My parents are visiting from Europe and in the past everything seemed doable. Food, clothes, electronics it all seemed attainable. Now we are staying home and I can’t take them to all the interesting places my city has to offer. I could but it has become so expensive that it’s painful to do it. It’s not just food. I used to be able to go on a Black Friday haul and get 10-20 pieces for under $200. Now I feel like it’s a good deal to get a jacket for sub $100.
I’m sure I’m seeing things through a biased lens. I want to argue that moving to a bigger city is the only cause but having moved here from LA, it shouldn’t be that different. Then again things in LA aren’t cheap anymore either. Cars are hard to come by, if you find them they’re expensive, used cars are super expensive. Rent in a major city seems to be $2500 for a shoebox, houses are insanely expensive. Supposedly everyone has so much money, demand is so high, why am I feeling like I can barely get by? It’s extremely hard to be motivated when I feel like the current state of things is that those who have have but it’s not possible to get there anymore.
Anyways… just curious if it’s just me or if you monkeys are also feeling this way.
Personally, I've used it as a reminder that maybe I don't need these things to begin with, and that maybe I should move to either a more affordable city or eschew cramped city life altogether.
I don't think you're wrong and while this explanation is theoretical, I think we're essentially reverting back to the mean a bit in terms of our quality of life in America versus other countries. My parents are originally from a third world country and even though my extended family is just as educated (arguably moreso) than my parents, the quality of life my parents have given me is exponentially better than than my cousins, much of which can be attributed to the fact that my parents immigrated to the US and theirs did not. Simple things like international travel are prohibitively expensive for them because their currency has depreciated horribly versus others while the dollar has remained relatively stable, or even increased in times of economic plight. Not to mention I was a bit of a lazy ass in high school, but still managed to build a good life for myself because we have so many options for second chances in America. Meanwhile, my cousins' futures are pretty much make-or-break depending on an exam score that will allow them into one of a handful of colleges that have any name brand inside or outside of the country.
Now obviously, part of my family's success was also due to factors in my family's control (i.e. hardwork, choosing the right field to earn a living, taking a calculated risk to strike out on their own, etc.), but even if we eliminate the fact that my cousins are in a third-world country, Americans' QOL on average is much higher than other first world equivalents in Europe, etc. Unless I met the wrong people during my travels, most people in Europe, even well-to-do types, aren't exactly owning property or even renting a spacious, luxury apartment with a pool, etc. either. I think a lot of the world realized how "easy" it was to build a high QOL in America once they immigrated during the 90s/early-2000s that the US is basically saturated with talent and it's become a lot more competitive now to have that "easy" high quality of life that we once had.
This theory is obviously incomplete, but my point is I didn't realize until I started working and seeing how my cousins are faring versus myself how "easy" my life here and how much opportunity there is. As such, I think it's inevitable that our standard of living will decline for multiple reasons and I think we're only beginning to see some of the cracks in the system materialize over the last few years.
I think you're right that "easy wealth" is over. Everyone can still achieve what they want but it's a lot harder. I also agree that the U.S. prime is over. That being said that still doesn't explain how on a macro level it looks as if people have crazy buying power. It does seem like everyone is able to pay for what they want and more.
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