Fair enough. I'd love to live in a million dollar home that I own and collect 4K a month in rent.

You don't understand real estate.

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Freak Out Tóng Zhì

One of the surgeons I work with's wife owns and runs a medical manufacturing company that makes equipment for ORs and surgical supplies, etc. They live in a ginormous house on the water and have a private jet. Very down to earth, humble people. I mean the surgeon still works mad hours, which tells you how important it is to him to help people.

One of my closest friends' family business is commercial land development. She and her brothers and sisters all went to private schools in the states and all that rot. They own exotic cars and their mother lives in a big ole mansion. She is one of the most down to earth people I know as well.

The area is grew up was wealthy. Some of those guys that I would go to school with has parents that were successful business owners and worth tens of millions.

However, whats interesting is the children of these parents, So im 23, and abut half of the kids from wealthy to extreme wealthy backgrounds have landed good jobs at big companies. No dount some due to parents connections, others due to hard work.

Now the other half of my friend group has essentially done nothing. They dropped out of college, some heavily addicted to drugs, and work jobs they are not too happy with or have no jobs at all. There is something to be learned as a parents about not giving your child everything he/she wants and taking an active role in being very cognizant of whom your kids hangs around.

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Truth is A Peculiar Thing

Vote green

As someone mentioned earlier though, happiness for the wealthy is very often relative and depends on your "anchor"

If anyone hasnt read "Predictably Irrational" , there was a pretty good chapter on a phenomenon called "arbitrary coherence" and happiness as a relative construct.

When transparency in salaries and income being required by law, the assumptive logic was that the disparity between the Officers and the normal staff would cause officers to choose to cut their pay salaries....... however what happened was that the disparity rapidly increased because CEOs were comparing themselves to other CEOs , deriving satisfaction and to some degree "worth" based on if they made more money than others,

It is why the rich envy the super rich

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Truth is A Peculiar Thing

quote:

Originally posted by Jon_Snow '94 Fiat' gee lira I didn't realize you're that poor

You think that's bad? I've been cycling to work since someone stole (!) it from me last year... And I'm not even Dutch

(Seriously though, I'm a graduate student from a middle-income country, what exactly did you expect? )

quote:

Originally posted by Godking5 If anyone hasnt read "Predictably Irrational"

Definitely a good (and accessible) book

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Indiana Clones Upcoming Sets
[ I May Upload Something Someday ]

quote:

Originally posted by Lira You think that's bad? I've been cycling to work since someone stole (!) it from me last year... And I'm not even Dutch

Why do bad things happen to good ppl? Don't feel bad I totaled my car and driving my sister's 01 Saab until I get back on my feet.

quote:

Originally posted by Jon_Snow Why do bad things happen to good ppl? Don't feel bad I totaled my car and driving my sister's 01 Saab until I get back on my feet.

Good thing no one got hurt

But, yeah, same here, I'll be buying a car soon. Although, to be honest, I feel tempted to keep cycling for a while because over the course of 6 weeks I've lost a third of the weight I gained during my PhD (gained 45 pounds, lost 15).

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Indiana Clones Upcoming Sets
[ I May Upload Something Someday ]

Get a moped cough Macklemore video.

quote:

Originally posted by Lira I've lived near wealthy people most of my life, having grown up in a posh neighbourhood of Brasilia. Boats are an common sighting in the lake here (only two coastal cities have more boats than us), and I lived in what's called "The Ministers' Peninsula" for a couple of years - that's where most local politicians live. It was funny to overtake Ferraris with my '94 Fiat Uno as they struggled with speed bumps... But it always seemed surreal. Brazil has just become a middle-income country, yet these people lived in an altogether different world. I guess that's why I've never befriended any of them (never had the opportunity) - we just don't live in the same world, even when we are just a few metres apart

I always get this cultural shock when I go to Brazil, there are some places that I would go to with childhood friends my neighborhood that my cousins from the wealthier sides of the family would never go to. And I always get looked as a gringo with cash now, when i'm actually broke.

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