Yes, but they speak English 'at a native level' (your words), so what went wrong in their genetic, linguistic or cultural makeup to end up so impoverished in the wealthiest country on the planet? You do realize that you are posting on an ex pat teachers forum, where many if not most here have turned their back on the kind of post office worker mentality that you are hard selling.Originally Posted by Thinkingofachange
i always think of poor old lisa and dan, my friends in canada who invested everything they have in their ugly toronto dwelling. they work, they saved, they did everything that was expected of a nice smart middle class family. and now their ugly house is worth less than they paid for it, after sinking 100k cdn into it. ten years of sacrifice, to end up broke.
and then i think of stupid cousin mark who was a cocaine addict for much of his life which destroyed his marriage and career prospex. then his old bastard of a dad dies and leaves him half a million dollars.
or old libby who religiously piled up a quarter of a million usd for her retirement. well didn't her daughter hit the road face first and lose her investments and with old libby being the co-signer, hmm, meow mix on the menu tonight!
life isn't fair. if you have good fortune you should be thankful and not be shitting on people who weren't as well bred and basking in opportunity.
They are over-leveraged due to privileging consumption over savings.
I'm not selling a post office worker; it's possible to live frugally and save enough to retire in 5 years if you know what you're doing. I certainly haven't followed a path of living for 40 years for the gold watch and company pension.
UWS, UES or Oakland Gardens?
You're not comparing like with like. Take my friend and me, both of whom were raised in low-income housing projects in one of the most anti-intellectual and impoverished cities in the U.S. He got his girlfriend pregnant at 16 and wound up living in a room he rented from a skinhead. I wound up with a Ph.d., a professorship, and modest savings. We both came from the same exact socio-economic background and had the same amount of family support (zero; I funded my studies through loans and scholarships).
Of course there are enormous inequities in the modern economy, particularly in America. That doesn't justify spending two decades of income on beer and women, and it doesn't mean that the person who does is as admirable as the person who lives more frugally and plans for the future.
well i'm very proud of you toac, a shame though that among all your accomplishments generosity was not one of them.
---Update---
and if your background is as you say it is, you of all people should be aware that the playing field is not level, that most people are not exceptional as you, most people are not as clever as you are, and priggish punitive perspectives are not becoming to one so wonderfully gifted.
Well, what do you mean by generosity? Do you mean sympathy or actual charity? I think the only way to give back to my lower middle class/working class compatriots is to educate them about the importance of education, financial planning, and the various employment and business opportunities available around the world. I don't think saying "oh poor baby" on a forum really does much.
---Update---
Should I sympathize with stupidity? If so, why?
He was a teacher for 20 years. Respect earned. Why can't you say where you live in NYC? I know a guy from my old neighborhood who never moved out of his parents' house and he's 55 years old - is that what you mean by living frugally?
well dood, a douche is a douche. douche out!
Teaching English/EFL/ESL outside a major industrialized nation, for starters.
I moved to NYC a year ago into an apartment that I paid for in cash and I haven't lived with my parents since I was 16.
Why does being a teacher for 20 years qualify someone for respect, yet you don't respect postal workers?
---Update---
Done that and I may do it again. But if you think most people are teaching English in Thailand out of the goodness of their hearts, you're hysterical.
less than 200 posts and he's douched himself out already.
So you had housing handed in to you and now you are bragging that you made it? Would you be able to do the same thing in Thailand?
I'm not bragging and I don't feel like I made it. I'm certainly not wealthy.
And technically, my parents had housing handed to them. If that negates my point, then so be it.
Why not say 'coop?' I'm gonna guess Long Island City or somewhere in Queens, a sensible choice and easily accessible to the museums and cultural attractions of the city you've saved a lifetime to explore and enjoy.
Mazel tov!
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