What do your neighbors do for a living?

[Maserson]

Wow... The block parties on your street must be epic!

Hah yeah. Upside is less cars so feels less dense.

 

[bones]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

 

[nosuchreality]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

 

[bones]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

Ha.  Everyone is just rolling it in selling Rodan and fields (free lexus babyyy), day trading, & side hustling - all on top of their awesomely flexible work from home 2 hours a day W-2 job.

 

[someguy]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

I think there's a lot of "new to Irvine" residents that are doing better than fine financially.  I believe it because they're sporting luxury clothing and accessories, high 5 to 6 figure cars (even for their kids), wandering around the city at 10am on a Monday, and are apparently fond of paying all cash for houses.

Loans have apparently been pretty strict this past decade, so I would be surprised if a significant number of mortgaged home buyers have managed to drown themselves in debt, but it's definitely possible with some unforeseen negative life events or a series of unfortunate financial decisions.  I can believe there's a fair amount of renters who are getting stretched financially too. 

But overall I think the financial "okay" to "unreal" category vastly outweighs the financially "stretched" category in Irvine.

 

[someguy]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

 

[nosuchreality]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

Ha.  Everyone is just rolling it in selling Rodan and fields (free lexus babyyy), day trading, & side hustling - all on top of their awesomely flexible work from home 2 hours a day W-2 job.

No, not what I meant.  90% are broke. Those well known side hustles aren't the path to riches.  Educated professionals are in a better boat, but even for many of them the numbers don't add up.  I'm surprise at the amount of money I see in some alternative roles, the money though is more like athlete money, for everyone one making it, 100s fail.

 

[bones]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

Ha.  Everyone is just rolling it in selling Rodan and fields (free lexus babyyy), day trading, & side hustling - all on top of their awesomely flexible work from home 2 hours a day W-2 job.

No, not what I meant.  90% are broke. Those well known side hustles aren't the path to riches.  Educated professionals are in a better boat, but even for many of them the numbers don't add up.  I'm surprise at the amount of money I see in some alternative roles, the money though is more like athlete money, for everyone one making it, 100s fail.

I know - guess the sarcasm didn't come through.  I do admire the work from home a few hours a day type of jobs that a lot of irvine dads seems to have

 

[Burn That Belly]

x

 

[nosuchreality]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

Ha.  Everyone is just rolling it in selling Rodan and fields (free lexus babyyy), day trading, & side hustling - all on top of their awesomely flexible work from home 2 hours a day W-2 job.

No, not what I meant.  90% are broke. Those well known side hustles aren't the path to riches.  Educated professionals are in a better boat, but even for many of them the numbers don't add up.  I'm surprise at the amount of money I see in some alternative roles, the money though is more like athlete money, for everyone one making it, 100s fail.

I know - guess the sarcasm didn't come through.  I do admire the work from home a few hours a day type of jobs that a lot of irvine dads seems to have

  I'm slow today.  Yea, I've seen some interesting stuff there too. 

 

[Happiness]

I like all the hardworking highly educated Asian women supporting their lazy white husbands.

 

[bones]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

Mid 20s is probably fine since DINKS.  But for mid 30s, $150k is rough.  Even $200k is rough.  Hard to move up.  I guess that's why the market is saturated with $1.3m+ homes.
- 2x private preschool tuition
- fancy cars
- trips to aulani
- all sorts of lessons (kumon, tkd, gymnastics, swim, piano, etc, etc)
- expensive hobbies (studio workout classes, expensive road bikes, expensive guns, fancy handbags, etc, etc)

 

[bones]

I like all the hardworking highly educated Asian women supporting their lazy white mexican husbands.

fixed that for ya

 

[eyephone]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

The problem I think is greed and a behavior of ?keeping up with the joneses?. The folks don?t want to buy the $600-700k boxes which the $150K couple can afford because that stucco box is like 3 story tall and tandem garage. They don?t want to make sacrifices. There are plenty of starter homes in WB and PS that have undesired floor plans at a premium discount but most people don?t like them. Too bad though because the train keeps moving and they?ll need to spend more but they can?t save faster.

The only solution? Bring back no PMI 0% down again.

Google the words: Non prime loan
 

 

[Bullsback]

At the end of the day assume that the fancy lives of "the Joneses" is not all it's cracked up to be. Most are drowning in debt, living paycheck to paycheck and probably have a close to negative net worth.

I may get some heat for saying this but this is how I rationalize how some people ?make it work? in Irvine.  The numbers just don?t add up.  And yes, obviously I don?t know everyone?s real situation down to the nitty gritty but u get to know families and it?s puzzling.

True.  There's also a large cash economy and surprising amount of money being made non-degreed professionals and a whole lot of fail too.  It's kind of the other half of the bread and circuses economy we have.  i.e. The kids pimping the energy  drink line, underground party promoters, some DJs, even pot trimmers if they're good can make $100/hr. cash.  There's a lot of money flowing keeping the circus running.  Not to mention nail salons.

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

Ha.  Everyone is just rolling it in selling Rodan and fields (free lexus babyyy), day trading, & side hustling - all on top of their awesomely flexible work from home 2 hours a day W-2 job.

No, not what I meant.  90% are broke. Those well known side hustles aren't the path to riches.  Educated professionals are in a better boat, but even for many of them the numbers don't add up.  I'm surprise at the amount of money I see in some alternative roles, the money though is more like athlete money, for everyone one making it, 100s fail.

It is why I won't be surprised when the state or county will have to step in and do something drastic. It is not a sustainable path to having a good economy / workforce within the area. Top talent will eventually leave. It is not right when you can't get high quality entry level people to stay in an area, etc. And for people who don't think it happens, look at Alliance Bernstein relocating everyone but their Investment professional out of NY to Tennessee.  That is a high paying financial company moving out of NY to a much lower cost area. 

I don't like having my analysts / staff (very competent individuals, some with MBA's etc) not having a pathway to home ownership, etc. It is not a sustainable model. Yes, its great to housing to rise for those that own...but no one is leveraging that unless they move out of state or eventually move  into a smaller place.  Having all of your wealth in a house is an inefficient use of "wealth".  I'd rather have more affordable housing that enables people to live here and put money into other ventures, etc. 

 

[bones]

Having all of your wealth in a house is an inefficient use of "wealth".  I'd rather have more affordable housing that enables people to live here and put money into other ventures, etc. 

100% agree.  But people love doing this.  Someone I know bought low in the WOK, cashed out last year big time and rolled it all into a $3.5m+ place in Irvine.  Needless to say, that person is constantly stressed out right now. 

 

[someguy]

However, if the household is just educated professionals working regular jobs, lots doesn't add up.

A pair of educated professionals should have no problem earning 200k between the two of them.  Even 150k for a pair of mid 20s educated professionals is doable.  Isn't that enough to afford a modest stucco box in Irvine?  What are you seeing that makes you believe a household of educated professionals doesn't add up?

Mid 20s is probably fine since DINKS.  But for mid 30s, $150k is rough.  Even $200k is rough.  Hard to move up.  I guess that's why the market is saturated with $1.3m+ homes.
- 2x private preschool tuition
- fancy cars
- trips to aulani
- all sorts of lessons (kumon, tkd, gymnastics, swim, piano, etc, etc)
- expensive hobbies (studio workout classes, expensive road bikes, expensive guns, fancy handbags, etc, etc)

Damn.  I need all those things to make it in Irvine?  What am I doing.  House for sale.  $888/sq ft.  Later everyone.

 

[Bullsback]

Having all of your wealth in a house is an inefficient use of "wealth".  I'd rather have more affordable housing that enables people to live here and put money into other ventures, etc. 

100% agree.  But people love doing this.  Someone I know bought low in the WOK, cashed out last year big time and rolled it all into a $3.5m+ place in Irvine.  Needless to say, that person is constantly stressed out right now.

I have a view that once you make a certain amount of money...you shouldn't have to "stress" about money anymore...which means after some point of wealth (that amount differs for everyone), I don't want to have the same stresses as someone who makes a combined $75K per year and literally has to live paycheck to paycheck. If you make $250K+, you should be able to live in a manner that allows you to not have to completely stress about money and how you are going to pay for things.

$250K number is obviously light in Irvine (also just a randon number I pulled out of my head), but it can absolutely be done. Of course, everyone is different.  There are still nice towhomes, etc in Irvine where you can have a bit of a yard, low mello, and raise a couple kids (maybe not as luxurious as you want to be, but still good) and than be able to still cover private preschool and the ocassional vacation (not sure about a yearly alauni trip...but I'm a cheapass so I'll just drag my family to time share sales pitches for family trips haha). 

Note, nowhere did I say that you don't have to "care" about money...just that you shouldn't have the stresses that other individuals have in terms of where and how to pay for things. At some point, you should have enough to put a ton towards retirement, to put extra money into investments/markets (which over time can put off passive income).  And at some point...the passive income isn't just retirement, it can actually become additional overall income (if you want to work less or whatever else)....essentially it buys you options. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

As for my neighbors...  Let's see...
1) Indian couple with kids, not sure what they do, but they both leave for work every morning and are very sweet people
2) White couple with two adult kids living with them, Dad is a lead sales manager for dental products, not sure if mom works, don't think so
3) White/Korean couple with two young children.  Dad is a civil engineer, mom is a paralegal
4) White couple with kids, dad seems to own a network hardware install/repair business, not sure what mom does, they rent
5) White couple with kids, dad goes to work early everyday, not sure what mom does, they rent
6) Sketchy white dude who is doing something shady, just not sure exactly what, but 100% gives me that shady vibe every time I see him
7) Solo white dude, living that single past middle age life, not sure if he works, but doesn't seem to have a 9-5 job
8 ) There was a white retired couple, but they moved recently.

The rest I'm honestly not sure.  I'm not particularly social and there seems to be a significant language barrier with about 80% of my neighbors.  My best guess is a mix of
1) Rich af FCB family, do whatever they want, park 6 figure cars on the street because the nice stuff is in the garage
2) Empty "investment" house
3) FCB full time mother and kids, dad is mia
4) FCB family, dad does something, mom does whatever she wants

This is some IrvineDream level reconnaissance.

I know my neighbors names and their kids names but have no idea what they do for a living.

 

[someguy]

As for my neighbors...  Let's see...
1) Indian couple with kids, not sure what they do, but they both leave for work every morning and are very sweet people
2) White couple with two adult kids living with them, Dad is a lead sales manager for dental products, not sure if mom works, don't think so
3) White/Korean couple with two young children.  Dad is a civil engineer, mom is a paralegal
4) White couple with kids, dad seems to own a network hardware install/repair business, not sure what mom does, they rent
5) White couple with kids, dad goes to work early everyday, not sure what mom does, they rent
6) Sketchy white dude who is doing something shady, just not sure exactly what, but 100% gives me that shady vibe every time I see him
7) Solo white dude, living that single past middle age life, not sure if he works, but doesn't seem to have a 9-5 job
8 ) There was a white retired couple, but they moved recently.

The rest I'm honestly not sure.  I'm not particularly social and there seems to be a significant language barrier with about 80% of my neighbors.  My best guess is a mix of
1) Rich af FCB family, do whatever they want, park 6 figure cars on the street because the nice stuff is in the garage
2) Empty "investment" house
3) FCB full time mother and kids, dad is mia
4) FCB family, dad does something, mom does whatever she wants

This is some IrvineDream level reconnaissance.

Can you explain the context of this?  Not sure I understand what you're getting at.