This title seems to amply describe most of the people I met while living in the Bay Area - both around the Peninsula (MTV ~ Los Altos) where I lived and in SF.
America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
31–40 of 475 posts
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#32- He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said. Sounds like a good wife to me, and this "pay cut" is making 500k-600k instead of 1.2 million, what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't…
It’s not about living on 500k vs 1 million. It’s about much, much earlier retirement.
I don't understand the mindset of burning yourself out in middle age so you can "enjoy the world" when you're much more likely to be frail and have serious health problems that prevent you from participating in many activities.
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#33The rich are depressed, the middle-class is shrinking and fearful, the poor are hopeless. I'm gonna take a leap here and say maybe people need some religion in their lives to give direction and meaning. I found it interesting that a person in the article who made $1.2M a year was still depressed in thinking they were wasting their lives and it was all meaningless. I ask myself, does this person have children? a famil…
I disagree about it being religion specifically, but I would say that people need a better philosophy, a model of reality, to understand why the things they think will make them happy don't.
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#34>“I feel like I’m wasting my life,” he told me. “When I die, is anyone going to care that I earned an extra percentage point of return? My work feels totally meaningless.” Capitalists are realizing the fundamental emptiness of capitalism. It's hard to have a sense of purpose when your entire life is spent making a number on a spreadsheet into a slightly larger number for the benefit of someone even more elite than yo…
If this is your thesis you’ll have to explain how e.g. Communism totally did not have this problem.
No he doesn't. Invoking that Communism has problems does not magic away the problems that Capitalism currently has. The two don't bear any relationship.
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#35The rich are depressed, the middle-class is shrinking and fearful, the poor are hopeless. I'm gonna take a leap here and say maybe people need some religion in their lives to give direction and meaning. I found it interesting that a person in the article who made $1.2M a year was still depressed in thinking they were wasting their lives and it was all meaningless. I ask myself, does this person have children? a famil…
His duty is to go traveling and have adventures and drink the finest craft beers. I can't imagine why he'd find that all meaningless.
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#36- He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said. Sounds like a good wife to me, and this "pay cut" is making 500k-600k instead of 1.2 million, what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't…
>what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't afford to live on 500-600k. The one where you lock into a mortgage and a car that assumes a $1.2M salary to keep ahead of. It's really easy to let your lifestyle expenses balloon, especially in a high-COL city where minor increases in living space/amenities can end up costing large amounts of money.
[deleted]
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#37- He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said. Sounds like a good wife to me, and this "pay cut" is making 500k-600k instead of 1.2 million, what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't…
What world are they living in where startups are paying $500-$600k?
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#38Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not sure how you're interpreting the "good wife" but I interpreted her reaction as laughing at the notion they could afford to live on anything less than his current 1.2m salary.
I believe OP is being sarcastic about "good wife".
"good wife" as "what a bitch" or?
Depending on how you interpret that, she could be a "good divorced wife" soon enough - although given marriage law in the U.S. you'd end up in the same 1/2 salary situation or divorced 1/4 salary situation lmao...
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#39The richest people I know are definitely also some of the most miserable.
We've been sold a story that careers are a path to fulfillment, self actualization and empowerment. When in reality they are a soul sucking, near pointless burden that enriches investors, founders, execs and few others.
I love what I do for a living and I make a very healthy amount doing it. That being said, I see stay at home parents and think they are the people actually living life to the fullest. It's extremely difficult being a parent but the rewards trump all the accolades and money in the world (imo).
I think the 20th century screwed up our value system via marketing and mass media. People lost sight of where true fulfillment comes from and lost the ability to think in the long term and work hard to get there. Focusing on your career so you can travel internationally and buy mid-century modern furniture for your Brooklyn 1bd is pure hedonism and I think people are starting to wake up to that fact.
It's worth watching the documentary The Century of the Self to see how some of this played out and was orchestrated by the media and marketers. It's very interesting and really shows you how developments in psychology and technology lead to corporations triggering hedonistic instincts to sell more product. It's a great watch:
Re: America’s Professional Elite: Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
#40- He had received an offer at a start-up, and he would have loved to take it, but it paid half as much, and he felt locked into a lifestyle that made this pay cut impossible. “My wife laughed when I told her about it,” he said. Sounds like a good wife to me, and this "pay cut" is making 500k-600k instead of 1.2 million, what world are these people living in that you can't give up a job that you hate because you can't…
It’s not about living on 500k vs 1 million. It’s about much, much earlier retirement.
Is it?
Many people could retire after one year at 500k or 1M because their cost of living is such that they would be able to save almost all of it, and this would spread across their retirement..