The "writer" of this article was probably paid $300 for his labors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m gen x and same. Passion job and still renting.

Were you a white person who grew up in a LCOL area in the Midwest or South? Everyone else (except for people in this demographic I think) knows that “passion jobs” are only for trust funders or those with a rich spouse.

Wow, how did you know my background? I’m GenX, white LMC from very rural LCOL in South, and I totally followed my passion to my peril — and by the time I tried to pivot to make real money, I’ve made zero headway despite hundreds of job applications and job training certificates over a decade

Why do you point out that combo so distinctly?

I guess my prediction was accurate. You should read this:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/791426.page

Here's how this happens. It's not ultra common, but it does happen, and it's not so simple as "make better choices". Because many of the choices are made before the person has the necessary info, and often they are working on information that is bad or very misleading:

- Larla grows up in rural or remote part of the country. Low cost of living, middle or working class parents who don't struggle a ton to make ends meet because low COL. Larla has pleasant childhood without a lot of class strife thanks to this.

- Larla is very good at school, and opportunities in this area are limited. It's not near a larger city. The area doesn't have a ton of arts, culture, or commerce. Larla very quickly develops interest in leaving area because of these limitations and because they are very successful academically, this starts to feel like a real possibility.

- Larla goes to college far away, a "good school" likely with some or a lot of merit aid. Larla's grades and test scores qualified her for school, but her admission probably has a lot to do with her - background too -- these schools like diversity and being from some remote place stands out.

- Maybe the school is in a big city, but maybe in little college town, but either way, winds up in a student population with people from much more cosmopolitan backgrounds. Some are wealthy, some are UMC, some might be MC or WC but from places with greater diversity (of people and experiences). This means everyone understands a lot more about how the world works than Larla, even the other kids on financial aid and who have to work. Larla is straight up naive.

- Larla makes friends, and her friends educate her a bit about the world. The problem is, they are naive too, because they don't even understand what they know. They explain stuff to Larla, but it overemphasizes the fairness of the system. They gloss over stuff like the value of family connections or the fact that they are from families that really, really support and emphasize higher education (something Larla's family probably doesn't value to the same degree because of very different environments and circumstances). Larla starts to think she's figuring things out, but she's only getting a very small part of the picture.

- Larla makes career choices, decides where to move after school, based on her naive assumptions coupled with a pretty incomplete explanation of the world gleaned from young people who are really still just figuring it out. What Larla could really use at this point is a parent or relative who can say "Whoa, wait -- some of these kids have trust funds. Some of them can live in their aunt's apartment while they intern. Some of them have parents who will will do anything to cover the cost of a graduate degree because it's important to them. You need to make different choices based on your specific situation. How about Philly instead of NYC? How about marketing instead of publishing? Maybe what you really want is to write -- get an ed degree, teach high school English, and write! Or pursue an academic degree but get used to living in midwestern college towns, which are at least cheap."

- So instead, Larla figures this out on her own over the course of a decade or so. It's revealed in fits and starts, and often she only learns a key piece of information after it's too late to do much with it (like that an MFA is treated as required in publishing, but has no actual value in terms of earning, something that should actually be a required release of info before anyone enrolls in an MFA program). She also gets deeper into a career and social circle that will simply reinforce her value system, making it harder and harder to pull herself out. She might contemplate moving to Chicago or Portland or Denver, but her NY friends will say "OMG no, I could never" and she's only 28 and her family doesn't understand her anymore either, so she holds onto those values even though they don't serve her.

It's a sucky thing. Yes, she was naive and stupid and made bad choices. But it's also kind of hard to blame her because she's kind of been thrown to the wolves. Her university probably should have offered her some kind of practical economic education, but that would require being honest about their student body and their funding and the value of their degree, so: no. Same with the MFA. Her friends are self-interested in believing that they earned their way (to a degree they may have, in other ways not). Also, Larla doesn't have a stereotypical hard luck upbringing. She's not from poverty, her parents have steady jobs, she had a nice childhood. The fact that it in no way prepared her for the life she is now leading doesn't concern anyone because she is a [almost certainly white] middle class lady with a fancy college degree. It's just that none of those things are really helping her right now and she'd have to go back in time, or totally upend her entire values system, to change it. It's what she should do, but it's understandable that she is struggling.

I feel really bad for people in this situation. This is why it helps to have savvy parents who get how the world works, why you are lucky to find mentors or honest friends who tell it like it is. It can save you. Some people never get that and they get stuck.

I feel quite disgusted reading this. You should NOT feel bad for lower-middle class people. They made it, in that they have secure lives, despite having no luxuries.

You should feel bad for people with mental disorders who struggle more than most to make good choices and may end up homeless or imprisoned. You can feel bad for the very poor and those who are victims of crime or terrible diseases, and who die before their time. You can feel bad for people around the world who are killed, injured and traumatized by war and forced displacement.

Why are you wringing your hands over the middle class?!?

My husband was a war refugee and suffered hunger as a child. His family clawed their way up to the middle class - the lower-income one. Yet his parents were relieved and happy to get there. They would be terribly offended if you felt bad for them! He has two terminal degree and has progressed further, and if all goes well, our children will have even greater advantages in life. One generation at a time, PP.

So out of touch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some need financial counseling and willpower to save. Really all you need is a paper and pencil to figure out simple math so claiming ignorance doesn't cut it. Even an elementary school child can do the math.
Another problem, wants and needs. You needs to pay bills first before wants. Youngsters are bombarded 24/7 with commercials showing everyone having fun but not working. Social media has become look at me see what I have kind of stupid. I'll say nearly 100% of the people on tv aren't even real yet the want to be someone causes financial stress.
It's an ugly world full of entities looking to steal your food but you bought the happy and now you have no food.
To infinity. It's terribly sad.

I am a Gen X person and you sound like a completely clueless boomer. DH and I actually lucked out because when we went to college, it was affordable/manageable. You could afford rent straight out of college. We bought a house in Vienna that we would probably be priced out of today. The cost of living has increased significantly without an equal cost in income. I feel for the younger generations. It takes a lot more money to have a middle class standard of living.

Because the DC area is a LOT more desirable than it was in the 80s & 90s.

It was in 2010 but ok.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m gen x and same. Passion job and still renting.

Were you a white person who grew up in a LCOL area in the Midwest or South? Everyone else (except for people in this demographic I think) knows that “passion jobs” are only for trust funders or those with a rich spouse.

Wow, how did you know my background? I’m GenX, white LMC from very rural LCOL in South, and I totally followed my passion to my peril — and by the time I tried to pivot to make real money, I’ve made zero headway despite hundreds of job applications and job training certificates over a decade

Why do you point out that combo so distinctly?

I guess my prediction was accurate. You should read this:

https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/210/791426.page

Here's how this happens. It's not ultra common, but it does happen, and it's not so simple as "make better choices". Because many of the choices are made before the person has the necessary info, and often they are working on information that is bad or very misleading:

- Larla grows up in rural or remote part of the country. Low cost of living, middle or working class parents who don't struggle a ton to make ends meet because low COL. Larla has pleasant childhood without a lot of class strife thanks to this.

- Larla is very good at school, and opportunities in this area are limited. It's not near a larger city. The area doesn't have a ton of arts, culture, or commerce. Larla very quickly develops interest in leaving area because of these limitations and because they are very successful academically, this starts to feel like a real possibility.

- Larla goes to college far away, a "good school" likely with some or a lot of merit aid. Larla's grades and test scores qualified her for school, but her admission probably has a lot to do with her - background too -- these schools like diversity and being from some remote place stands out.

- Maybe the school is in a big city, but maybe in little college town, but either way, winds up in a student population with people from much more cosmopolitan backgrounds. Some are wealthy, some are UMC, some might be MC or WC but from places with greater diversity (of people and experiences). This means everyone understands a lot more about how the world works than Larla, even the other kids on financial aid and who have to work. Larla is straight up naive.

- Larla makes friends, and her friends educate her a bit about the world. The problem is, they are naive too, because they don't even understand what they know. They explain stuff to Larla, but it overemphasizes the fairness of the system. They gloss over stuff like the value of family connections or the fact that they are from families that really, really support and emphasize higher education (something Larla's family probably doesn't value to the same degree because of very different environments and circumstances). Larla starts to think she's figuring things out, but she's only getting a very small part of the picture.

- Larla makes career choices, decides where to move after school, based on her naive assumptions coupled with a pretty incomplete explanation of the world gleaned from young people who are really still just figuring it out. What Larla could really use at this point is a parent or relative who can say "Whoa, wait -- some of these kids have trust funds. Some of them can live in their aunt's apartment while they intern. Some of them have parents who will will do anything to cover the cost of a graduate degree because it's important to them. You need to make different choices based on your specific situation. How about Philly instead of NYC? How about marketing instead of publishing? Maybe what you really want is to write -- get an ed degree, teach high school English, and write! Or pursue an academic degree but get used to living in midwestern college towns, which are at least cheap."

- So instead, Larla figures this out on her own over the course of a decade or so. It's revealed in fits and starts, and often she only learns a key piece of information after it's too late to do much with it (like that an MFA is treated as required in publishing, but has no actual value in terms of earning, something that should actually be a required release of info before anyone enrolls in an MFA program). She also gets deeper into a career and social circle that will simply reinforce her value system, making it harder and harder to pull herself out. She might contemplate moving to Chicago or Portland or Denver, but her NY friends will say "OMG no, I could never" and she's only 28 and her family doesn't understand her anymore either, so she holds onto those values even though they don't serve her.

It's a sucky thing. Yes, she was naive and stupid and made bad choices. But it's also kind of hard to blame her because she's kind of been thrown to the wolves. Her university probably should have offered her some kind of practical economic education, but that would require being honest about their student body and their funding and the value of their degree, so: no. Same with the MFA. Her friends are self-interested in believing that they earned their way (to a degree they may have, in other ways not). Also, Larla doesn't have a stereotypical hard luck upbringing. She's not from poverty, her parents have steady jobs, she had a nice childhood. The fact that it in no way prepared her for the life she is now leading doesn't concern anyone because she is a [almost certainly white] middle class lady with a fancy college degree. It's just that none of those things are really helping her right now and she'd have to go back in time, or totally upend her entire values system, to change it. It's what she should do, but it's understandable that she is struggling.

I feel really bad for people in this situation. This is why it helps to have savvy parents who get how the world works, why you are lucky to find mentors or honest friends who tell it like it is. It can save you. Some people never get that and they get stuck.

This thread is bizarre. So many wealthy people not really getting it. Usually if you are making $100k as a single then you are likely living in a high cost of living area and indeed probably living paycheck to paycheck.

It takes two decent salaries to afford housing and daycare costs now.

However, we are going to see one of the greatest wealth transfers in history soon as boomers pass on their wealth to fend and millenials. Boomers control about 70% of the wealth in the country.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some need financial counseling and willpower to save. Really all you need is a paper and pencil to figure out simple math so claiming ignorance doesn't cut it. Even an elementary school child can do the math.
Another problem, wants and needs. You needs to pay bills first before wants. Youngsters are bombarded 24/7 with commercials showing everyone having fun but not working. Social media has become look at me see what I have kind of stupid. I'll say nearly 100% of the people on tv aren't even real yet the want to be someone causes financial stress.
It's an ugly world full of entities looking to steal your food but you bought the happy and now you have no food.
To infinity. It's terribly sad.

I am a Gen X person and you sound like a completely clueless boomer. DH and I actually lucked out because when we went to college, it was affordable/manageable. You could afford rent straight out of college. We bought a house in Vienna that we would probably be priced out of today. The cost of living has increased significantly without an equal cost in income. I feel for the younger generations. It takes a lot more money to have a middle class standard of living.

Because the DC area is a LOT more desirable than it was in the 80s & 90s.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some need financial counseling and willpower to save. Really all you need is a paper and pencil to figure out simple math so claiming ignorance doesn't cut it. Even an elementary school child can do the math.
Another problem, wants and needs. You needs to pay bills first before wants. Youngsters are bombarded 24/7 with commercials showing everyone having fun but not working. Social media has become look at me see what I have kind of stupid. I'll say nearly 100% of the people on tv aren't even real yet the want to be someone causes financial stress.
It's an ugly world full of entities looking to steal your food but you bought the happy and now you have no food.
To infinity. It's terribly sad.

I am a Gen X person and you sound like a completely clueless boomer. DH and I actually lucked out because when we went to college, it was affordable/manageable. You could afford rent straight out of college. We bought a house in Vienna that we would probably be priced out of today. The cost of living has increased significantly without an equal cost in income. I feel for the younger generations. It takes a lot more money to have a middle class standard of living.

I meant equal increase

Anonymous wrote:Some need financial counseling and willpower to save. Really all you need is a paper and pencil to figure out simple math so claiming ignorance doesn't cut it. Even an elementary school child can do the math.
Another problem, wants and needs. You needs to pay bills first before wants. Youngsters are bombarded 24/7 with commercials showing everyone having fun but not working. Social media has become look at me see what I have kind of stupid. I'll say nearly 100% of the people on tv aren't even real yet the want to be someone causes financial stress.
It's an ugly world full of entities looking to steal your food but you bought the happy and now you have no food.
To infinity. It's terribly sad.

I am a Gen X person and you sound like a completely clueless boomer. DH and I actually lucked out because when we went to college, it was affordable/manageable. You could afford rent straight out of college. We bought a house in Vienna that we would probably be priced out of today. The cost of living has increased significantly without an equal cost in income. I feel for the younger generations. It takes a lot more money to have a middle class standard of living.

Wow. So many out of touch wealthy people on this thread.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 48 and don't make that much. I am a teacher. I must have done something very wrong then.

Teaching is generally a job for trust funders and those with rich spouses.

Since when? Not sure this is true now. It’s a job that doesn’t pay much.

Anonymous wrote:If you’re a millennial (27-41 years old) and aren’t making at least $80k you did something very, very wrong.

Gen-X and I guess by "wrong," you mean I decided to help people. Takes all kinds of people to make the world work PP, including teachers, nurses, firefighters, social workers, counselors, professors, scientists, artists, performers. I guess we are just here to amuse and/or serve people like with our bad choices and all.

I grew up in NoVA. My parents were middle class. They got by.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 48 and don't make that much. I am a teacher. I must have done something very wrong then.

Teaching is generally a job for trust funders and those with rich spouses.

Maybe in Potomac. Most teachers have blue collar roots and see it as a decent paying job with state gov benefits. Usually the benefits support a spouse working a private sector job or running a small business. Passion jobs for trust funders are all the non-profits in NYC/DC or anything you do with a degree in Fine Arts.

+1

DCUM is so weird - why would someone consider a very stable $70K+ middle-class job with a pension worth north of $1M a "trust fund" job??

Most people on DCUM refuse to live anywhere in a condo, townhouse or in a school zone that isn’t a 8/10 on Greatschools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 48 and don't make that much. I am a teacher. I must have done something very wrong then.

Teaching is generally a job for trust funders and those with rich spouses.

Maybe in Potomac. Most teachers have blue collar roots and see it as a decent paying job with state gov benefits. Usually the benefits support a spouse working a private sector job or running a small business. Passion jobs for trust funders are all the non-profits in NYC/DC or anything you do with a degree in Fine Arts.

+1

DCUM is so weird - why would someone consider a very stable $70K+ middle-class job with a pension worth north of $1M a "trust fund" job??

They literally cannot imagine living or supporting a family on that salary. They do not think it is possible. Very out if touch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 48 and don't make that much. I am a teacher. I must have done something very wrong then.

Teaching is generally a job for trust funders and those with rich spouses.

Maybe in Potomac. Most teachers have blue collar roots and see it as a decent paying job with state gov benefits. Usually the benefits support a spouse working a private sector job or running a small business. Passion jobs for trust funders are all the non-profits in NYC/DC or anything you do with a degree in Fine Arts.

+1

DCUM is so weird - why would someone consider a very stable $70K+ middle-class job with a pension worth north of $1M a "trust fund" job??