millennials - the people who are grinding out the work product - are producing just fine from home and appreciate the extra time WFH gives them to both get their work done and balance their childcare (and frequently, elder care) responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

Not quite. The Boomers want to go back because they are bored, not because they are ready to get back into the grind of actually producing. They are looking forward to the meetings, water cooler chat, and long lunches where they can dispense their wisdom and perspective, not actually sitting down to grind out work product.

GenX and Millennials - the people who are grinding out the work product - are producing just fine from home and appreciate the extra time WFH gives them to both get their work done and balance their childcare (and frequently, elder care) responsibilities.

Boomers did all that, commuted and focused full time and on site. Superhuman.

[Anonymous]

I am a Boomer when I had a 1 and a 3 year old I left my house for work exactly 655 am every day, caught 704 am to work. Arrived at 815am and worked till 620 and took 647 train home and arrived at home 730pm.

I also volunteered was on two boards, did business trips, took kids to park, vacation, cleaned up kitchen every night, changed diapers, threw family parties, helped with everything

What was secret my life was work and family. I also stay up to 12 midnight and get up at 6am. On weekends I devote my weekend to family, did home repairs, laundry. Go to supermarket and we had a do .

With no cell phone or internet tons more time. And I moved to Suburbs so focused on family and did not ever hand out friends or do activities of my own.

Work life balance is nonsense. You need to grow up. Have your fun pre kids and post kids

Yesterday a 45 year old “child man” asked to do WFH 3 days instead of two. He lives in a condo with zero maint, just two kids, his wife is full time wfh. But he literally has one million hobbies, going out friends, on phone texting, playing video games. It is as work and his family are just annoyances.

Why is Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders still around? The next few generations are too lazy to devote time and effort into careers. The are all FIRE, WLB, WFH.

And their get rich quick schemes like crypto, meme stocks and Airbnb empires are going to collapse economy and leave US laughing stock of world.

[Anonymous]

Who would retire to Rehoboth? Go to South Carolina. Super cheap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

Not quite. The Boomers want to go back because they are bored, not because they are ready to get back into the grind of actually producing. They are looking forward to the meetings, water cooler chat, and long lunches where they can dispense their wisdom and perspective, not actually sitting down to grind out work product.

GenX and Millennials - the people who are grinding out the work product - are producing just fine from home and appreciate the extra time WFH gives them to both get their work done and balance their childcare (and frequently, elder care) responsibilities.

Gen Xer here. Like previously posted don’t count us with Millennials. I do love WFH but if my agency says get back to the office, so be it (personally I doubt it will happen to any significant extent). Most of us lived under our means because we didn’t buy the hype. We knew it would soon suck. Nothing about working with Boomers bothers me. I don’t let it. What bothers me are whiners. The sooner you accept this the happier you’ll be.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who would retire to Rehoboth? Go to South Carolina. Super cheap.

Health care access in tough unless you are very close to Charleston and if you are close to Charleston it is expensive. Inland is unbelievable hot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looking here and the numerous send ups of Boomers on insta , I am here to say that most millennials are entirely unschooled as to who the Boomers were. Boomers are constantly confused with my parents' generation. None of this is true- about anything- housing, jobs, pensions, inflation, anything.

Tons of boomers born 1960- 1964 still working. SS is 67 and Medicare is 65. They are not old enough to retire.

Numerous boomers still have kids in HS and college. They are laying 2023 prices for college.

And pensions were phased out in the 1970s and 1980s most big companies. They just have 401ks. And they did not get medical on retirement.

For instance American Express froze its pension plan and post retirement medical benefits in 1991. And they were generous as never canceled. But you have to retire from there at 65 to get it and they did massive layoffs in 2000 and 2009. Do you really think there are anf pre 1991 employees left?

My first company canceled pensions in 1982 when rates shot up.

And 401ks unless you are paid very well and get a good match good luck.

My MiL worked in schools in a mid- western state and retired in her mid 50s with a 6 figure pension that will pay out until she dies. Even if she dies (up to a certain age) her husband gets it until he dies. It’s insane. She’s in her 70s now.

Another relative also a boomer worked PT in schools in the Midwest for the majority of her career! For decades she worked only part time then got an online ‘masters’ degree (not knocking online degrees but this was from a now defunct uni) and for the last few years worked in administration making 6 figures. She also retired in her mid 50s and allegedly gets her pension based on her last 6 figure salary and every year gets a 3 percent increase until she dies. Good old unions!

This is what taxpayers are paying for and what boomers voted for.

I am happy for your MIL and relative.

I'd say the Silent Generation put these policies in place that benefitted Boomers, and then Boomers changed the rules so us Millennials and Gen X not only don't get pensions or retirement plans, but also are saddled with six-figure student loan debt, rising housing prices, and exorbitant child care costs.

Nobody “changed the rules” .. based on winning WW2 with the least damage the world allowed the dollar to be reserve currency. Then everybody since 1976 decided to decouple the dollar from gold so we could print money and get manufactured products without having to work. Everybody is in on it and votes for it. Now the accounting is breaking since inflation is here to stay

Huh? Boomers definitely changed the rules on pensions at their companies, who gets them and how much they pay, then cancelling pensions altogether and forcing employees to fund 401Ks dependent on the market while simultaneously increasing inflation, causing market crashes in 2001, 2008, etc.

My company did shut down their pension and covert it to a 401k only. Many did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

This is the mic drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Gen Z is dragging their feet going back to offices they’ve barely known, but (retired) Boomers can’t wait.

Boomers are more productive and economically viable.

https://fortune.com/2023/09/08/remote-work-return-to-office-gen-z-boomers-retirees-want-jobs/amp/

Not quite. The Boomers want to go back because they are bored, not because they are ready to get back into the grind of actually producing. They are looking forward to the meetings, water cooler chat, and long lunches where they can dispense their wisdom and perspective, not actually sitting down to grind out work product.

GenX and Millennials - the people who are grinding out the work product - are producing just fine from home and appreciate the extra time WFH gives them to both get their work done and balance their childcare (and frequently, elder care) responsibilities.

Gen Xer here. Like previously posted don’t count us with Millennials. I do love WFH but if my agency says get back to the office, so be it (personally I doubt it will happen to any significant extent). Most of us lived under our means because we didn’t buy the hype. We knew it would soon suck. Nothing about working with Boomers bothers me. I don’t let it. What bothers me are whiners. The sooner you accept this the happier you’ll be.

Another Gen X here and I’m sorry to say that I agree with this. I WFH a full-time and it’s great. But if I am asked to go back to the office, I will go, and it will be fine. Some aspects of it will be better, some will be worse. But I certainly won’t feel, how do the kids say, personally attacked.

Nice thing about our generation is that we had it proven to us early that no one was particularly interested in our well-being except us, and so we’d best do what we can with what we have. We do and life goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a Boomer when I had a 1 and a 3 year old I left my house for work exactly 655 am every day, caught 704 am to work. Arrived at 815am and worked till 620 and took 647 train home and arrived at home 730pm.

I also volunteered was on two boards, did business trips, took kids to park, vacation, cleaned up kitchen every night, changed diapers, threw family parties, helped with everything

What was secret my life was work and family. I also stay up to 12 midnight and get up at 6am. On weekends I devote my weekend to family, did home repairs, laundry. Go to supermarket and we had a do .

With no cell phone or internet tons more time. And I moved to Suburbs so focused on family and did not ever hand out friends or do activities of my own.

Work life balance is nonsense. You need to grow up. Have your fun pre kids and post kids

Yesterday a 45 year old “child man” asked to do WFH 3 days instead of two. He lives in a condo with zero maint, just two kids, his wife is full time wfh. But he literally has one million hobbies, going out friends, on phone texting, playing video games. It is as work and his family are just annoyances.

Why is Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders still around? The next few generations are too lazy to devote time and effort into careers. The are all FIRE, WLB, WFH.

And their get rich quick schemes like crypto, meme stocks and Airbnb empires are going to collapse economy and leave US laughing stock of world.

I’m willing to bet your “secret” was a stay at home spouse who took care of everything on the home front during the week so you could do what you did. Something that’s no longer economically doable for most young families in the US today.

[Anonymous]

Who are these people criticizing boomers?

Seriously, who are you? Aren't boomers your parents? We surrounded you with love, we protected you, we tried to give you a good trajectory for the rest of your lives. And you return all that nurturing with poking us in the eye? WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?

Or are all these critics just AI bots trying to stir the pot?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am a Boomer when I had a 1 and a 3 year old I left my house for work exactly 655 am every day, caught 704 am to work. Arrived at 815am and worked till 620 and took 647 train home and arrived at home 730pm.

I also volunteered was on two boards, did business trips, took kids to park, vacation, cleaned up kitchen every night, changed diapers, threw family parties, helped with everything

What was secret my life was work and family. I also stay up to 12 midnight and get up at 6am. On weekends I devote my weekend to family, did home repairs, laundry. Go to supermarket and we had a do .

With no cell phone or internet tons more time. And I moved to Suburbs so focused on family and did not ever hand out friends or do activities of my own.

Work life balance is nonsense. You need to grow up. Have your fun pre kids and post kids

Yesterday a 45 year old “child man” asked to do WFH 3 days instead of two. He lives in a condo with zero maint, just two kids, his wife is full time wfh. But he literally has one million hobbies, going out friends, on phone texting, playing video games. It is as work and his family are just annoyances.

Why is Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi and Bernie Sanders still around? The next few generations are too lazy to devote time and effort into careers. The are all FIRE, WLB, WFH.

And their get rich quick schemes like crypto, meme stocks and Airbnb empires are going to collapse economy and leave US laughing stock of world.

I’m willing to bet your “secret” was a stay at home spouse who took care of everything on the home front during the week so you could do what you did. Something that’s no longer economically doable for most young families in the US today.

My 2 year old wakes up at 7 and goes to bed at 7:30. By your own estimate, you would be gone her entire waking hours Monday through Friday. That's how you did it.