Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

newyorker.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

211–220 of 381 posts

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#211

Post by seanmcdirmid »

kube-system wrote: post #209
Firmwarrior wrote: post #194

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hot take: If you can follow the posts here, you can make 300k in the US Check out the salaries on levels.fyi And no, it is not reasonable to make 100k in the Midwest instead. Unless you're buying like $50,000 worth of gas and eggs per year, you're going to save WAY more in the SF Bay Area and reclaim years of your life by retiring earlier

Buy a house in the midwest that's the same size as one in the bay area and you can retire early on 100k income :) And it'll have a lawn instead of a tent city.

> And it'll have a lawn instead of a tent city.

Having lived in Toledo before, the Midwest has its own economic problems (yes, not even the unhoused want to setup tent cities there).

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#212

Post by compiler-guy »

jl2718 wrote: post #176
jdthedisciple wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 1. Both couple partners have to work in the past only one. Why is it so? I always hear that. I am not married yet but I keep it a little challenge to myself to one day disprove that. I believe with a clever lifestyle of not spending on useless stuff and moving into a cheap region one can easily make that work. So I say, brazenly and naively ...

> clever lifestyle … not spending … cheap region This is easy to do alone. Bring a partner into your life and slowly but surely you will be seen as a resource to be maxed out and consumed. I know billionaires that share your dream. Do it. Save yourself. Go now.

There is nothing “surely” about eventually being seen as a resource to be consumed.

Statistically, people in long-term committed relationships have more stable incomes, longer lives, and better outcomes than those who don’t [1]. The direction of causality is somewhat unclear, but that such a relationship exists at all is a fairly strong refutation of your claim.

Which isn’t to say that all of them work out or that it is always sunshine and rainbows. But there is nothing inevitable about the outcome you claim. It’s actually lower probability.

1. https://docs.iza.org/dp998.pdf

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#213

Post by kube-system »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #211
kube-system wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Buy a house in the midwest that's the same size as one in the bay area and you can retire early on 100k income :) And it'll have a lawn instead of a tent city.

> And it'll have a lawn instead of a tent city. Having lived in Toledo before, the Midwest has its own economic problems (yes, not even the unhoused want to setup tent cities there).

There's bad spots, of course. But there are no shortage of pleasant places with dirt cheap housing, which is not the case in the bay area.

I've got a safe, friendly, walkable neighborhood, and my mortgage is 6 percent of my gross income. The bay area is not the only place where you can save a lot of money.

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#214

Post by theptip »

kubb wrote: post #108
s1artibartfast wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If I could get 1/10 of what I earn but without having to perform all this theatre, it would be better for everyone. What does this mean? You would take a 90% pay cut for 90% less work? Seems pretty doable

Not really, no company hires you for 10 or 20% in software engineering, while still paying enough that you could sustain yourself. The minimum is 80%, because it still the most of your time, so it seems reasonable in the work oriented society.

You can definitely get contracting gigs (Upwork at the bottom tier) or consulting work to work only 10-20% hours. Depending on your skill set you might find it easier to do “blocks” of 20-hour weeks to align with client needs, then take blocks of time off.

It’s doable, but not on a standard employment contract.

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#215

Post by q-big »

compiler-guy wrote: post #202

No one works harder than farmers and ranchers. Up before dawn and work until dark. My occasional 50-60 hour weeks with a deadline approaching are easy compared a normal week for my rancher grandparents. To say nothing of lambing or calving or harvest seasons. Forty hour work weeks are relatively new too.

> My occasional 50-60 hour weeks with a deadline approaching are easy compared a normal week for my rancher grandparents.

The huge problem of the modern workplace is the psychological pressure that is applied by bosses such that deadlines are hold.

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#216

Post by tayo42 »

quartesixte wrote: post #195

Compared to my parents and grandparents generation, my life is filled with leisure. Basic everyday necessities took up so much of my grandparent’s time when they were younger. A meal would take hours to prep. All the veggies to prep said meal grown. And then the many hours spent cleaning, maintaining, and improving the living space. Social obligations. They basically just worked all day long to just live. Leisure wer…

You should include your grandparents age,generation, location becasue this doesnt sound like the life mine lived through the 60s and 70s

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#217

Post by gadflyinyoureye »

onesafari wrote: post #190
snowwrestler wrote: post #130

It seems obvious that we have no more leisure time now than before. But consider the huge leisure industries that have grown over the past 100 years. Movies, TV, now streaming services. Radio and now Spotify and podcasts. Video games. Sports and all the media around sports. Even social media is arguably mostly entertainment these days. Or look at active leisure. How many more cyclists and rock climbers are there toda…

It's funny seeing so many people who spend hours every day on social media or Netflix or Steam claim that they have no time. We can see the data on how many hours are being consumed. What explains that?

I think part of it is burn out. I have been getting more and more so the past few months. As a result I stopped pursing an AWS cert. The thought of opening my Ancient Greek textbooks brings no joy. As a result I play Skyrim.

Saying “I don’t have the time” means “I don’t have the will.”

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#218

Post by tayo42 »

kubb wrote: post #48

I have several fantastic things that I love doing and work makes it very hard for me to pursue them. One of them is philosophy. There is a great deal of benefit and pleasure that a person can derive from learning about about and understanding the arguments that have been made across the centuries. Another is physical activity. It feels great to move your body, it makes you so much happier than sitting at a desk. Anot…

> One of them is philosophy. There is a great deal of benefit and pleasure that a person can derive from learning about about and understanding the arguments that have been made across the centuries.

Do you just enjoy reading about it and that's it? Or how do you make philisophy interactive and interesting beyond satisfying curiousites? I got kind of into some sub topics of philosophy, but lost a lot of motivation once i realized no one cares about what you have to say or even really wants to cater to you unless your part of academia

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#219

Post by rakejake »

quartesixte wrote: post #195

Compared to my parents and grandparents generation, my life is filled with leisure. Basic everyday necessities took up so much of my grandparent’s time when they were younger. A meal would take hours to prep. All the veggies to prep said meal grown. And then the many hours spent cleaning, maintaining, and improving the living space. Social obligations. They basically just worked all day long to just live. Leisure wer…

The problem is the absence of leisure during leisure time rather than loss of leisure time. True, there is more time today for hobbies and other such activities than there was previously, and less responsibilities. But the increase in the pace of life sort of compensates for this.

I technically waste a lot of time on the internet that could be better served listening to classical music or reading a novel. Yet, I find it very difficult to get in the mood. I know that it is a very enjoyable and enriching experience, and once I start reading/listening, I enjoy it. Yet it is a struggle to get off the internet.

I am slowly working towards consuming media (movies, music, books) in a much slower and repetitive fashion. Strictly restrict what you watch/read. Read books you like more than once for better absorption.

Re: Experts once predicted that Americans would face excess leisure time (2015)

#220

Post by SenHeng »

compiler-guy wrote: post #202

No one works harder than farmers and ranchers. Up before dawn and work until dark. My occasional 50-60 hour weeks with a deadline approaching are easy compared a normal week for my rancher grandparents. To say nothing of lambing or calving or harvest seasons. Forty hour work weeks are relatively new too.

I personally believe we need to remove all agricultural subsidies, while at the same time raise the price of food to reflect their real value, including the farmers’ labour.

But I always get pushback saying that farm work is not valuable because it is unskilled and can be done by anyone. Yet, we have a shortage of farmers.

Post reply on HN