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Single family home ownership is discretionary spending. If you want to maximize your economic outcome, you live in a tiny studio apartment and invest the difference in the stock market.
Personally, I have no interest in living in a tiny studio apartment. I have no problem flinging a slice of my discretionary income at a single family home remodeled to my taste that improves my quality of life. I am long past wanting to project manage owning a large house on a large lot but I've spent huge piles of remodeling money to have the amenities I want. As an investment, I know I won't see 30 cents on the dollar if I ever needed to sell but I plan to retire in the house.
If you have children, what matters most is the quality of the school system. Most towns with outstanding school systems have very little rental stock. They're good school systems because virtually all the parents are college educated professionals who are fully engaged in their children's education. If you don't reproduce, by all means live in a city apartment or condo walkable to everything. If you can't envision yourself living there for at least a decade, it makes far more sense to rent than to buy a condo since the selling costs are high and you give up all the flexibility when you have to sell it.
I work full-time in a college town (where I also attended college) and I employ mostly college-students part-time (MAX 25 hours per week; most are 12 hours per week or less....and that's a stretch for most of them)
I call total BS on this whole "you can work full-time while in college to pay for tuition.." mantra.
Even if you don't factor in the huge financial disparity in what someone with a high school diploma can earn vs. what each year of college tuition (even in-state at a public instiution)+ living expenses costs......there is NO TIME for those to overlap.
With class schedules, much-needed extra curriculars, labs, papers, exams....there's not a chance in hell a full-time student is working a full-time job.
No employer is going to hire someone full-time who is attending in-person classes full-time.
If you go to one of those inspirational online colleges you see infomercials for and earn your degree online...maybe. But those places aren't exactly known for turning into a lucrative career.
I will openly admit I was only able to comfortably purchase a home (again, a very modest condo that I purchased for $110k) at the age of 27 because I was fortunate enough (read; privileged) to come from a well-off family and had all of my tuition and living expenses paid during college and also got a decent inheritance from a grandparent a few years ago that covered about half of the down-payment .
With a salary of just under $40k I'm actually in pretty great financial shape compared to most folks my age; and am basically at bottom of the "homeownership" hierarchy.
It costs a fortune because of the massive demand to live there. People from al over the world dream of living in places like Manhattan, not Charlotte. Sure living quarters are small because that is part of urban life. When you live urban you're spending most of your time out doing things in the city. The apartment is basically just a place to sleep. There are people out there who absolutely love living in NYC and are willing to basically live out a closet to do so.
An NYC lifestyle is a huge change from most anywhere else in the country.
I have a cousin I didn't know about until a few years ago who lives in NYC. She has a small 1 BR, not sure what borough, but it's a nice enough unit. However, she is never home - big into plays, going out with friends, she met Jake Gyllenhaal yesterday, always meeting some celebrity, etc.
She doesn't drive (does not know how) and takes Amtrak to other places in BOSWASH. I would never want to live that kind of lifestyle, but it's what some people dream of.
we have no desire to live in manhattan . but we like living in our area of queens very much .
so much so that we sold our home in the pocono's we we were going to retire to and retired right here in queens . there isn't a day where we can't find something new to do between manhattan , westchester and long island
I work full-time in a college town (where I also attended college) and I employ mostly college-students part-time (MAX 25 hours per week; most are 12 hours per week or less....and that's a stretch for most of them)
I call total BS on this whole "you can work full-time while in college to pay for tuition.." mantra.
Even if you don't factor in the huge financial disparity in what someone with a high school diploma can earn vs. what each year of college tuition (even in-state at a public instiution)+ living expenses costs......there is NO TIME for those to overlap.
With class schedules, much-needed extra curriculars, labs, papers, exams....there's not a chance in hell a full-time student is working a full-time job.
No employer is going to hire someone full-time who is attending in-person classes full-time.
If you go to one of those inspirational online colleges you see infomercials for and earn your degree online...maybe. But those places aren't exactly known for turning into a lucrative career.
I will openly admit I was only able to comfortably purchase a home (again, a very modest condo that I purchased for $110k) at the age of 27 because I was fortunate enough (read; privileged) to come from a well-off family and had all of my tuition and living expenses paid during college and also got a decent inheritance from a grandparent a few years ago that covered about half of the down-payment .
With a salary of just under $40k I'm actually in pretty great financial shape compared to most folks my age; and am basically at bottom of the "homeownership" hierarchy.
Depends on the school. Some schools or programs are more rigorous than others, and will demand more time. I was in business school at a regional state university, and could have worked for full time, though it would have been difficult.
The big problem is finding an employer willing to work around a student's changing schedule.
City Colleges have been free for low income folks for long time after tuition assistance, Fed grants, and even scholarships. The problem is poor people need income in order to live and they have to start working once they're out of HS. That's why many folks dropout, they can't afford to live in NYC. I remember many folks that went to city college virtually free took out a student loan to buy their Honda Civic instead of paying for school they got a car instead. Student loans aren't exactly low interest either and one of the worst loans to have for depreciating asset.
I work full-time in a college town (where I also attended college) and I employ mostly college-students part-time (MAX 25 hours per week; most are 12 hours per week or less....and that's a stretch for most of them)
I call total BS on this whole "you can work full-time while in college to pay for tuition.." mantra.
Even if you don't factor in the huge financial disparity in what someone with a high school diploma can earn vs. what each year of college tuition (even in-state at a public instiution)+ living expenses costs......there is NO TIME for those to overlap.
With class schedules, much-needed extra curriculars, labs, papers, exams....there's not a chance in hell a full-time student is working a full-time job.
No employer is going to hire someone full-time who is attending in-person classes full-time.
If you go to one of those inspirational online colleges you see infomercials for and earn your degree online...maybe. But those places aren't exactly known for turning into a lucrative career.
I will openly admit I was only able to comfortably purchase a home (again, a very modest condo that I purchased for $110k) at the age of 27 because I was fortunate enough (read; privileged) to come from a well-off family and had all of my tuition and living expenses paid during college and also got a decent inheritance from a grandparent a few years ago that covered about half of the down-payment .
With a salary of just under $40k I'm actually in pretty great financial shape compared to most folks my age; and am basically at bottom of the "homeownership" hierarchy.
When I was in college and majoring in engineering, admittedly many years ago, it took 80 hours a week just to keep up with the course load. One 5 credit class required 3 hours of lecture, 2 hours of recitation, 3 hours of lab and 15 hours of homework a week. The required course load was 18 credits a term, because if you didn't graduate in 4 years they would cancel your student deferment and you would be on your way to VietNam. For a while I polished test tubes on work-study for 5 hours a week, but even that was more time than I had. I was fortunate that there were mickey mouse classes like Economics where I could read the book show up for midterms, write a paper and get an A.
Working even part time was an impossibility. I certainly hope there are majors today that are as demanding. Students who put in the work deserve financial support. I don't have any heirs, so when I croak my money goes to a scholarship fund for the academically excellent but financially dismal.
Depends on the school. Some schools or programs are more rigorous than others, and will demand more time. I was in business school at a regional state university, and could have worked for full time, though it would have been difficult.
The big problem is finding an employer willing to work around a student's changing schedule.
The more rigorous the program (and the more prestigious the school/program is) the better the odds are of getting a good job, which is the whole reason for being in college in the first place so that you can escape working at the "full time job" you can get with a high school diploma. Otherwise why even do it.
The end game is getting out from under working for a low brow Neanderthal boss doing some crap job for low pay.
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