Category: loc

purely about location

blind_FOMO[def]: TJ.Lin@Chn young techie

Posted on by tiger40490

A powerful concept and pattern, in search of a shorter name.. like blind_FOMO, as a specific form of breakaway.

Opening example: For many big-ticket products, a novice would often buy the market leading branded version (paying a premium), because he doesn’t know his own needs. FOMO is a suitable descriptor.

— the Main example of this blogpost: TianJue is the first to point this out, when I shared with him the paradox of China’s bachelor tech professionals. See latency无底洞

As soon as the bachelor enrolls at a Beijing/Shanghai college, he would face the same decision that some of his cohort has already decided on — “Will I end up working in 一线 city like 北上广深 ?”. If yes, then the home purchase looks inevitable and requires a whole-family effort starting from Year 1. .. Wrong priority.

I asked TJ “if the price is out of reach for my family, then what about renting?” I don’t remember his response, but perhaps 1 in 3 bachelors could realize “…beyond my capacity” and put away the decision. For the remainder, buying is nearly infeasible but question is “Will I regret if I don’t buy, and rent or work in a Tier2 city?” The more peers make the early decision to buy, the more peer pressure on the helpless bachelor to follow the herd instinct. It’s interesting how semi-consciously we filter our peer group and exclude bulk of the local population.

TJ also pointed out that dating game puts huge pressure on the bachelor. In my younger days, I had to work hard over decades to improve my /status/ in the mating competition. When I first had kids, I didn’t believe the opinions of those likes WQ.Luo. I was driven to improve housing, education resources… for my kids, engaging in the arms race with millions of fellow parents. Similarly, the inflation fear was a widespread brainwash. Medical cost inflation fear was driven by my own parents… All of these “struggles” are taught to every young men as part of Chinese enculturation. As a consequence, I felt perhaps $3M would be needed.

Those around me who gave up on ffree were seen as _quitters_. These are the individuals who decided to keep working till retirement age, buy a house of same size as the peers, save as much as the peers, save up for college funding as the peers… all without a ffree goal. They are seen as not trying hard enough.  Clearly my choices are a breakaway from these “quitters”.

TJ then concluded that by my age, I have figured out my real needs and real priorities. I guess that’s a SelfKnowledgeAdvantage

— eg: the ivy-league fixation + SDXQ fixation among the Chinese middle-class in U.S.
Many immigrants seem to assume that schools rated below 8 are unacceptable… Fear of unknown. They follow their peers [i.e. fellow immigrants] and reject these mainstream choices.

Kyle and I discussed our “insider insight“. With this insight, I hope we can live free of the huge financial burden/obligation. In such a case, I would count myself lucky to understand my own needs.

When I told my father that my kids don’t have to enter any college, he said he would be proud of my son if he gets into Community colleges or Polytechnics. Heroic words of wisdom.

— eg: retirement planning .. Many younger Singaporeans seem unsure how much they would need in retirement. Some follow the marketing propaganda, dismiss the CPF-life amount as inadequate, and take on the huge burden of “SGD 1M nest egg”.

TJ pointed out that by my age, I know my own needs.

— eg: safe European cars .. I put a high value on their extra safety level,  exactly because I don’t really understand the risk. TJ.Lin said the probability of preventable harm from dangerous accident is actually very very low.

— eg: if unsure, buy the dominant brand. In the 1990’s you won’t be at fault if you buy IBM, even if it’s not the best choice in hindsight.
My first smartphone was a Samsung… not “better” than the cheaper Vivo, Oppo, Huawei phones I have used.

[21]U.S.home: too many inflexibilities #w1r2

Posted on by tiger40490

See also

— livelihood vs FOMO
[L=a livelihood concern] This blogpost was written a few weeks after I defined the 6+ elements of livelihood . Grandpa and Jack.He would agree that Home ownership is not a necessity. The less affluent can stay rented long-term, so heavy rental burden is a livelihood concern.

[f/F=FOMO-related or FOMO-driven] Most of the items below are FOMO-related. The pTax, HOA and mtg burden are part of the “deal” when you join the exclub, and maintain your status … high maintenance !

== Given the multitude of constraints, we want to show (and posses) flexibility. It’s crucial to identify your points of inflexibility, i.e. your unique priorities (half-ranked) compared to peers.
— constraint: CC1 [commute] .. am not flexible. Arguably my #1 inflexibility
Sugg: favor connectivity
As explained elsewhere, long commute is not a livelihood issue
— [L] constraint: high rent in the U.S. .. am flexible
am flexible to keep renting long term, whereas my peers may prefer buying a home ASAP.
am flexible due to my Asia rental income
am flexible with half unit in small home
am flexible with lease spread including sublease
— [f] constraint: oversized price tag .. am flexible with small or old homes
Sugg: avoid big homes or top SDXQ
Sugg: buy small unit and lease spread
— [f] constraint: pTax .. am less flexible, due to my limited income + location requirements
Sugg: 43R lease spread to offset pTax
— [F] constraint: SDXQ .. am flexible with average schools.
Sugg: live rented in a reasonable SDXQ, and move if needed
— [L] constraint: CC2 [Chinese community] .. wife and I are less flexible
Possibly a livelihood issue for wife
— constraint: car-dependency .. I can reduce my inflexibility. This inflexibility severely limits my choice of location.
Sugg: favor walkable neighborhood

— constraint: resale liquidity … in a low-cost, low-growth location such as Bayonne or South Edison
Am less flexible because I hate losing money on rEstate.
“Appreciation” is related word.
— [f] constraint: mtg burden .. am less flexible, due to income
Sugg: lease spread .. pay mtg on rental property while renting
Sugg: pay down the outstanding
— [f] constraint: HOA .. am not flexible when condo location is perfect for family
am also less flexible, due to my limited income
====
— the ffree Q: The constraints listed in this blogpost highlight the limits to … my exclub status or my barebones ffree?

Jolt: If you retire early, then you would probably move to (a cheaper, more Chinese country or ) less expensive locations. Commute would be a non-issue.

You may want to cash out your residential properties and stay rented, with subleasing. Sales proceeds, invested in a “shrinking nest egg”, would pay your net rental for 30 years.

However, some affluent people would want to retire AND still keep their homes. They could use lease spread to retire somewhere “nicer”.

In any case, I don’t think CC1, CC2 are real limits to ffree.

— compared to my Chinese cohort

  • am flexible with 1) SDXQ, 2) renting forever 3) home-sharing/sublease,
  • we are inflexible with 1) CC1, 2) CC2,

— compared to a 10Y younger guy in a comparable profession

  • my #1 advantage: overseas rental income(s), substantial enough to defray the heavy burden of rental.
  • my advantage: bigger portfolio, producing a growing current income
  • my advantage: less sensitive to peer pressure, more mellow at my age
  • my advantage: semi-retired (if I so choose) .. less earn-more/move-up pressure
  • my advantage: I figured out a dev-till-70 plan, in my niche position
  • my weakness: slower adapting to daily driving

Who has more dependents? a 10Y younger guy may have 2 or 3 kids too.

car ownership ] U.S.as part@livelihood #S.Liu

Posted on by tiger40490

k_X_car_dependency

Hi LS,

We discussed this topic repeatedly over the years because car ownership is a big headache for me. Today I want to revisit it in the livelihood context.

Fact: In 2009 and 2018 I have twice earned my driving license, each time spending $1000 – $3000 on practice lessons.
Fact: in 2017-2018 I also drove Zipcar about 30-60 times, for the sole purpose of self practice for self-reliance.
Fun Fact: When a batch of my Indian colleagues moved from NY to Salt Lake City, they decided to take up driving, implying that these immigrants had not learned to drive for all those prior years! I heard this story in a sharing session. I think some of those speakers have a spouse who was a driver. Indian immigrants mostly settle in NJ, not known as a car-lite location.

Q: Given how much I dislike/hate driving, why did I “invest” so much time and money?
A: future livelihood needs, just for the family (not for myself … since I can cope well without a car).

Q: What are the alternative arrangements for the sake of family livelihood?

  • XX) public transport, for long distance
  • YY) bicycle and walk, for short distance
  • ZZ) Uber and occasional car rental. For the sake of livelihood, this has to be occasional, otherwise too costly.
  • WW) friends and neighbors? Only occasionally. Can this be a long-term livelihood solution? Not for me. I don’t like to inconvenience them.
  • online shopping

In the big picture, as head of the family I can choose either AA) car ownership or BB) make do without car ownership. This choice will be one of the fundamental decisions when my family relocates to the U.S.

Q: is BB realistic for family livelihood? I accept that Perhaps my past U.S. experience was brief and not convincing.
A: realistic only for a suitable location.

In my U.S. years (alone or with family), I relied 99% on XX/YY. I used ZZ/WW only for some airport or relocation trips.

In Singapore, we have relied on XX/YY. We use tax a few times each quarter.

In Beijing, my parents have relied on XX/YY until they grew too old, and cash-rich enough for their remaining years. Now they increasingly use taxi on a routine basis.

Quora.com also has similar individuals who share their experiences, presumably without commercial motivation. One Quora user posted “outside of NY/SF/Chicago, the public transport infrastructure exists solely as a lifeline for the poor and elderly.”

Another Quora user posted “If I drive to work it takes 45 minutes. If I take the bus it takes 2 hours.” Two hours one way would be a livelihood issue. My 8Y experience in NY/MA is much better, partly by planning. 99% of the tech jobs I know are located within reach by XX/YY. Citigroup has some remote office but staff can choose not to work there. I won’t consider a Salt Lake City location if it’s not accessible by XX/YY.

I never lived in a NYC home, but I kinda believe some Quora users who said that “parking cost and extensive transit probably convince many NYC residents to live car-free”. Of course they have to give up car-dependent lifestyle choices (rarely livelihood-related) such as skiing. Give-up is nothing unthinkable — Adapting to local living condition is part of my life in many cities.

Some people (not only immigrants and the youth) don’t have a license, or have their car/license taken away for months. They all can cope without a car. In addition to the Quora participants, I also spoke to a few rare individuals who chose BB long term. I think majority of them lived in well-connected locations with better-than-average public transport.  Apart from these rare individuals, the vast majority of my U.S. peers presumably rely on an unshared car. Many of them hinted that a life without car is either an unthinkable struggle, or highly inconvenient. Did they suggest that no-car livelihood was a hardship? I don’t remember that. I guess some of them didn’t stop and think long and hard.

When I first came to the U.S. as a newly wed couple, I quickly figured out to stay close to commuter rail stations. (I guess 90% of my days in the U.S. were spent in those locations.) However, my wife needed access to Chinese markets, which is tough in several locations. Weather didn’t become a big problem as feared.

Since then, I have lived in rather few car-dependent locations, usually in the outskirts, such as Porter Square of Cambridge. So which locations present livelihood issues (possibly hardship) to a family without car? East Orange, NJ; Bushwick of Brooklyn; Juliette St of Bayonne. Based on these personal experiences, I now believe the level of inconvenience is exaggerated. (Similarly, school districts, colleges prestige … are exaggerated.) Even in my worst car-dependent home locations (East Orange), it’s possible to adapt and live without a car.

I would stick my neck out and suggest that most middle-class Americans and middle-class immigrants are not keen about adapting. Car dependency is an acquired and artificial dependency similar to our dependency on starch and animal protein in our diet. Is life without a private car a kind of hardship? Possibly, but not so unbearable. I  believe that if it is real hardship for a family, then this family must be living in a car-dependent location.  Like the impoverished villagers in remote mountainous China regions, they really need to relocate to more accessible locations.

In conclusion, I kinda agree with those rare individuals, and disagree with the U.S. mainstream, conventional notion.

##[18] car-free locations: %%rationale

Posted on by tiger40490

k_X_car_dependency

Surprise experience .. In 100% of the places I chose, I didn’t need a car, even in winters, even with kids! Did we feel deprived? Rarely… Worst places were

  1. East Orange
  2. 45 Juliette

I’d like to quantify car-dependency by a single number (simplicity is a virtue) — In a month how many times do you NEED your own car, instead of Uber, car rental, bicycle, and public transport?

As I wrote to Sophia Cui, The more “essential” commutes to office, to school, or to see family… tend to be periodic and scheduled, and… can be efficiently supported by scheduled mass transit like trains, buses, ferries.

Weather — affects cycling; and walk could be too cold too wet too long. Experience in White Plains, Bayonne (also JC, Brooklyn) — for 28M I didn’t take taxi or bus even once, except an interview trip to TrexQuant’s campus.

  • –situations that call for a car, either rented or unshared.
  • [w=beware winter or rain: x% of the days are too cold and I can’t rely on light rail + walk? below 1%]
  • [o=largely optional trips. There are usually alternatives.]
  • send kids to enrichment classes
  • nearby shopping? I can cycle though my peers would drive
  • [w] weekly grocery shopping? For short distance, Uber starts at $6 x 2
  • [o] Walmart/Target trips
  • bulky purchase … furniture etc. Infrequent after the initial set-up. Can pay for delivery or rent a car
  • moving home …… pay a professional or rent a car
  • [w] hospitals ……. Mostly we have used clinics, not hospitals. we don’t have any chronic health condition yet. If we do, then I wish we stay in a well-connected place and don’t depend on cars
  • DMV, post offices and other government matters. .. Not so frequent in my experience. There is often transit access.
  • [o] check out various schools/homes? Infrequent… Can pick a free day, and take my bike on the train.
  • airport ……………… I have been using public transport + cabs. Economically viable. Airport always has transit access. Driving your own car is often impractical due to long-term parking cost.
  • interviews ………… Sounds like a real problem but Absolutely not a problem in reality. Only 1% of the employers are far from transit stations and I never needed to pay for taxi [RTS, SIG]
  • [o] family outing …. most of the time (like 90-99%), could use train and then rent a car, but some nearby places may not have train connectivity, so we simply avoid them, as in Singapore and Beijing.
  • [o] visit friends …… Seldom. May need them to pick me up from train station. Those far-away friends I simply don’t visit.
  • [o] gym ……………… xp[Retro, Citi, Barcap, Baml, RTS, GS] If too far, I would simply to outdoor. In SG and U.S. I never feel unable to work out due to “no gym nearby”.
  • [o] cinema………….. Increasingly optional. Just watch at home.
  • police station to make police report
  • meet lawyers when I have a legal problem. Email is best, followed by phone call. Only initial conversation need in-person.

It’s possible that one suburb is much more car-dependent than another. South Edison vs North Edison? I have rational reasons to prefer a location with lowest car dependency:

  • — reasons:
  • weather .. unwanted dependency! The better locations offer the flexibility to use public transport or bicycle.
  • .. snowy/icy road … and you hate your dependency on cars
  • If the location has inherently high car-dependency you could end up needing 2 cars
  • congestions
  • tolls — very hard to avoid in an unfamiliar place
  • tickets — very hard to avoid at least for a beginner
  • accidents and problems due to wear-n-tear
  • accidents not due to our fault
  • private car $TCO
  • having no car naturally makes you more active and more healthy. If you live in a remote location you would drive for everything by default. You would not keep a bike. The car in the garage would shout “Use me” … hard to ignore. Some blogger wrote “I guess you could get so used to driving that you don’t bother to walk or bike. A 10-minute walk to shops is good exercise, though it requires planning and getting-used-to.”
  • various accidental mistakes — surprisingly common. CSY told me about running red light; two friends were caught drunk driving;
  • various stressors .. parking meter, parking space, peak hours traffic,,,
  • various road rage scenarios .. a broad/vague but memorable phrase
  • http://www.moneycrashers.com/living-without-car/ list many other factors

—-Hi XR,

I much prefer a home location where I don’t depend on car ownership. I will still own a car, for family outing etc, but I hope I could just keep it in the garage most of the time, and don’t need it for everyday shopping or commute.

Most of the locations I chose were like that — Boston, White Plains, Brooklyn.

One of the places (in Bushwick inner city) is 3 minutes walk to the subway, but strangely I won’t feel so comfortable walking on those dirty, run-down streets so I would probably prefer driving in that area. In contrast, your Jersey City home is also a few minutes walk to PATH, but I would feel safe without owning a car in that area.

I believe most suburban areas require cars, including most of NJ and Long Island. However, in my home search, urban locations “show up” more, so to me, the percentage of car-dependent homes is 30-70%.

 

SDXQ or waterfront loc ≅ Orchard mansions #w1r2

Posted on by tiger40490

For branded college see luxury(+special)Edu: unaffordable to 中产华裔.

The SDXQ or waterfront locations (branded colleges too) always cost a lot though I won’t give a figure. These are exclusive locations, the desires/aspirations of the upper-middle-class. It might be a slight exaggeration to regard these aspirations as the lifestyle of the Orchard mansion owners, Singapore’s upper-class. Clearly I don’t qualify for this exclub !

  • mainstream attitude .. I feel many of my U.S. peers are not much better off than me (despite higher post-tax income) but have the same aspirations as the upper middle class. Therefore, they don’t have my Fuller wealth and carefree ezlife
  • my attitude .. I feel lower middle-class. I feel well-off and Fuller-wealthy precisely because I live within my means and don’t aim at unaffordable luxuries. I still feel I can’t afford the Singapore private properties. Neither can I afford the U.S. waterfront or SDXQ properties.

— waterfront .. I never envied those with private properties in Orchard, Bugis, Marine Parade, Holland Village,,, Why do I envy those living in Newport or NY west side … waterfront luxury locations? Paradox!

( However, Bayonne locations near the big park is actually luxury in terms of well-maintained street.)

— SDXQ homes .. U.S. SDXQ (rated 8 – 10) homes are also comparable to Orchard mansions. However, the middle-class immigrants tend to follow the herd instinct almost blindly, and believe that SDXQ rated 7 or lower is utterly unacceptable.

I had a long-held reservation against private property in Singapore. I feel valuation is driven up by the affluent investors from SEA, China, Hongkong, India, and other countries. Similarly in the U.S. school districts, the middle class push up the valuation.

loc: 1st bet: family rental home^rental property

Posted on by tiger40490

This blogpost is about choosing the location of AA) first family rental home BB) first rental property (lease spread). AA is more important but both decisions influence each other.

Timeline? My family may stay in this municipality if not this neighborhood for 12-36M. Note my kids won’t want to move school too often.

Therefore, I call it a bet. Once you place your bet you can’t always back out without a cost.

Default choice for AA is JC/Bayonne/Hob. Feasibility due diligence is the first priority in the analysis

  • SDXQ, CC2, clean street, parks,
  • car-dependency .. important in my first 6M. JC downtown is excellent
  • affordable rent with sublease .. Bayonne is low-rent, so is the the old JC, but downtown JC may enjoy better sublease demand.

— The BB decision is more complicated than AA. Bigger commitment. For the first buy, better buy small and buy in familiar locations.

(To reduce the commitment, REIT lease spread is an innovative idea.)

Ideally, the place should be acceptable as my family home. If rental demand is lower, my family can live there.

safe working-class neighborhoods #Bayonne++

Posted on by tiger40490

Many of my Chinese, Indian .. immigrant friends are willing to pay a premium for

  • AA) good public school
  • BB) safe , clean, well-maintained (not dilapidated) neighborhood

Bayonne and South Edison are examples of safe working-class neighborhoods. Schools are average.

For me, BB is a real priority, so Bayonne is good enough for me.

— Working-class, Middle-class, Upper-class,,, neighborhoods in the U.S.
I feel the distinction is real and driven by family economic disparity

The middle-class prefer better schools, cleaner streets, bigger, (newer?) better-built homes. Some younger middle-class couples prefer rental apartments at cleaner, trendier/more fashionable, more “interesting” locations.

The richer families out-bid the working class families and take over such neighborhoods.

Beside the higher cost on bigger homes, pTax also squeeze out the working class families.

Paradoxically, Bayonne has high pTax. Some parts of this working class town are definitely higher standard, closer to the county park.

G3best articles@car-free liv`]U.S.#w1r3

Posted on by tiger40490

k_X_car_dependency

There are many websites on this topic, partly due to new generations responding to new ideas and lifestyle trends. https://www.aarp.org/livable-communities/getting-around/info-2015/living-without-a-car.html says “Most of the attention about this non-car trend focuses on millennials, who are getting drivers’ licenses and buying cars at lower rates than previous generations.”

— Q: These other Americans have their reasons and limitations that are 50% relevant to me. My decisions, my pains/adjustments will be based on my 8Y first-hand experiences, so why do I bother to read their stories?

I read because my small-family or (largely) bachelor experience gave me insecurity / skepticism.

Reading their experiences help me appreciate the fact that a sizeable percentage of Americans are coping well without a car.

When these Americans go car-free, many experience meaningful benefits/rewards (not just tough challenges/adjustments). I tend to but should not dismiss the positives because these are the the rewards, compensations and the essential positive reinforcements that keep us going.

These coping strategies, adjustments will be relevant to my family.

Going from car-dependency to car-free living is challenging to most, so you may be skeptical about everything you read. However, I have been car-free for 47 years. I’m going car-free in SG to car-free in JC/Bayonne. Therefore, the required adjustments are probably lighter for me than a long-time car owner. The online discussions are probably more realistic, more practical.

— base camp .. Let’s establish a base camp of car-free living in a well-connected location. There will be many challenges since majority of the residents have a car. After 6-12M we would have an acceptable, solid base camp where we can come back. Then we can try living with a private car. There will be many benefits (probably more than in Singapore [1] ) but there will be many problems too — parking, repairs, tolls, GPS navigation …

[1] Singapore is not a car-first city as U.S. is, but NY and JC are less car-first than most U.S. cities.

In the base  camp we still can rent cars for driving practice.

— https://livingonthecheap.com/live-without-car/:
‘Do I have the resources [1] I need to get where I need to go, when [2] I need to get there?’ is the key question, according to Jason Rothstein, author of Carless in Chicago. The key considerations, he says, are 1) getting to work or school, 2) getting groceries and 3) visiting family and friends. In my experience, I agree on 1) and 2).

[1] resources is mostly public transport, but also includes biking facilities, safe walking paths, car rental, car share
[2] without unwanted delays

Many older folks “should not be driving but can’t imagine life without a car”. So you see many of them still driving everyday and you may be mislead to think it’s OK.

==== https://toughnickel.com/frugal-living/How-to-Live-Life-Without-a-Car by Rebecca Long is a truthful and personal reflection, by a woman writer living car-free in small town America.

Q: Do you go out much?
Q: How Efficient Can You Really Be Without a Car?
Q3: It All Sounds Terribly Inconvenient

“I always bought old cars.” said the author.

She didn’t mention where she works. In my experience, on commute stops there are always shops.

She compared delivery, bus, bike, long-term car sharing, day-rental, occasional borrowing.

— Her strategy around the “limited” bus in her town demonstrates the need for planning on a daily basis. When I was considering the WestNY location, I dismissed the suggestion of taking the ferry for morning commute at 20-minute intervals. “I would have to be there 10 minutes in advance to avoid missing it” This sounds the same as Q3 above. Adjusting to car-free ≅≅≅ adjusting to scheduled commute. However

  • with the car adjustment, I have always lived car-free, so adjustment is easy
  • with the commute adjustment, I had big problems adjusting to long commute [MetroPark, EastOrange, FHP,,, ]

— her monthly shopping trip
It reminds me of my bi-weekly Walmart shopping trips in Bayonne. It could become a family outing, similar to our EastCoast outing. Without a car, those trips are definitely less convenient, but paradoxically the inconvenience also made us more appreciative of the family bonding time.

The author took the lifestyle adjustment and made her shopping and errands more “concise” and more scheduled. I have a fear of “scheduled” commute, but I’m self-confident about “concise”.