Category: loc

purely about location

satiation income_level=USD 75k #Newport,SunsetWay

Posted on by tiger40490

See also self-evaluation of life: CSASS

[[Thinking fast and slow ]] includes a whole chapter dedicated “experienced wellbeing”, including a very brief contrast against CSASS. P397 hypothesized that beyond the satiation level of income, you can buy more expensive (pleasurable) experiences, but you are likely to lose some abilities to enjoy the pleasures of a simple life.

Warning — “satiation level” is only in terms of experienced wellbeing [xpSelf, not rmSelf], and doesn’t even imply hard limits on long-term satisfaction, life chances, success (as defined in 4 ways).  This satiation is really about “savoring the moment“.

Kahneman reported that based on 450,000 (450k) responses from thousands of Americans, beyond the satiation level of $75k/Y household income (as of 2011, in high-cost US locations), experienced wellbeing (NOT the CSASS evaluation by the rmSelf) no longer increases. “The average increase of experienced well-being associated with incomes beyond that level was precisely zero.”

(Note in 2011 I happened to live in the U.S.)

This research is relatively new content in a book of well-researched contents. In a 2022 BBC radio program [[money, money, money: Value]], a Yale professor referenced some similar research.

— moving to Newport .. When we moved to Newport, something strange happened to our experienced well-being. My wife probably felt less well off than before, because every other young mother in the neighborhood was better off in terms of education, English, earning capacity, perhaps dressing. Newport feels young, cosmopolitan, and smells affluent. Perhaps she felt not belonging there. I remember visiting my ex-schoolmate HY.Cai in Newport…

There’s another “reason”. The “more expensive experience” refers to the affluent location including clean streets + landscaping (see other blogpost). This enhanced our experienced wellbeing. But I guess we also lost some abilities to enjoy some simple pleasures of life, like cooking, going to a small neighborhood park.

— Similar experience: PandanValley vs SunsetWay/Clementi .. I remember my first visits to SunsetWay (more intense at Clementi).

At SunsetWay, a typical HDB estate, I was able to enjoy some simple pleasures of life like

  • more variety of hawker food, compared to PandanValley
  • cheaper goods in provisions shops, compared to PandanValley
  • much shorter walk to public transport, compared to PandanValley, and easier to reach MRT or Clementi town

— rural HDB estates.. locations unpopular with the affluent. Places like CCK, Yishun, Woodlands further out from MRT. Or perhaps older estates in TPY-Bishan-AMK.

household wealth^income #American sociology

Posted on by tiger40490

 

I don’t think I want to spend time analyzing the difference between household wealth and household income, but some people need to do that, such as economics and sociology researchers, and policy makers.

  • There are two important quadrants: HighIncome_LowWealth, and LowIncome_HighWealth.
  • Some people are embarrassed to talk about (not necessarily personal) income, and prefer wealth instead.
  • Some people are embarrassed to talk about (not necessarily personal) wealth and prefer income instead.
  • ^^ These individuals may (subconsciously) prefer to steer the conversation.

The traditional Chinese tend to save and invest (Earn/Save/Invest) and become fairly wealthy.

— data quality .. Wealth (net asset) statistics are often based on surveys (including questionnaires). However, home equity, brokerage portfolios, 401k, SSA account.. are reported to government.

Income statistics are mostly based on tax filing and far more accurate.

There are unreported incomes and unreported assets. I won’t speculate which of the two is a bigger problem to the statistician.

— https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2020/02/27/examining-the-black-white-wealth-gap/ says

Wealth confers benefits that go beyond those that come with family income. [I think it has to be substantial wealth]

Wealth is a safety net that keeps a life from being /derailed/ by temporary setbacks and the loss of income. This safety net allows people to take career risks knowing that they have a buffer when success is not immediately achieved.

I used to dismiss wealth, even a USD 1M wealth.. perhaps due to peer influence. Now I think in a downturn, even a modest reserve could be more important than income. Income could stop any time. Income is less reliable than wealth overall.

Family wealth allows people (especially young adults who have recently entered the labor force) to access housing in safe neighborhoods with good schools, thereby enhancing the prospects of their own children. [Surprised to see that housing is a key factor in the authors’ opinion.]

Wealth affords people opportunities to be entrepreneurs and inventors.

And the income from wealth is taxed at much lower rates than income from work, which means that wealth begets more wealth.

— savings habit .. is the crucial link between income-level and wealth-level.

  • with above-median income, some savings habit (splurge control) would build some wealth, in the form of a reserve.
  • with below-median income, building the same reserve would require discipline.
  • If your household income is above 3 times the median (like USD 200k), then it’s easy to accumulate the same wealth but without savings habit that wealth is likely depleted and never grows.

— my situation? I feel my household income is (lower) middle-class among my cohort in the tristate but my household wealth falls into a (slightly but definitely) higher percentile among this same cohort. The explanation … is found in multiple blogposts. I will summarize again:

  • Earn/Save/Invest .. wife and I are superior at Save and decent with Invest
  • zero debt
  • inheritance? $0 now

JC/Hob family vacation+survey 4 rental home

Posted on by tiger40490

With this survey trip, we hope to get some buy-in, and better preparation.

Without this survey trip, we will first settle down in a temporary rental home perhaps in JC, then move home in X months.

I need to start work in NY first. Set up the new home for them. After they arrive, I will take one-day leaves…

— where to stay and visit?

  • Flushing, 8th Ave .. too far from my work
  • JC
  • Hob
  • Bayonne

 

Posted in loc

landscaping,run-down buildings: street cleanliness #Bushwick

Posted on by tiger40490

I now feel private (sometimes public) landscaping is a Top-2 (possibly #1) part of our sense of street cleanliness. If we are asked to rank 5 locations in terms of “street cleanliness” then this factor probably dominates.

When you walk on a street with nice landscaping, you would not litter. People behave according to the physical environment including the subtle signs. The landscaping sends a subtle signal of decency, order, civilization and wealth. Only the rich families can afford landscaping.

Eg: I visited Scarsdale and Hastings-on-Hudson only once, but the street landscaping left a lasting impression.

Eg: I visited different parts of Bayonne. Some homes along Ave E have run-down landscaping, or no lawn at all. However, two adjacent blocks can have very different levels of landscaping. The homes near the county park and near Parkside Lane have nice landscaping. The lawn probably contributes to lot size and higher pTax.

If you don’t want to pay the premium on a big home with big lawn, then just avoid those wealthy districts. Buy row houses or condos. They probably have smaller lot size, lower pTax and still come with some green space.

— run-down buildings also affect our sense of street cleanliness
Bushwick apartments for rent — In 2010 or 2011, I was choosing a new room for myself without family. I visited one unit by the elevated metro rail. The Chinese lady owner reassured me that her double-layer glass window was sound-proof, but I found the building, the street so dilapidated… a livelihood hazard. If I were to take a picture of the place, it would look gloomy , grim and greyish dark. That’s my memory of it, probably not the reality. My repulsion became a livelihood concern, a bigger concern than long commute !

The worst run-down buildings are almost always in NYC near the run-down subways. They are the physical representation of ghetto. Outside NYC, I feel Newark and Journal square also have very old run-down buildings.

economically depressed pockets@poverty

Posted on by tiger40490

I am now slowly influenced by Chinese fellow parents, and have developed a biased perception of the correlation between poverty and a host of other issues like school performance, street safety, street cleanliness, kids’ behavior among my son’s friends.

If I can’t find a safe, conducive environment for my son, then we must move home.

Therefore, I appreciate the flexibility of renting.

43R: top 2 factors #loc..

Posted on by tiger40490
  1. rental demand, probably dependent on location, among other things
    • For reference, top 3 factors in appreciation is location, location and location.
  2. BCP Ratio := bedroomCount to price. For 350k, I hope to get 7 bedrooms including attic and basement.
  • –Top 4 challenges:
  • efficient renovation to improve my room offering and hopefully to create more bedrooms in living room, attic and basement. The best BCP often requires major fix-up
  • — secondary factors, dependent factors .. critical thinking!
  • vacancy? Depends on rental demand and my price
  • tenant delinquency? Well-known issue. Poor low cost locations tend to attract problem tenants.
  • legwork? I think Guang shows a good example.
  • average rental price in Bayonne or JC? easily verifiable.
  • feasibility of having many small rooms? I can buy a house with that many rooms, to reduce the uncertainty
  • asset depreciation? rental income seldom declines in a down market.. U.S.home price cycle #Wallace

(with enough savings) small home@good Loc^brandedUni: spend%%savings

Posted on by tiger40490

Scenario —

  • incomes:
    • keep working till 75 with salary income, and probably don’t need a lot of passive income, but this is a hope, not a dependable guarantee
    • we plan to rely on CPF-LIFE without bequest without deferment
    • a few high-yielding property income streams
  • burn rate:
    • we keep burn rate at current level and save USD 6k-8k/M till … 60?
    • no luxury spend like overseas trips — not worth it
  • If we retire in Singapore/Malaysia, we can downgrade to a small home
  • we sell some of the lower-yielding properties such as Beijing and HDB
  • .. In this scenario we have a lot of spare cash. Instead of keeping it until I can’t spend it, here are 2 better ways to spend it
#2 brandedUni #1 good loc but small home leisure trips notes
budget/USD up to 300k up to 700k [2] 5k/Y
category questionable “inv” investment + convenience enjoy
outlay time frame college years 2022 onward after kids go to college [1]

One special benefit of good location — wife can run a home daycare. Customers are more comfortable with such locations. Home doesn’t need to be spacious. Look at Wai Cheng’s acupuncture clinic.

[1] By this time we understand our cashflow situation better
[2] affordability @700k home shows I need a big down payment

%%favorite loc: often rental-only

Posted on by tiger40490

My favorite locations are often rental apartments — best connectivity,,,, car-freedom, walkable community ,,,, clean streets.,,, kids/exercise friendly,,,,,

I think it has to do with developer’s economic analysis. Developers want to justify high rent for many many decades, so they must pick the best location in any city, and they bid up land price at that location.

In Chinese-centric cities, those locations would become condo towers for sale. In U.S. renters are willing to pay very high rentals.