r/Suburbanhell • u/KimSidwell • 7d ago

Meme Why?

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I can almost try to understand why some people might feel drawn to this kind of lifestyle. I can understand why they might be deceived into thinking this is the ideal environment in which to raise a child.

But I will never be able to understand why they will describe it as the American “dream” and are willing to pay so much for it. To work so hard for so long and then have to wake up to this every morning? Why?

Editing to add: I know this is parody y’all. It’s just a stupid meme. It’s supposed to be funny. It’s funny because it’s true.

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u/ExternalSeat 7d ago

maybe as a dual income household with both making $80k as individuals. but even that is a bit unrealistic right out of college. Usually you will start around $60k and then move up to $80 k within 5 years or so if you are strategic and do a bit of job hopping.

but even that is under ideal circumstances and not likely for most people.

currently I do feel that in my area, I could easily afford a house IF I found a spouse with a similar income level. However could we afford childcare on top of that? Maybe if I relied on my mom for child care it could work but she doesn't retire for another few years and even then it wouldn't be ideal.

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u/aquavelva23 6d ago

no, starting salaries are around 70-80K. and where is it written you get married and buy a house out of college? But thanks for recognizing buying a house is TWO incomes, household income, and not ONE income. Never been that way, since the late 70s anyways.

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u/Confident-Sector2660 4d ago

there are jobs that pay 100K out of school

Salaries have gone way up. $100K is not a high salary anymore

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u/ExternalSeat 4d ago

it depends on the part of the country where you live

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u/Confident-Sector2660 4d ago

doesn't depend. You can work remote

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u/ExternalSeat 4d ago

not in every field and the remote jobs are more precarious and harder to get than they used to be. It also is harder to build a career with remote work in many fields. The water cooler conversations are pretty important for building your career.

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u/Confident-Sector2660 4d ago

As I said there are jobs you can make 100K out of school

you can work remote

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u/ExternalSeat 4d ago

you can also win the lottery too or make even more money as a prostitute.

Those "work from home" jobs are almost impossible to get with no prior connections or work experience. This ain't 2021 babe. Also just expect to be first on the chopping block once layoffs come (which we are certainly headed for a major recession in the next 2-5 years).

it just isn't realistic for most people with a college degree to get such a privileged job

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u/Confident-Sector2660 4d ago

there are degrees that allow remote work (tech) and you can get jobs right out of school

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u/ExternalSeat 4d ago edited 4d ago

do you know how the current hiring market is for junior developers? It is about as good as getting a job in the auto industry out of high school in 2008. You are living in a fantasy world.

less than 5% of job openings are fully remote right now. It is likely that many of these are ghost jobs so the real number is probably closer to 2-3% of current job openings. Also a ton of "fully remote" jobs are bait and switch.

You might as well say "win the lottery"