Quote Originally Posted by PennyQuilts View Post
I couldn't have afforded any of those things when I was young and that wasn't all that long ago. A date night was something that requried us to save up for for about a month. We took a vacation about every five years other than camping or visiting family (if we were lucky). Actually, that is somewhat of an exaggeration. Took a cruise my dad paid for when I was 18. Went to Northern California when I was 39. That's pretty much it. We just didn't have the money for it and spending it on a vacation when there were bills to pay was just not done. That is just the way it was for those of us on a budget. I've bought one new car in my life and can't imagine ever buying another one. I still think that was a stupid move. Paying big-time to be entertained seemed sort of self indulgent. But I will say that we tended to eat out a lot as the kids got older and that was expensive. Probably cost more than we needed to pay...............The different expectations of what is normal probably has something to do with why the twenty somethings are so frustrated and many of the old timers just don't "get" why any of that is even on the radar. The older ones who do "get" it are probably the ones who know they are going to make money off the deal.

You have to understand, that we live in a post baby boom world. People in my demographic (I am 29) are a lot less likely to have children then their parents generation or the generation prior to that. A lot of these people, are living on either 1 healthy sized professional salary and are single, or they are DINK's like me and my wife (Dual Income No Kids). We are financially responsible, have very low debt and spend money very wisely. But, a lot of us place lifestyle purchases such as restaurants, fine food and beverages, clothing, and art on a higher priority level than previous generations. As for me, these expenditures are a substantial part of why I don't have kids. Also, those things are a lot of the reason we think about moving to a larger market. We are both creative class people, and we would make a lot more money, and have much better access to "cultural" amenities in a city like Austin, chicago, or even Nashville. It's not about looking rich or having status symbols, it's about growing up in a world where all of the worlds culture, art, and information is at hands reach all the time (via iPhones and computers), and having a lust for "new" and "different" things. I love this city, I am born and raised here, but anyone who thinks we have all that a young person could want, is SERIOUSLY wrong.