Quote:
Originally Posted by mookiemookie
No, it absolutely is not. That statement is a joke. I have good friends in NYC and none of them have two Audis and a Porsche.
He's living a luxury lifestyle he can't afford, and he's whining about having to cut back on luxury items...his perspective is completely FUBAR'd and he's coming off like a spoiled brat. That's the bottom line.
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I have loads of friends in NYC. Agreed, none have 3 cars. So what? 350k is middle class in NYC (upper middle class), and it is pretty common for people that have humble apartments to also have a vacation house, or at least rent one. My friends in Chelsea are 2 income (both guys), one a IT guy for a large hospital, the other a lawyer. They live in a studio they own (~800 ft^2, about the size of the hotel suite we get in NYC when we visit them). Their building fees alone are like $1500/mo. The two have a combined income of 200-something. High 200s I bet. They own a small house on long island (fire island?). They have what I would call a middle class life, but if they had 3 kids? They'd be lower middle class at best (they'd not have the cottage, either). Note, my middle class includes THREE KIDS. 2 gay guys on 350k is totally different from 5 people on the same income.
Again, I said I didn't like the guy at the start. Still don't. I don't think he's the biggest jerk on earth though, and I don't understand the abject
hatred. I don't think he deserves a whipping, etc. He pays more than his fair share of taxes. Looks like he pays more than twice his share (per capita budget times family members). The cars? Again, he doesn't need 3, but kids in the ghetto don't need expensive sneakers, either. People in 2012 "live large" compared to our parents, regardless of income level. A roof, heat, water, and food are it for necessities, right? His contributions to democrats are also luxuries, right?
Again, why is he a spoiled jerk, and teachers complaining bitterly about a lower RAISE in an environment with huge unemployment NOT jerks?
Given the subject guy is in fact a democrat, maybe he's "taking one for the team" to keep the 1% meme alive? Dunno. I'm not defending him, per se, but the idea that anyone making 350k who has an unexpected loss of income somehow has no problems. I said I don't think they live within their means in my first post. They need to dump 1 car, anyway, possibly 2. Vacation home rental? Furnished probably around 4 grand a month would be my guess. Expensive, but cheaper for a month than a single week on a "real" vacation, and dad can still work and commute (train down to Norwalk, then transfer to GCS). The alternative in NYC is likely summer programs to occupy the kids. The cost for 3 kids per month for that would completely be offset by a rental (it's over a grand per month for
good summer kid programs here in ABQ, gotta be more in NYC).
I frankly don't see how he can afford the stated luxuries even with his 60k bonus he usually got. If the cars are new that's 3-4 grand a month right there. There's not 50k slop in his stated budget. The 32k for private school for one kid... again, dunno his public schools. He should move to CT and solve all his problems (he could get a house at least twice the size of their apartment for 5-600k in a town with good schools).