That might work for your climate however in those that have high spring growth and then dry off in summer an untended property becomes a huge fire risk to others nearby.
Here in NZ holdings over a Hectare or 2 require livestock to keep the grass under control which require tending to, fences to retain them and handling/trucking facilities.
It's not unusual for some to relocate into a rural paradise only to retreat to a urban environment after getting a taste of the work a rural property requires.
I think you are lacking empathy. Not everyone has your drive, your ambition, your goals, your ranking of hardships, your desires. And quite a few may even pretty close to your ideal but nevertheless be derailed by circumstances.
It's definitely easier to eat healthier when you have more time, though. If your earnings only come in because you work long hours, live far away from where you work (consequentially having a long commute) and then add in the stress of doing all of this, then you easily get a vicious cycle where cheap crap food just makes some problems go away for a bit.
It's definitely easier to eat healthier when you have more time, though. If your earnings only come in because you work long hours, live far away from where you work (consequentially having a long commute) and then add in the stress of doing all of this, then you easily get a vicious cycle where cheap crap food just makes some problems go away for a bit.
It takes 5 minutes to make a sandwich. Pasta is another quick and easy thing, or whip up a quick stir fry, or a burger, or all manner of other things. Or eat an apple or a banana, they're healthy, inexpensive and require no prep at all. Throw a can of soup on the stove, I recently bought cans of clam chowder on sale for $1.50 each, it stores for a year or more in the pantry, takes 5 minutes to warm on the stove and is an entire meal in a can.
That's a bargain compared to renting, any way you slice it, renting costs more in the long run, usually a LOT more and when you move out you have nothing. My house cost me ~90% of my income when I bought it, I had two roommates for several years to make ends meet. It is faulty logic to look at renting a place on one's own, get roommates, find a second job, do whatever it takes, it will be harder in the short term but much easier and better in the long term. The problem is that people want instant gratification, they have rigid requirements that they insist be met NOW, whereas I was always looking ~10 years out. I chose to sacrifice in my 20s so that I'd be comfortable in my 30s and beyond.
The problem is it doesn't matter how much you want it, if you have £1,000 a month rent and a £1,800 a month paycheque (after tax figure) -- which is very typical for an average earner in this country -- you are never going to be able to save up enough to qualify for a mortgage on anything remotely worth living in.
You basically end up racing the clock as your income needs to grow larger to qualify for a shorter term mortgage. I know someone who managed to beat this and buy a house aged 45 after losing his first home to business failure but he had to put something like £60k down which isn't trivial at all.
I think it's very easy to say "just earn more" but if you have limited skills your earning potential is... limited. Longer term this has other implications too, the rise of AI, self driving vehicles etc completely changes the job market for many.
That might work for your climate however in those that have high spring growth and then dry off in summer an untended property becomes a huge fire risk to others nearby.
Here in NZ holdings over a Hectare or 2 require livestock to keep the grass under control which require tending to, fences to retain them and handling/trucking facilities.
It's not unusual for some to relocate into a rural paradise only to retreat to a urban environment after getting a taste of the work a rural property requires.
That's not really an issue here. The land was doing just fine before humans arrived on the scene and there are lots of natural areas around the state that are not actively maintained. If there's a grass field it is helpful to mow it now and then, the forests largely take care of themselves. I grew up in a rural area that got overrun by people fleeing California and other areas so it's what I'm familiar with, I'm not a city person, the city came to me and I hate it.
Citing this view of reality might be lacking in empathy, but it doesn't make the view of reality incorrect.
If people are happy enough with their own drive, ambition, goals, ranking of hardships, and desires and the outcomes that those result in, there's no problem at all. I'm glad they're happy. If they're not happy, I'd urge them to change something.Perhaps the reality of the situation can be accepted whilst also not accepting it as something unchangeable? It is certainly possible to make society fairer.
Citing this view of reality might be lacking in empathy, but it doesn't make the view of reality incorrect.
If people are happy enough with their own drive, ambition, goals, ranking of hardships, and desires and the outcomes that those result in, there's no problem at all. I'm glad they're happy. If they're not happy, I'd urge them to change something.Perhaps the reality of the situation can be accepted whilst also not accepting it as something unchangeable? It is certainly possible to make society fairer.Do you mean fairer or more equal, because those are often in opposition?
It seems fair to me that someone with more drive, ambition, and goals would* out-earn someone with less of those things. Enforcing relatively equal outcomes would be reducing fairness IMO.
* - at least on average and all else being equal
QuoteIf people spent as much effort on actually earning more...
I think you are lacking empathy. Not everyone has your drive, your ambition, your goals, your ranking of hardships, your desires. And quite a few may even pretty close to your ideal but nevertheless be derailed by circumstances.Citing this view of reality might be lacking in empathy, but it doesn't make the view of reality incorrect.
If people are happy enough with their own drive, ambition, goals, ranking of hardships, and desires and the outcomes that those result in, there's no problem at all. I'm glad they're happy. If they're not happy, I'd urge them to change something.
Citing this view of reality might be lacking in empathy, but it doesn't make the view of reality incorrect.
If people are happy enough with their own drive, ambition, goals, ranking of hardships, and desires and the outcomes that those result in, there's no problem at all. I'm glad they're happy. If they're not happy, I'd urge them to change something.Perhaps the reality of the situation can be accepted whilst also not accepting it as something unchangeable? It is certainly possible to make society fairer.Do you mean fairer or more equal, because those are often in opposition?
It seems fair to me that someone with more drive, ambition, and goals would* out-earn someone with less of those things. Enforcing relatively equal outcomes would be reducing fairness IMO.
* - at least on average and all else being equal
Fairer. I don't have any opposition to rich people, well, being rich. I do have a problem with those at the lower end doing the hard, necessary work in society struggling by.
I mean in the UK we have stories of nurses, teachers, and social care workers using food banks. We live in a first world country, that should be unacceptable.
I've watched numerous people make one bad choice after another and it's always the fault of something else that they're not getting ahead. They can't do this, can't do that, this just won't work, etc, throw up their hands in despair. This is precisely what Fran has been doing with the housing thing.
I simply knew early on that I wanted to buy a house, I made that my #1 priority
IMHO many of these problems stem from property prices being too high. In large parts of Europe, people have to spend too much of their income for having a roof over their heads. In addition, shops & restaurants need to pay so much for the buildings they are in that they have to inflate their prices. Germany seems to be an exception though. Shops and restaurants are significantly cheaper over there. In Germany we typically pay half for a similar meal at a similar restaurant compared to Belgium, the Netherlands or France.
QuoteI simply knew early on that I wanted to buy a house, I made that my #1 priority
That's great, and well done for getting to where you are. The beef I have is that you make it sound like anyone who didn't replicate that is a lazy, profligate ne'er do well.
With regards Fran and similar, if someone gets fixated or can't handle something, you're going to say it's their fault. Superficially, you'd be right. But do we say that about people with agoraphobia, claustrophobia and similar? How about people that are so unable to handle stuff that they take their own lives in preference? Hey, if you can not only survive and do well, it's their choice/fault to die, right?
IMHO many of these problems stem from property prices being too high. In large parts of Europe, people have to spend too much of their income for having a roof over their heads. In addition, shops & restaurants need to pay so much for the buildings they are in that they have to inflate their prices. Germany seems to be an exception though. Shops and restaurants are significantly cheaper over there. In Germany we typically pay half for a similar meal at a similar restaurant compared to Belgium, the Netherlands or France.
I seem to recall many large German cities have some kind of rent control system, and really good rights for tenants.
That's great, and well done for getting to where you are. The beef I have is that you make it sound like anyone who didn't replicate that is a lazy, profligate ne'er do well.
With regards Fran and similar, if someone gets fixated or can't handle something, you're going to say it's their fault. Superficially, you'd be right. But do we say that about people with agoraphobia, claustrophobia and similar? How about people that are so unable to handle stuff that they take their own lives in preference? Hey, if you can not only survive and do well, it's their choice/fault to die, right?
I think it's pretty clear that Fran has serious issues over this. No-one is going to help by banging on about how it wouldn't and didn't happen to them, so Fran could just get her act together and Do It. No, she can't. If she we able to I have no doubt that she wouldn't be in this situation. It may seem a trivial thing to you to get out of this rut, but clearly it is beyond her, and I don't see that it is necessarily her fault any more than being in the wrong body is her fault.
There are similar regulations in the Netherlands with price caps based on the size & condition of the homes for social housing. There are plans to extend that system to homes rented on the free market as well to lower housing costs for people that rent homes.
These are the people I'm talking about, the ones that refuse to see the options that are in front of their own nose, refuse to try, refuse to prioritize and instead just come up with excuses and reasons that they will fail, before they've even started. If a person won't even try then I have little sympathy when they fail. Of course you will fail if that's what you set out to do.
These are the people I'm talking about, the ones that refuse to see the options that are in front of their own nose, refuse to try, refuse to prioritize and instead just come up with excuses and reasons that they will fail, before they've even started. If a person won't even try then I have little sympathy when they fail. Of course you will fail if that's what you set out to do.
In Fran's case I think she has tried, like in terms of trying to get a loan, multipe times from what I gather, but she seems to have now given up on that and simply says it's not possible.
Add in that she won't consider moving out of Philly, and the situation is now hopeless.
Well, it's not completely hopeless, you can buy a 2000sqft place in Philly for $80k, but, well, here you go:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2524-26-N-27th-St-Philadelphia-PA-19132/10310452_zpid/?
In Fran's case I think she has tried, like in terms of trying to get a loan, multipe times from what I gather, but she seems to have now given up on that and simply says it's not possible.
Add in that she won't consider moving out of Philly, and the situation is now hopeless.
Well, it's not completely hopeless, you can buy a 2000sqft place in Philly for $80k, but, well, here you go:
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/2524-26-N-27th-St-Philadelphia-PA-19132/10310452_zpid/?