I went from doing fairly well for myself in Michigan to barely breaking even in Chicago. Sometimes I miss my old disposable income, but not enough to go back.

“I don’t know how people live here on just a normal salary,” said Ms. Baranski.

When I was a poor grad student in early-90s NY (out for dinner with my college friends who were all lawyers or in finance), someone said something to the effect of "I don't know how people live in NY with a salary under 6 figures." I was sitting right there!

Sometimes I really wish these people would use all their money to buy a cluestick.

I like stuff. I can afford stuff. So I buy stuff. I have some desire for a karmic payback to the world, but I'm slacker about it than I should be. Luckily, though, my love of krav and teaching does make it feel like I'm giving something to people (and in theory this job is public sector and benefits the community--but I'd be a hypocrite and a liar to even imply that was a deciding factor in taking it).

What do I deeply want that I can't afford? A house. As long as I live here, and am single, I won't be able to afford one. Otherwise I'm doing okay, and would like to shrug off the guilt that I shouldn't let people know I'm on my fourth iPod or anything.

However, I'm not in a game where other people's salaries matter to me very much, and that's why I look askance at some of these poor litle rich boys.

I went from doing fairly well for myself in Michigan to barely breaking even in Chicago. Sometimes I miss my old disposable income, but not enough to go back.

Let me tell you of moving from LA to Michigan.

I expected Joe and I to take paycuts. I didn't expect a $23,000 per year combined paycut.

I expected housing costs to be lower or about the same. I didn't expect everything else to be more expensive. So it's going to be very interesting the next couple of years.

I think the revelation about wealth came to me at a swanky hotel once. I was all, sure, everything in here is more expensive, but it's not altogether nicer.

You remind me of when I was travelling through Europe after my semester abroad. I had saved up for forever for the trip and spent the last three weeks with a friend staying in cheap B&Bs. Just before we finished up in Switzerland, my friend realized she had forgotten about some extra “spending money” her grandmother had given her--$1000, which was more than my whole budget for the summer (after the Eurorail pass)! Since Switzerland was known for its hotel service, we blew it on a fabulous place for the last 3 nights in Geneva. I think it took a lot for her to do so, but the last morning at breakfast, my friend just looked at me and said “the B&Bs were better; thanks for making me stay in them.”

While I am not wealthy, I don't want for anything either. (except for that lady of leisure lifestyle I should have been born into.)

What I'm dismayed at is that someone coined the term "Hangry" and it wasn't me! Of course, I google hangry and erinaceous is there. [link]

ETA: It's been around since 1999! How could I not know?

Why is Kremen an asshole?

1. Because he's pounding himself into the ground to move from the top 0.5% to the top 0.4%. And doesn't sound happy about that fact, but can't think his way out of a paper bag the social-status pursuit he's in.

2. Because when your diamond shoes are too tight, it's asshole behavior to talk about it to the New York Times.

I am sending that hangry link to Bob Bob, who puts up with a lot of that from me.

"Hangry" is brilliant.

I expected housing costs to be lower or about the same. I didn't expect everything else to be more expensive.

Yow, Aimee. That sucks and makes no sense. What's more expensive in Michigan than in LA?