Surely there are communities other than the SF area that don't think God hates Harry Potter! We could have lived well on mr flea's then salary alone in Thomaston CT (where we did live for two years), a small town with middling to average (but neither horrible nor dangerous) public schools, a decent percentage of blue-collar workers, somewhat depressed financially, but not particularly small-minded. The public library, where I volunteered, was big on Harry Potter. The sacrifices would have been things like a 45-minute drive to thai food, no public transportation at all, distance from cities and cultural events more scintillating than local community theater. But it had two Dunkin' Donuts!
I was trying to get at the mindset of people who can't live without their annual caribbean vacation, couldn't fathom only owning one car, have to have at least one bathroom per household member. I think that there are more people who feel this way than are willing to admit it. Or if there aren't a lot, they all do seem to show up on the pages of the New York Times, like the woman in an article about home decor who said, "If my child wants a toy that doesn't look good in our apartment, he can't have it."
Forgoing health or life insurance is not a sacrifice; it's a hardship. The Social Security issue for the spouse is an issue that hits me in point 3.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2006-02-07 08:05 pm (UTC)I was trying to get at the mindset of people who can't live without their annual caribbean vacation, couldn't fathom only owning one car, have to have at least one bathroom per household member. I think that there are more people who feel this way than are willing to admit it. Or if there aren't a lot, they all do seem to show up on the pages of the New York Times, like the woman in an article about home decor who said, "If my child wants a toy that doesn't look good in our apartment, he can't have it."
Forgoing health or life insurance is not a sacrifice; it's a hardship. The Social Security issue for the spouse is an issue that hits me in point 3.