tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post1771539639545242676..comments2023-12-30T10:06:37.450+00:00Comments on HousingPANIC - The Housing Bubble Blog with an Attitude Problem, 2005 - 2008: Non-housing thread on cubicles, working fo the man, mortgages, taxes, geo-arbitrage, global living, and life happinessbloggerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06585266242070350399noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-13796562816404783742007-10-11T00:50:00.000+01:002007-10-11T00:50:00.000+01:00d, you go ahead and move your kids ever 2 weeks if...d, you go ahead and move your kids ever 2 weeks if you want...as a therapist all I can tell you is you are hurting them and hurting them badly. <BR/><BR/>There are literally thousands of pages that have been written about this. Almost with no exception, kids in a stable environment have fewer issues when they are adultsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-79021822450727834362007-10-11T00:11:00.000+01:002007-10-11T00:11:00.000+01:00"When I was young my parents moved a lot. I went t..."When I was young my parents moved a lot. I went to 6 schools between 1st and 8th grades. Every year or two I had to make a whole new set of friends in a strage school and a strange city.<BR/><BR/>It sucked ass. I don't have any kids now but if and when I do, I will not do subject them to that kind of life."<BR/><BR/>I like the way people project their life experiences onto everybody else.<BR/><BR/>I went to 7 schools from kindergarten to 7th grade and loved the experience.<BR/><BR/>I've always loved change and meeting new people. I remember my youth vividly because I have easy unmistakable points of reference. For a long time, I thought it was because of these moves that I am comfortable with change but I guess you're just born with itchy feet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-68098622281078386292007-10-10T23:09:00.000+01:002007-10-10T23:09:00.000+01:00I'm 70 now, my wife is 66.We live in the UK, I too...I'm 70 now, my wife is 66.<BR/>We live in the UK, I took early retirement at 55 because I was being being bored out of my skull, my wife and I bought a stone cottage in the country with the money from our town flat. No mortgage, A modest company pension keeps us in essentials, <BR/>I suspect things are going to get tougher with the depletion of fossil fuels and the worsening economic situation so we try to rely as little as possible on stuff that could get scarce/expensive <BR/>We have 12 acres of woodland so free fuel for heating, <BR/>We grow a lot of vegetables and have planted fruit trees and bushes, We have a good stream so we have no water costs and drains are via a septic tank. <BR/>I am planning to use the flow in the stream for electricity generation<BR/>I have a workshop attached to the house and I have just made a new glazed front door which actually fits to my amazement, New windows next.<BR/>No flash cars, we run an ancient Corolla which is no status symbol, but it is paid for.<BR/>In short we don't owe anyone anything. we are moderately self supporting and we intend to do it as long as our health and strength last out, because we are as happy as pigs in shitAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-56417273443330545002007-10-10T22:45:00.000+01:002007-10-10T22:45:00.000+01:00txchic..."LOL. Whatever. Feel sorry for me all you...txchic...<BR/><BR/>"LOL. Whatever. Feel sorry for me all you want. I'll think about all of you in your little cubes or maybe on your 2 hour commute to your drywall palace followed by dinner at Taco Bell and dragging the brats to soccer practice when the market closes and I'm off for a 2 hour bike ride.<BR/><BR/>We've all got issues, bro. Thankfully, mine don't involve being a debt slave like you all."<BR/><BR/>You're the partially the reason why I continue to "populate the world"...gotta neutralize the bad with the good...now off for MY 2 hour mountain bike ride while the spouse gets some quality time with the kiddos.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-73944293034228497522007-10-10T22:43:00.000+01:002007-10-10T22:43:00.000+01:00I get my information from journalists, not biaserd...I get my information from journalists, not biaserd blowhards like Michelle Malkin and Rush Limbaugh. I think it would do your brain (and your blood pressure) a lot of good to do the same. Just the facts, ma'am.<BR/><BR/>"The blogs were "pretty insulting stuff, and really just low," Halsey Frost, Graeme's father, said Tuesday.<BR/><BR/>Bloggers said the house was worth more than $400,000. It turns out it was bought for $55,000 in 1991 in a Baltimore neighborhood where "there were drug dealers and prostitutes on our street," Bonnie Frost said. Halsey Frost, a woodworker, did most of the renovations, which are "still not done," Bonnie said.<BR/><BR/>Bloggers said Graeme and Gemma go to private Park School, where tuition costs about $20,000. Graeme gets a scholarship, while Gemma's brain injuries were so severe that the city pays to educate her at a school for children with disabilities, the couple say.<BR/><BR/>The commercial property, which bloggers noted was bought for $160,000 in 1999, was intended to house Frostworks, Halsey's business. It folded soon after, he said — partly because of the cost of health insurance.<BR/><BR/>He has worked for small companies and is trying to restart his own business. She works part time for a consulting firm. The couple — who have four children in all —earned about $45,000 last year, well below the $55,220 limit for a family of six set under the original SCHIP program. Maryland's program goes higher, to nearly $83,000 for a family of six. "We are struggling," Bonnie Frost said. "We live paycheck to paycheck. "<BR/><BR/>Bloggers who helped circulate financial information about the family over the weekend backed off a bit Tuesday. "It's the difference between Google and journalism," said Rick Moran, who penned a piece for The American Thinker. "It's been proven that the family was means-eligible." His editor, Thomas Lifson, said, "It's just more complicated than might have appeared in the first round of investigation."<BR/><BR/>http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2007-10-09-schip_N.htmAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-82456093533701661532007-10-10T21:00:00.000+01:002007-10-10T21:00:00.000+01:00"To each his or her own with respect to having kid..."To each his or her own with respect to having kids."<BR/><BR/>Finally, a reasonable conclusion to an age old question.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-81034464147782146572007-10-10T20:32:00.000+01:002007-10-10T20:32:00.000+01:00The House is scheduled to vote on this legislation...<B>The House is scheduled to vote on this legislation that would repeal the IRS’s authority to use private debt collection companies, to delay implementation of withholding taxes on government contractors, and to revise the tax rules on expatriation.</B><BR/><BR/>I wonder if it will help or hurt expats ... the tax rules now on expats are so horrific I wouldn't even think of leaving the US. As for repealing private debt collectors, if I were behind on taxes, I'd rather have a debt collector since they have no real power vs. the IRS who has the power to destroy your life.<BR/><BR/><B>now please tell me how wonderful life is living in a 1 bedroom apt, all by yourself but you get to put 60% of your income into savings and you can move tomorrow if you want....to another 1 bedroom apt where you will be all alone</B><BR/><BR/>Where do you clowns get the idea that renters live in 1-br apartments? We (meaing I'm not alone) rent a beautiful McMansion in Newport Coast (the most beautiful and pregistious part of Newport Beach) for pennies on the dollar ... about 40% of what it would cost to "own" to be exact, and prices are still falling here. Those of us who rent in the community at a deep discount LAUGH at the "owners" who bought post-2002 and have to eat ramen just to make the house payments.<BR/><BR/>Would I love to own? YES! I'd like to customize my house, do whatever I want with it, etc., but only a STUPID IDIOT would buy a depreciating asset, on credit to boot, when the price will be lower next year.<BR/><BR/>Would you buy a new car knowing the price will be dropped substantially next year? Me thinks not....<BR/><BR/>PS: Scottsdale sucks and is and always will be a haven for hard-luck losers, shysters and phonies looking for cheap banal living and super-dork loser clubgoers who can't get past the velvet ropes in any other cities. Is that better ? LOLFrank Rhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07625929422222490759noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-2135993768546734812007-10-10T17:08:00.000+01:002007-10-10T17:08:00.000+01:00Moron:That was the family the Democrats used as a ...Moron:<BR/><BR/>That was the family the Democrats used as a prop to show why "poor" people need CHIP. The family, the Frosts own a $485K home, send their kids to private school and own a new SUV.<BR/><BR/>That is the definition of "poor" in today's America.<BR/><BR/>Read a newspaper sometime"<BR/><BR/>If you would read a newspaper rather than listening to Rush and Free Republic fools, you would know that the Frost's home is worth nowhere near the made up 485K figure (they bought it for 50K) and the children go to private school on scholarships which pay for all but $500 a year.<BR/><BR/>The family makes a combined 45K a year. Hardly welfare queens.<BR/><BR/>October 10, 2007 8:24 AM<BR/><BR/><BR/>=========<BR/><BR/>Again, I say moron:<BR/><BR/>Their home is valued at $485K. They own a brand new full sized SUV. Thhey also own a building worth $165K free and clear. <BR/><BR/>But I suppose to a socialis piece of filth like you that qualifies as poor.<BR/><BR/>Now you may return to your dailykos/Michael Moore idiocy.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-60508221257297819132007-10-10T15:08:00.000+01:002007-10-10T15:08:00.000+01:00It's a different world than when you were a kid. M...It's a different world than when you were a kid. My children have made friends all over the country and world, and they keep most of those friends. One plays and chats online with his good friend in the UAE every day. He met his best friend in Kindergarten, and even though they live in different cities, they still see each other at least 4 times a year. Daughter texts her pals in Japan and is planning to spend a holiday with them soon. At age 9, She's been to 4 different schools and has made friends in each that she stays in contact with. Uprooting a child no longer means destroying relationships or having to start from scratch. Family is what grounds you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-25217233982787195692007-10-10T14:11:00.000+01:002007-10-10T14:11:00.000+01:00>> Are you an insecure person who believes that he...>> Are you an insecure person who believes that he is better than other people just because he drives a flashy new car, and that those who drive older vehicles are bums? Man, you are shallow!<BR/><BR/>Another classic empty argument. <BR/><BR/>Anyway...<BR/><BR/>I'm neither insecure nor shallow - just better than all of you, that's all.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-9026864736624842392007-10-10T13:59:00.000+01:002007-10-10T13:59:00.000+01:00When I was young my parents moved a lot. I went to...When I was young my parents moved a lot. I went to 6 schools between 1st and 8th grades. Every year or two I had to make a whole new set of friends in a strage school and a strange city.<BR/><BR/>It sucked ass. I don't have any kids now but if and when I do, I will not do subject them to that kind of life. <BR/><BR/>Those of you who think you are giving your kids a view onto the world, bullshit. Take them on trips all over the world if you wan. Send them on student exchanges. Send them to college internationally. But don't uproot them every year to fulfill your desires of renting and seeing the world.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-51469629149099857272007-10-10T08:40:00.000+01:002007-10-10T08:40:00.000+01:00Thanks for your perspective, formosan80. I'm the o...Thanks for your perspective, formosan80. I'm the one taking my son to Tibet in a couple of months. He also speaks and writes fluent Cantonese and Mandarin thanks to our time in Hong Kong and friendships he's maintained since then (along with a little tutoring). I love seeing this young white boy speak perfect Chinese, and I've never encountered people more appreciative of foreigners speaking their language. I can take my son to China Town in NYC, SF or Chicago, and their eyes light up when he converses with them.<BR/><BR/>I think the best gift I've given him is travel. Don't get me wrong, it is good to have a place to come home to, but we try to travel 6 months out of every year. I know those experiences have really opened his eyes to some of the possibilities and even many of the problems in the world. He is a better person for it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-76533433255755952912007-10-10T08:24:00.000+01:002007-10-10T08:24:00.000+01:00"Moron:That was the family the Democrats used as a..."<BR/>Moron:<BR/><BR/>That was the family the Democrats used as a prop to show why "poor" people need CHIP. The family, the Frosts own a $485K home, send their kids to private school and own a new SUV.<BR/><BR/>That is the definition of "poor" in today's America.<BR/><BR/>Read a newspaper sometime"<BR/><BR/>If you would read a newspaper rather than listening to Rush and Free Republic fools, you would know that the Frost's home is worth nowhere near the made up 485K figure (they bought it for 50K) and the children go to private school on scholarships which pay for all but $500 a year.<BR/><BR/>The family makes a combined 45K a year. Hardly welfare queens.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-12534066963123590402007-10-10T06:44:00.000+01:002007-10-10T06:44:00.000+01:00txchic57 -I agree with you to the extent that kids...txchic57 -<BR/><BR/>I agree with you to the extent that kids are the biggest mistake for people who can't afford them or can't have one parent -- mom or dad -- stay home with them.<BR/><BR/>Our society tends to make people feel like they have no legacy if they have no kids. The book, The Selfish Gene, gave me a new perspective. The genetic legacy fades pretty quickly since your gene contribution halves every generation. The real legacies are "memes" or ideas. Think about it. Do you know much about Mozart's kids or Ben Franklin's kids? Probably not. I don't even know if Washington had biological kids. It's their memes or intellectual contributions that made the legacy, not their genes.<BR/><BR/>To each his or her own with respect to having kids.<BR/><BR/>This thread, in general, is the best one I've read so far. It's really nice to see how people get out of the rat race.<BR/><BR/>Cheers!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-90197792505878294902007-10-10T04:57:00.000+01:002007-10-10T04:57:00.000+01:00txchic57 said...It is far more selfish to continue...txchic57 said...<BR/><BR/><I>It is far more selfish to continue to populate this already oversubscribed world with more average hyperconsumers who will contribute nothing and take much.</I><BR/><BR/>Well, I can think of at least one way that you could stop using up the planetary resources that you're so very concerned about other people using.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-76424677698361403662007-10-10T04:23:00.000+01:002007-10-10T04:23:00.000+01:00Author of two novels. Co-author of an autobiograp...Author of two novels. Co-author of an autobiography. Finishing third novel, and signed to write one more after that. GenX/slacker type: 37 years-old and haven't had a day job in 11 years. Then again, I was a public relations consultant prior to this book thing - how GenX is that? <BR/><BR/>Rent a 3bd, 3ba condo unit with sweeping views of the bay. Stay up working (sort of) until 6am, then sleep most of the day. Drive a 17 year-old Honda (it's in great shape!). <BR/><BR/>Have loads of money in cash and investments, but watching the dollar disintegrate is no picnic. I get paid in British pounds and Euros sometimes - beginning to wonder if I can open an account in Europe somewhere, and leave the money as is, rather than converting it to dollars? <BR/><BR/>Used to travel quite a lot, but acquired powerful phobia of airplanes in the past few years - haven't been on a plane since a Peru trip two years ago, and that was a white-knuckler. <BR/><BR/>Maybe I'll buy a house one day, if the prices come down a lot. I can't really justify it to myself at current levels.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-4098665132468163152007-10-10T04:12:00.000+01:002007-10-10T04:12:00.000+01:00There's nothing wrong with working for other peopl...There's nothing wrong with working for other people. Where people go wrong is when they spend so much of their income that they become dependant on a particular job.<BR/><BR/>I save most of my income because the freedom to leave my job (which, incidentally, I love) is more important to me than any material thing I could buy with it. If I were not financially independant, I would be afraid to take risks. If I were afraid to take risks, I wouldn't be paid more and work less than most of the other people my age in my field.<BR/><BR/>As for the global living... I've wandered a bit, but I've found that scenery doesn't matter much to me. I'd rather stay in the dumpy city I was born in with my friends and family. Of course, that's merely a personal choice and I wouldn't begrudge anyone who'd rather leave for somewhere nicer.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-13193636577861009342007-10-10T03:46:00.000+01:002007-10-10T03:46:00.000+01:00Having a child was the best thing that could have ...Having a child was the best thing that could have happened to me. I was 20 and still in college and it wasn't planned. It forced me to work much harder than I would have otherwise and to start making better financial decisions and life goals. So while my friends were blowing their cash on cars, electronics and clothes, I was establishing good saving habits, good credit and a solid resume.<BR/><BR/>Hard work is second nature to me now. A lot of people my age have Peter Pan syndrome and still can't accept the fact that the world doesn't revolve around them. They can't seem to shake their lazy habits or make the connection that success almost always requires serious effort.<BR/><BR/>I run a business with 30% margins and almost unlimited profit potential (though I stick to 7 figures now because I like to keep things relatively simple).<BR/><BR/>I travel the globe with my son. We'll be spending 2 weeks at Disney World with him and his best friend next month, then on to Tibet for a 30 day hike (yes, he's homeschooled and it is the exact opposite of child abuse). He has brought so much joy into my world. I never would have started this business and nor would I have been motivated to work as hard as possible in those years that many people simply waste. I know it doesn't work out that way for everyone, but I wanted to give a different, more balanced perspective.<BR/><BR/>Societies that value children tend to have the highest quality of life. America is going down hill in part because children are increasingly seen either as an inconvenience or merely miniature consumers.<BR/><BR/>99% of the wealthy people I've met in my life have children, so the idea that they are somehow an anathema to success is entirely without merit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-42818984982870452212007-10-10T03:32:00.000+01:002007-10-10T03:32:00.000+01:00Why does everyone assume that it is a bad thing to...Why does everyone assume that it is a bad thing to uproot your children and move to a different place? One of the best things you can do to a child is to show them that the world is not all the same. Visiting new places is nice, but it is nothing like living in a new place. My parents moved me across the world and now I speak fluent Mandarin Chinese and I have the ability to see my own country in a different light. Kids adapted very quickly... change their surroundings and you'll help them deal with their future: an ever changing global world.Formosanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11517908284207910183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-43579253927868557152007-10-10T03:24:00.000+01:002007-10-10T03:24:00.000+01:00"Why would you want to move so often? OK renting g..."Why would you want to move so often? OK renting gives you the freedom to do it. But shit I have the freedom to jump off a building, doesn't mean I'll do it."<BR/><BR/>------------------<BR/><BR/>No instead, you've chosen to have your ass cemented in concrete for the rest of your days. <BR/><BR/>B-O-R-I-N-G !<BR/><BR/>You get to have the same people, the same situations around from grade school to the time they put you six feet under. I think I'd kill myself at 25 and just get it over with.<BR/><BR/>Didn't you ever want to do, or see, or be more than you were when you were 18 ? No ? <BR/><BR/>Well, congratulations then - a entire life lived stuck in amber like those Jurassic mosquitoes.<BR/><BR/>Yuck.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-73972090775100033002007-10-10T03:21:00.000+01:002007-10-10T03:21:00.000+01:00Anonymous said... My grandmother had 6 kids. She d...Anonymous said... <BR/>My grandmother had 6 kids. She died surrounded by her loved ones.<BR/><BR/>One of my aunts had 8 (yes eight) kids and throughout her ordeal with cancer she was cared for and had somebody keeping her company every day. She didn't die an anonymous patient in a factory hospital. <BR/><BR/>txchic57 will die sad and alone. Nobody will care. Nobody will even notice... until the smell starts bothering the neighbors.<BR/>___________________________<BR/> Anyone of you that thinks having kids will guarantee you an audience of devoted, adoring onlookers at that last second before you meet your maker are in for a rude awakening. <BR/> My aunt works as a social director at a retirement home. You know, the place where you buy an apartment, give them your SS check every month until you die, and your heirs get to sell it back to the retirement company when you croak.<BR/> Of the approximately 120 elderly in her care, she says that she can count on one hand the number who have received a call, or letter, in a year, from a loved one down the generational chain. That's not including birthdays or Christmas of course, but the rest of the year, nothing. <BR/> Open your eyes people, the old question…..who's going to care for you when you are old and gray…..doesn't have the same answer that it used to. That's a terrible reason to have kids in the first place.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-506189708480734562007-10-10T03:17:00.000+01:002007-10-10T03:17:00.000+01:00Pr1, you are dead on about TxChick.A few weeks bac...Pr1, you are dead on about TxChick.<BR/><BR/>A few weeks back she made some very negative statements about the IPO of VM Ware on another board. I bought the stock that day with no hesitation and it has made me a lot of money in a very short amount of time. Turns out she is good for something - a contrarian indicator. Do the opposite of whatever she says and you'll be okay.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-47252894104619712432007-10-10T02:06:00.000+01:002007-10-10T02:06:00.000+01:00txchic57, is married to a lawyer, no wonder she is...txchic57, is married to a lawyer, no wonder she is so bitter. lol<BR/><BR/>I retired at 26, now i'm 48, moved out of florida in 05 after selling my 4 pieces of RE. In dec we will go to florida for the winter,then go on a 4 month cross country trip in may.<BR/><BR/>We have an awesome piece of property on the third cleanest lake in the country. Which went up 200k since aug of 05, it might come down 50k, who cares its' paid for. RE has made it easy for me to retire, not everyone got killed in the RE bubble. I wasn't greedy like most of the population, took my profits and ran.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-63965584523271149582007-10-10T01:34:00.000+01:002007-10-10T01:34:00.000+01:00Is that the same Txchick who was so chuffed at tha...Is that the same Txchick who was so chuffed at that "broke is the new black" line of hers? I never thought it clever, and was baffled at her incessant chatter about it. Sad, really, she is obviously quite miserable to lash out as she did about children. I suppose she has similar disdain for puppies and sunny days.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18675105.post-54106831174570605362007-10-10T01:12:00.000+01:002007-10-10T01:12:00.000+01:00hey Ignacio in Chile,take a chill pill, bro. as l...hey Ignacio in Chile,<BR/><BR/>take a chill pill, bro. as long as your country keeps exporting natural resources to China your long term outlook is good. <BR/><BR/>Macaca.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com