[quote=sdrealtor]One recurring theme I keep hearing from CAR is lets go back to the good days!
Here is what I remember of the good old days. Teachers got Summer jobs, didnt live in my upper middle class neighborhood, they commuted from more affordable neighborhoods 20 to 30 minutes away and they drove late model cars.
My Sunday school teacher was also a principal and his twin brother a teacher. They both taught religious school to supplement their income. They also had a roofing business on weekends and full time in the Summer (I worked a Summer job with them). They drove older cars.
Now roll forward to today. My daughters 3rd grade teacher recently bought a nicer house than most of the students live in. She’s married to another teacher in the district. The teachers lot is full of BMW’s, Range Rover, Lexus and Benz’s. Most teachers dont work over the Summer. I know a few that spend it in Maui and some of the younger ones who went trekking in Nepal last Summer. Oh how they must long for the good old days![/quote]
FWIW, I come from a teaching family. My dad was a teacher (professor at a JC), my grandfather was a teacher, and many other relatives were or are teachers. We also have a lot of friends who were/are teachers.
Perhaps what you’ve talked about was how things worked on the east coast, sdr, but out here, nobody that I know of worked extra jobs to “make ends meet.” If they wanted to supplement their incomes, they might work summer school or do real estate on the side (quite a few had RE licenses). Some of our teacher friends growing up — married, “teacher” couples — have done exceptionally well for themselves, mostly because they were frugal and made some excellent investment decisions. None were poor, and all of them lived close to work unless they choose to live in a different area.
edit: This was in L.A., too, which tends to have a higher cost of living than most areas.
