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33, single, 70k. No degree, but great resume and very smart (cough, cough). Looking to tack on a few certs and maybe hit the 100K+ range.

Being financially responsible finally, should be debt-free by end of 2009. Not sure if thats something to be proud of! :/

As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, what really matters is to check out the median income. I thought I was a pauper until I realized many of the folks I had assumed were doing much better than I was were just racking up mountains of debt.

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Sure, higher quality of life at the expense of those who actually earn the money. But personally it would be depressing to see the lack of motivation and low achievement in those around me. If you look forward to those things, you can enjoy them in France right now. 🙂

Not sure what your point is, in a recent article by the Economist *Ireland* was named the country with the highest quality of life. France and the US (ranked 13th) didn’t even make the top ten. All but one of which, I might add, are European.

1 Ireland
2 Switzerland
3 Norway
4 Luxembourg
5 Sweden
6 Australia
7 Iceland
8 Italy
9 Denmark
10 Spain

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4020523.stm

None of the countries above exactly have a reputation of being slackers, either. Except those damn, dirty Danes, of course! 😉

On that note, I would really, *really* like to see some statistics regarding how hard folks of the various income classes work. Other than the idle super-rich and unemployed super-poor, I’ll suspect its pretty similar across the board.

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Sure, higher quality of life at the expense of those who actually earn the money. But personally it would be depressing to see the lack of motivation and low achievement in those around me. If you look forward to those things, you can enjoy them in France right now. 🙂

Not sure what your point is, in a recent article by the Economist *Ireland* was named the country with the highest quality of life. France and the US (ranked 13th) didn’t even make the top ten. All but one of which, I might add, are European.

1 Ireland
2 Switzerland
3 Norway
4 Luxembourg
5 Sweden
6 Australia
7 Iceland
8 Italy
9 Denmark
10 Spain

source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4020523.stm

None of the countries above exactly have a reputation of being slackers, either. Except those damn, dirty Danes, of course! 😉

On that note, I would really, *really* like to see some statistics regarding how hard folks of the various income classes work. Other than the idle super-rich and unemployed super-poor, I’ll suspect its pretty similar across the board.

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Well, if we ever go that route, we can welcome 10-15% unemployment rates and very heavy tax burdens that the european countries generally enjoy.

Dear Lord, will we also have to enjoy their universal healthcare, education, lower crime and higher quality of life?

TEH HORRORZ!!!

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Well, if we ever go that route, we can welcome 10-15% unemployment rates and very heavy tax burdens that the european countries generally enjoy.

Dear Lord, will we also have to enjoy their universal healthcare, education, lower crime and higher quality of life?

TEH HORRORZ!!!

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I’m getting the feeling we are approaching the last move of a jenga game and the tower is starting to wobble a bit…

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I’m getting the feeling we are approaching the last move of a jenga game and the tower is starting to wobble a bit…

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I’ll bite.

One, lots of the homes/condos out there now are empty. I’m not sure of the exact statistic, but i believe its between 20 and 30 percent. And there is a record amount of inventory for sale at the moment. So much of the so-called scarcity of housing is a side-effect of rampant speculation.

Two, San Diego has always been a desirable destination since its inception. This has not prevented previous housing slumps. Additionally, its not necessarily desirable for everyone! If you are interested in high-paying corporate jobs and/or affordable housing, its not a top pick.

Three, checking out the city vs. county of San Diego, its clear that most of the county is undeveloped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SD_in_SD_County_map.png

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I’ll bite.

One, lots of the homes/condos out there now are empty. I’m not sure of the exact statistic, but i believe its between 20 and 30 percent. And there is a record amount of inventory for sale at the moment. So much of the so-called scarcity of housing is a side-effect of rampant speculation.

Two, San Diego has always been a desirable destination since its inception. This has not prevented previous housing slumps. Additionally, its not necessarily desirable for everyone! If you are interested in high-paying corporate jobs and/or affordable housing, its not a top pick.

Three, checking out the city vs. county of San Diego, its clear that most of the county is undeveloped.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:SD_in_SD_County_map.png

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The money can’t just disappear of the face of the earth- it has to go somewhere- so there should be some sort of support for asset prices.

It sure can, especially if it wasn’t there in the first place!

Think of it like a new credit card with a 10k credit line. You are happily charging away one day when the creditor suddenly lowers your limit to 5k and raises your interest. From your perspective that 5k of credit did ‘disappear’ and your spending is now severely limited.

Or consider someone holding a supposed 600k house that they can only sell for 400k. Where did the extra 200k go? Same place it came from, thin air.

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The money can’t just disappear of the face of the earth- it has to go somewhere- so there should be some sort of support for asset prices.

It sure can, especially if it wasn’t there in the first place!

Think of it like a new credit card with a 10k credit line. You are happily charging away one day when the creditor suddenly lowers your limit to 5k and raises your interest. From your perspective that 5k of credit did ‘disappear’ and your spending is now severely limited.

Or consider someone holding a supposed 600k house that they can only sell for 400k. Where did the extra 200k go? Same place it came from, thin air.

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I’m also of the opinion that there are a fair amount of savvy folk sitting on the sidelines with cash and looking for bargains. But only for high-value properties.

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I’m also of the opinion that there are a fair amount of savvy folk sitting on the sidelines with cash and looking for bargains. But only for high-value properties.

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Given how fast the dollar is devaluing, its kinda hard to find fault with the ‘live for today’ mentality!

Whats the point of saving a dollar now if it can buy only a fraction as much stuff in ten years?

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Given how fast the dollar is devaluing, its kinda hard to find fault with the ‘live for today’ mentality!

Whats the point of saving a dollar now if it can buy only a fraction as much stuff in ten years?

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