[quote=bearishgurl]I understand what you’re saying, yamashi1 and FIH. But by being able to walk in on a Friday morning and say “hi” to your coworkers and then leave for skiing (without having it come off your vacation balances), you are trading lifetime job security for an at-will position. I hope you are preparing well for when the time comes that you are out of work and no one will hire you anymore. [/quote]
I think you’re assuming a lot of things here.
#1 you are assuming that the value I bring is not greater than the cost which is not true;
#2 you assume that I don’t put in my hours, which I obviously do, otherwise I would not be employed and earning a decent living;
#3 you have this pre-notion of “lifetime job security”, which is an obvious fallacy even with government;
#4 you assume that my mindset is due to not ever going through a loss of a job, which is false and is actually a result of losing my job in 2009 and going through hardship.
[quote]In spite of advances in technology over the past ~20 years, the working conditions of a “represented gubment employee” are not much different today than they were before the advent of the internet. They still have to “show up” in proper attire (whether that be a uniform or strict dress code) and work a full day or 8 or more hr shift, depending on classification. If they leave early, it will come off their leave balances. This is especially true for employees within agencies which serve the public. These employees will eventually earn a defined benefit pension (although with less generous formulas then in the past but computed on higher salaries) but you won’t. [/quote]
Can’t speak for government employees, but private sector seems a lot different. My previous employers have offered pensions, but not my current one.
[quote] You say here that you have 3 young kids and moved far out into the suburbs (exurbs?) after your third kid was born … but you and your spouse don’t really want to be there. If you don’t mind my asking, why didn’t you just buy a place in the city and raise your kids there? [/quote]
My wife and I work downtown and I am able to enjoy it, but probably not a great place to raise children. I’m sure that I’m not the only one that feels this way. It seems pretty normal for young professionals to live in the city and move to the suburbs once they start having children. Options for me are sending my kids to private school and living in the city, or moving to the suburbs and going the public route. I chose suburbs cause my wife was a product of private and is not a fan.
[quote] You stated that when your last kid enters college, you and your spouse are going to sell and beat feet back to the city so you can “enjoy yourselves” again. Well, that’s what I thought 1.5 years ago when my youngest left for college. I wanted to move to a ski-area (S. Lake Tahoe) so I could ski anytime I wanted to and possibly work a PT gig for socialization and grocery/utility money. Even though the housing is still quite reasonably priced up there, I have lots of equity in my home (at least 70%) a steady income and plenty of assets, practically speaking, it’s not as easy to do as I thought. The “math” keeps me in place for the time being as I am still helping my youngest thru college (room & board only). You have THREE kids you may need to put thru college! You have a l-o-o-ong road ahead of you and I hope it all works out for you and you can afford to move back to the city as you envision and life’s surprises don’t get in the way of your goals.[/quote]
Yes I will be able to retire and pay for their college. I have 529 plans setup for them that considers inflation. They will be OK. Retirement is dependent on lifestyle and liabilities. When I lost my job in 2009 and had no liabilities I was able to move my family to Maui and pretty much lived the retired lifestyle for about 10 months. It was great, but I was itching to get back to the mainland. So took a job in Santa Barbara and the rest is history.
[quote]And btw, my kids were NEVER “latchkey kids.” They went to afterschool care thru the 6th grade and then a homework assistance program in 7th grade and transitioned back to extracurricular activities/home in 8th grade. They are far apart in age so my “child-rearing years” spanned a longer period of time than that of most parents.[/quote]
I never meant it personally. I’m just speaking for my generation. For the most part, we were the first group to grow up in single parent/dual income households. Latchkey kids/afterschool care became the norm. Because of this, housing prices and sq ft. of homes and mini mcmansions increased exponentially further complicating the problem as single income families were priced out of good areas and therefore dual income became a requirement.
