Quote from Rationalize: Prices will adjust & Manhattan RE sales people will be the next to whine.
Actually, the prices in Manhattan have been acting very strangely. Lower-tier properties (studies and one bedrooms) have clearly declined in price 10 to 15 percent from the peak of 2007. At the same time, 1200sft and over have actually increased in price. I had a good year last year and was thinking of upgrading and it seems that prices have gone up, not down.
As for girls - it's pretty clear they like the whole dog thing. One of my Mrs' friends hypothesized that women subconsciously make a whole set of extrapolations:
(a) A dog is a serious commitment and if the guy is not afraid to commit to a dog, he's gonna be more likely to commit to a woman.
(b) If a guy has two large dogs, he probably owns a large apartment (rentals, as a rule, don't allow large dogs) and thus he must be making a good living
(c) the guys must have likes the dogs as puppies and thus he must like and want to have kids.
Actually, the prices in Manhattan have been acting very strangely. Lower-tier properties (studies and one bedrooms) have clearly declined in price 10 to 15 percent from the peak of 2007. At the same time, 1200sft and over have actually increased in price. I had a good year last year and was thinking of upgrading and it seems that prices have gone up, not down.
Can't really see the top end sustaining itself over here, but the effect has been somewhat similar.
Intellectual curiosity here as to what made last year "good"?
Generally unhappy campers on my side of the world. Decreasing flow the main blame. Equities that is.
Re a,b,c - yes. Sets things up well for short term relationships.
Quote from Rationalize: Can't really see the top end sustaining itself over here, but the effect has been somewhat similar.
A lot of outsiders buying to park some cash and I also think there have been a lot of really rich people moving back to the city. Personally, I can't wait for the top to give in a touch, but so far that has been nothing but a fantasy.
Quote from Rationalize: Intellectual curiosity here as to what made last year "good"?
Generally, the way my trading methods are set up, I do exceptionally well in volatile years and have pretty mediocre performance in quiet years. I don't really get to leverage the flow much - in fact, i think most of my flow is pretty toxic. Anyway, my best year by far was 2008, but I can't boast getting paid too well then. 2010 and 2011 were good, though and these days the firms appreciate some people that have counter-cyclical performance.
Quote from Rationalize: Re a,b,c - yes. Sets things up well for short term relationships.
And long term ones too - I met my Mrs this way and we've been together for 12 years. Though lately there is not a day I am not thinking of packing it all up and moving to your neck of the woods.
To all the pet haters...its all relative. There have been multiple studies that suggest having a pet actually extends your life as well as the quality of your life. I currently don't have a pet...have a live in spouse which is quite enough. If I lived in NYC and didn't have a roommate I believe a pet would be very important. In any case no one questions how expensive NYC is to live in and to make a judgment on how ppl spend their money is kinda pointless. Its only when people whine that I think we have a right to throw snow balls. I don't believe SLE has done any whining. As far as the $350K guy I'm not feeling in any way sorry for him or any other bankers/financial ppl. They will have to learn to live on less and I'm sure will do just fine.
I owned pets for 20 years. I experienced life with and without pets.
I guess I am a weak fuck, but clearly I am a successful weak fuck and you are clearly a loser (and a sore loser at that).
For the reference, almost everyone in my coop has a dog and I'd guess that median income here is a $1.5 million a year. You don't have a pet and you are probably making an order of magnitude less - so who is "a man" and who is not?
Weak fucks get very defensive often. Strong ones wouldn't bother responding to my post. That's my experience.
It costs me $4-5000 a month to raise two kids and I would not replace them with anything. Pets serve similar purpose. You cannot measure it with money. You spend what you think you can comfortably spend on them.
I am not as attached to the goldfish or my 5 hens. My hens are my high yield securities. They do keep me calm though.
Quote from wiesman02:
$17,000 / year on pet expenses is ridiculous!
Why? If I would have told you "it costs me 20k a year to lease, insure and garage my Aston-Martin" you would say "this guys is cool", but for some reason spending the same on two dogs is "ridiculous" in your eyes. Even though both have the same practical value in Manhattan and (if I was single), two big fluffy dogs would do a better job getting me ladies then a shiny penis with two chairs in it.
