Reply to A massive income required to live the idealized american dream around here?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Middle class 50 years ago was a small ugly house with road trips to the beach as a summer vacation and sending the kids to public school. [/quote]

There is nothing wrong with this. Not sure why you think everyone is entitled to private school and European travel simply for having a job. [/quote]

If you want a job that pays more, you have to do something to earn that job.  You have to work to achieve it.  But mainly,  you need to learn to live within your means.  If you want to be a social worker, unless you marry rich, odds are you are not traveling to Europe every year or sending your kids to private schools. So have goals in line with what you earn.  If you want to earn more, then choose a career path and advance up it so you can.

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I think that misses the point, though. For example, DH and I made 110K when we had our first dc in 2012 (we were living in Vermont). I worked 80% time at a law firm, he was a resident. We each made about 55K. We had a very nice life - we paid off our student loans faster than we accrued new ones (mortgage, etc.) If we were to be in that same situation today, we'd make about 150K, and we would not have been able to afford the same things we had (a 3BR house - for 180K plus 10K cash first time homebuyer credit; a little fenced yard for the dog; 2 cars paid off (Honda/Toyota sedans); we took a lot of road trips throughout New England/Montreal; we took days off work here and there to learn to ski; our daughter was in a wonderful daycare 4 days a week with the same teacher the entire 3 years she attended.) We would still be just fine, have a nice middle class life, maybe we would rent a smaller house, or we would not have renovated our 1950s bathroom that had insulation made of wallpaper, or I would go back to work a 5th day, or we would find a home daycare. But a lot of Americans (understandably) have this feeling that things are getting worse and it's scary to them. [/quote]

We moved to the area in 2007 when DH graduated law school and began work in Big Law. He made $160k then. Current Big Law starting pay is $225k. We could afford to buy our same starter townhouse at today's prices with that increased salary. I only worked briefly until we had our first child and we didn't factor my income into the purchase. [/quote]

Agreed!  Yes, many things cost more, but many jobs also pay more.  In reality, people need to build a lifestyle they can support with their income, or find a way to make more.  life is about choices, and you will be happiest if you make the ones that leave you NOT in debt all the time.

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