<p>"Mr. Ellebud is an attorney. Could he have chosen to practice in Des Moines? "</p>
<p>Of course there are attorneys in Des Moines. *And they do the same kinds of attorney-things that attorneys in every other city do. * And they live upper middle class lives, with nice houses and maids and designer clothing and trips to Europe and so forth, just like attorneys in every other city do. Except maybe it takes one more stop to get from the US to their European destination since they connect through MPLS or ORD. That’s all.</p>
<p>I’m not saying you have to like Des Moines, or want to move there. I have no dog in the Des Moines fight and indeed I’ve only been there once in my life. But some of you on these boards have got to stop with the assumption that smaller cities don’t have, like, real upper middle class professionals or something. </p>
<p>“Many years ago we went to New York city where my husband had a client. Client mentioned that he was slowly going broke…in 1980 he made $750,000 a year. And he was…going broke.”</p>
<p>You would agree, then, that your client was an idiot?</p>
<p>“My kids are in the job hunting/first jobs phase of life. They really aren’t getting much choice where they live, if they want to be employed. And sometimes the only jobs available are in high cost of living areas. Are other parents’ kids having a different experience? Getting to choose the area of the country in which they live? That is sort of the dream for mine at this point in time”</p>
<p>My kids are in the same position as yours, alh - looking for jobs. While it would certainly be convenient for them to have jobs here in Chicago because they could live with us for a bit and save some money, our attitude is - you go where the job is. </p>
<p>^^ those boats usually have a leak: gambling, drugs, mistress, divorce, etc. it’s not a problem caused by the expensive lattes. Or taxes. Or real estate costs. </p>
<p>ETA: referring to the client going broke on 750k, not PG’s kids :)</p>
<p>I live in a rural southern county and our attorney is part of a three generation practice. His family has lived in this county 300 years, more or less. If Mr. Ellebud showed up here, I seriously doubt he could make a living practicing law, no matter how excellent an attorney he is and how wonderful his reputation is in CA. This is really more complicated than some suppose. : (</p>
<p>adding: Of course there are attorneys in Des Moines. And they do the same kinds of attorney-things that attorneys in every other city do. And they live upper middle class lives, with nice houses and maids and designer clothing and trips to Europe and so forth, just like attorneys in every other city do. Except maybe it takes one more stop to get from the US to their European destination since they connect through MPLS or ORD. That’s all.</p>
<p>The fact there are upper income people in some areas just like others doesn’t necessarily mean it is easy to break into those communities professionally. I think scout made a great point about her daughter and her midwest/Chicago connections and networking.</p>
<p>adding another thought: I know a young Harvard law grad here who could never find an appropriate job in his field and now does something different. He is here to support his wife’s career. </p>
<p>I think the biggest reason people don’t feel rich is simply that they act completely unaware of the masses of people who live on a heck of a lot les</p>
<p>Most of Hs friends are people that he works with and they all probably earn within $50,000 of each other.
My friends are more all over the map and include several people who are disabled and low income as well as those who are quite well off.
We generally make less than six figures without overtime, but compared to people who can’t drive and have to rely on Access services to do simple errands, I feel very blessed.</p>
<p>One of the things I like about where I live is that there is a variety of ways to make a living and I like having friends with different perspectives, although I admit the attorneys who worked on high profile cases before they retired, really need to give it a rest because that information is not actually relevant much of the time, and we’ve already heard the stories.</p>
I’m sure most of the bottom of the 2% feel grateful to be doing better than most. That still doesn’t justify why colleges have run their price tag over 60k (3X the growth rate of household income).</p>
<p>I’m sorry…I wasn’t clear: Of course there are lovely places all over Los Angeles. I should have specified Los Angeles. The SFV has beautiful homes (with a lot more land), the South Bay is beautiful…I didn’t mean “only” Beverly Hills. </p>
<p>As for Des Moines (I have never been there) just chose the name at random…States are quite specific about keeping the numbers of lawyers down. (No lawyer jokes here please). Florida will not permit retired attorneys to practicsethere without taking the Bar…and a few years of residence. There is no reciprocity. And yes, there is the old boys network.</p>
<p>And yes…filming has spread all over the country…tax incentives, food service, hotels,rental cars…but NOT creative. San Francisco has Lucas…animation…if you already have cache move…the mountain will come to you. </p>
<p>Well, duh. Des Moines is not a “rural southern county.” Apples to oranges.</p>
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<p>He may be book smart but he seems to have seriously miscalculated the power of his law degree–and a Harvard one, at that–not to mention the local market where his wife got her job. Sounds like she has the “better” job anyway–so my guess is that they are doing pretty well.</p>
<p>“I live in a rural southern county and our attorney is part of a three generation practice. His family has lived in this county 300 years, more or less. If Mr. Ellebud showed up here, I seriously doubt he could make a living practicing law, no matter how excellent an attorney he is and how wonderful his reputation is in CA.”</p>
<p>I don’t think other parts of the country care as much about “who is your family and are they from around here” as they may do in rural southern areas. In fact, I’ll go on record and say for the vast majority of upper middle class professional jobs, no one cares at all.</p>
<p>sally: do you know lawyers practicing in Des Moines? Maybe that is where you live? If so, are their backgrounds more alike or very different?</p>
<p>Or is this an hypothetical that someone can just move to a place and start up in a profession?</p>
<p>He may be book smart but he seems to have seriously miscalculated the power of his law degree–and a Harvard one, at that–not to mention the local market where his wife got her job. Sounds like she has the “better” job anyway–so my guess is that they are doing pretty well.</p>
<p>I agree with you. Harvard law is the wrong credential where I live. Where this couple lives and what they do is not based primarily on money. If that was their main criteria, they would be living in the NE. Which was a choice for them. I don’t know how long they will stay here. They are putting down some roots. </p>
<p>PG: The old boys club is only southern? That is not my experience at all. I have lived other places.</p>
<p>There are many people in the film industry in other cities who would disagree with you. It’s not all about production capabilities. Plenty of writers and directors come from outside LA and NY.</p>
<p>alh, nope–not from Des Moines and have only driven around the outskirts. It is named as the top city for young professionals in the source I cited earlier. (I have seen it rank highly in other listings, too.)</p>
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<p>Well, how else do people get started? I hire people from other parts of the country all the time. Are you suggesting that everyone has to be “from” the place they are trying to work? Why do I get so many recruiting calls from other parts of the country then?</p>
<p>" I hire people from other parts of the country all the time. Are you suggesting that everyone has to be “from” the place they are trying to work? Why do I get so many recruiting calls from other parts of the country then?"</p>
<p>I’m not getting this thread either. I inhabit a different world, where anyone can move to wherever they personally decide to and start up or join whatever they want. It’s truly unusual to me that anyone would care about one’s “family background” or whether one was native to that area. </p>
<p>“Acting like somebody should feel wealthy when they don’t because others are living on LESS is backwards. What we should want, in my opinion, is for MORE people to be earning 200K a year, not for the people earning the 200K to feel rich because what used to be a large and true middle class in this country is slowly slipping into lower middle class. Just because real incomes aren’t rising for the middle class doesn’t mean those who are upper middle class are lying about it. Upper income in this country isn’t what it used to be, and a very, very few people are hording the wealth and telling us “hey, be happy you aren’t making 50K. 50K is middle class folks.” No, it’s middle income.”</p>
<p>Like usual, poetgrl nails it.</p>
<p>I doubt very few upper income people feel wealthy because they are making more than most. Some of you seem to be obsessed with the thought that people either don’t feel wealthy because they aren’t making as much as the super rich, or should feel wealthy because they’re making more than most. But no, I don’t think everyone is constantly comparing themselves to others. Just because you might be doing so, doesn’t mean everyone is doing it.</p>
<p>I believe that feeling rich is as many here have suggested. If you could quit your job right now and live comfortably, and how you would like, you might be rich. It’s not based upon a number, and certainly not based upon a job that could be gone tomorrow. And yes, many of us may feel rich and blessed in life, for the health of our families and the love of our children and spouse. But as far as financially rich, it’s having the option not to work and still do what you’d like without fear of financial ruin.</p>
<p>And to add, we could all be rich tomorrow. We could sell everything we own, quit our jobs, and move to Somalia. Than, according to some of you, we should feel rich because we have more than 99.999% of the people (pretty much everyone except for the pirates and political leaders). Hey, it’s a choice, right? If we choose to live where we are, it’s our own fault. We could be all rich, rich, rich, because having more than others around you must define the word, “rich”.</p>
<p>"* kids are in the same position as yours, alh - looking for jobs. While it would certainly be convenient for them to have jobs here in Chicago because they could live with us for a bit and save some money, our attitude is - you go where the job is. *"</p>
<p>"*I’m not getting this thread either. I inhabit a different world, where anyone can move to wherever they personally decide to and start up or join whatever they want. It’s truly unusual to me that anyone would care about one’s “family background” or whether one was native to that area. *"</p>
<p>so which is it -" * go where the job is*" or" anyone can move to wherever they personally decide to and start up"</p>
<p>This is like the elite college threads where I have no idea what you and sally are arguing against. One reason I stick around is trying to figure that out. </p>
<p>I apologize for going off track here. ; ( : ( : ( This is a nice thread. I promise not to derail again.</p>
<p>I don’t think you are derailing anything, alh. So much of what can be exhausting here would be so much simpler in person, especially with a glass of wine or beer in hand. :)</p>