I just stumbled across your Substack and love it. This post especially hit home--I worked for six years at a large, international law firm chasing the brass ring. COVID helped create some space to think more seriously about what kind of life my family and I wanted. We moved West to be near family, and over the past two years have bought eight Jiffy Lubes. There was lots to like about being a lawyer, but owning Jiffy Lubes beats it every day.
I laughed out loud (and so did my wife) at the following line: "But I have never seen a character in a romantic comedy say something like 'find you a man who owns 15 Jiffy Lubes.'"
This is what my immigrant grandparents did a century ago. They were farmers, so they bought land. Then they built duplexes on some of that land for income. Their children (including my dad) went to college. But they inherited those duplexes which they used for income . My dad in turn helped me buy my house and put money in a college fund for my children. There was enough $$ left to help my daughter put a down payment on a condo.
My grandparents decisions to invest in property has benefitted four generations (and counting) of our family.
Sorry to hear you got Covid Jim. I got it back in June and am still feeling the effects.
I don't fully agree that the post argues that "the pathway to a successful life is via a well-paying job that affords you nice amenities" ... Within the framework, you might decide that "career" and "money" aren't what you prioritise, and move to somewhere else. It's harder to do in the US, that's for sure, but more and more people are realising the American Dream isn't quite what was promised (Paul Millerd at Boundless has been touching on this recently).
I wrote about my own realisation of this when we lived in SF, and how it took me on quite a different life path here.
I just stumbled across your Substack and love it. This post especially hit home--I worked for six years at a large, international law firm chasing the brass ring. COVID helped create some space to think more seriously about what kind of life my family and I wanted. We moved West to be near family, and over the past two years have bought eight Jiffy Lubes. There was lots to like about being a lawyer, but owning Jiffy Lubes beats it every day.
I laughed out loud (and so did my wife) at the following line: "But I have never seen a character in a romantic comedy say something like 'find you a man who owns 15 Jiffy Lubes.'"
This is what my immigrant grandparents did a century ago. They were farmers, so they bought land. Then they built duplexes on some of that land for income. Their children (including my dad) went to college. But they inherited those duplexes which they used for income . My dad in turn helped me buy my house and put money in a college fund for my children. There was enough $$ left to help my daughter put a down payment on a condo.
My grandparents decisions to invest in property has benefitted four generations (and counting) of our family.
Sorry to hear you got Covid Jim. I got it back in June and am still feeling the effects.
I don't fully agree that the post argues that "the pathway to a successful life is via a well-paying job that affords you nice amenities" ... Within the framework, you might decide that "career" and "money" aren't what you prioritise, and move to somewhere else. It's harder to do in the US, that's for sure, but more and more people are realising the American Dream isn't quite what was promised (Paul Millerd at Boundless has been touching on this recently).
I wrote about my own realisation of this when we lived in SF, and how it took me on quite a different life path here.
https://www.thenewfatherhood.org/p/you-are-not-your-job