Reply to Earning Well but Drowning in Debt...how to dig out?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Side note: a foreigner perspective on the 3 kids debate => as a French person I am always struck by how negative Americans are towards people who have 3 children. It is so often portrayed as a crazy, selfish, financially and environmentally irresponsible choice. I think in France we would think the same way about someone who chooses to have 5 or 6 children but 3?? we need some 3 kid families to ensure natural reproductive rate of the population (2.1 given the number of people who don't have kids or only 1).

Not judging. I am actually stopping at 2 myself because I understand it would be too hard for me to afford 3 children while living in the US. But I never thought 3 children would feel impossible. In France with subsidized day care, free education and full day schools you mostly choose your family size based on what seems the best balance in terms of time and love. It is too hard to raise a 3 kids family here.

And to finish my thought: people end up criticizing the 3 kids choice almost as a moral failure. From an outsider's perspective it looks more like a society failure..[/quote]

My sister is married to a Frenchman. They live and work in Paris. One is a lawyer, the other a very senior consultant. Despite having twice the years of work experience we do, they make significantly less income. They live in a banlieu with decent commute and good but not the top schools. They have a nice but small apartment. Kids share a room. Bath and kitchen are the size of a postage stamp. Their apartment is quite expensive relative to their income. Schools are just as segregated as in DC. Best schools are in top close in suburbs. Good luck getting in to one of those. Most universities are free, but good luck getting your kid into one of the Grande Ecoles if you are not well to do. There are social subsidies to keep you afloat in France, but social mobility is but a dream. Food is expensive, gas is expensive, utilities are expensive and on and on. Very few of my sister's friends and colleagues have three kids. I mention all of this, because most French live frugal lives and would most certainly consider OP's choices a little frivolous.[/quote]

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