They're tied up in those jobs because they're the fun mix of not too intellectually demanding, still respectable, and financially rewarding. Engineering is hard, blue collar work is downright hard especially as your body starts to revolt from 40 and up, and we're not going to overpay people to do much of anything else.

If you're in a white collar role, it's not the worst idea.

If it's a blue collar role or it's a white collar role in a kinda dangerous neighbourhood, it can sometimes feel like a weird suicide mission. :-/

FWIW, in NYS, the law makes it hard for civil servants to return back to work while collecting their pensions. So coincidentally, many end up just leaving the state to stretch their dollars in places like Florida.

OTOH, increasing the co-pays is *definitely* what happened. Tier IV employees pay 2% (my dad once upon a time). New employees (my brother) pay 4.5% and overtime no longer factors as much in pension payouts. So even if you *could* retire at 55, the payouts are too little which creates an incentive to stay longer. And if you had kids at 30, paying for their grad school means that you're *definitely* going to stay longer to help them out financially with the overtime that doesn't accrue toward your pension...

*governments are more ruthless with their employees than private companies are*

As the son, nephew, sibling, and friend of civil servants, I'd concur. There's a reason I'm very adamant about ensuring that civil servants have their labour rights respected.

So, IOW, the people most in need of retirement won't get one?

FWIW, I would have argued that working for the state was the solution in the US, but my friend noted that in exchange for below inflation raises, they gutted the employee retirement healthcare plan. The pension plan is constitutionally protected, but if things become dire, there's nothing preventing an amendment to said constitution...

* there was no massive, global, militarized empire forcing people to use it as currency*

There's a reason some of us have zero qualms about funding defense spending to ensure that the dollar remains king, and our hegemony remains strong. The alternatives are far less enticing.

The interesting part is that there's so many of us in my cohort who won't have kids because we assume that there won't be jobs for them. Admittedly, I'm biased because I've seen my friends in high paying public transit jobs note how train operation went from requiring multiple people to move a subway train to "zero person train operation" in a highly unionized environment like France on a line that dates back to 1900. If that can be automated, it doesn't quite leave much hope for the future.

…but it is hard. Hence why we have smart people, Excel, Matlab, and TI-89s to do it for us. :-)

Freeloader in the minds of most people evokes somebody on state support that’s low class and comes with other negative traits. Not middle class young adults holding out for middle class work with the agreement of their parents.

The insanely low supply here on Long Island means that it's a seller's market at this point. So stuff that would have been deal killers or some price cuts are now ignored.

*We have oil heat and radiators*

Oh crap, you're on that junk too? Oh noes.

I would switch to a heat pump, but those things cost eleventy million dollars around here, and I'd basically have to drill holes into the wall for the mini-split system so the aesthetics aren't ideal.

Otherwise, nobody is gutting anything around here. It's basically 50-100 year old houses that just get new siding on the outside, and new kitchens and bathrooms on the inside because only speculators do tear downs.

I’m admittedly joking but a friend noted that dumping her ex and his bad eating habits while running around with kids for an after school programme was the best way of losing weight…

Somebody needs to go volunteer at her local Schule :-)

Can’t tell if just German things or just anal mom things.

The former definitely seems like something my mom would have done at her peak. She wouldn’t have organized the pantry by date, but in her case by frequency of use and convenience as she was 5’1”.

It’s weird, I never quite considered that to be a “freeloader” because there was no direct payment or signup for state aid. And the low wage jobs available with limited hours would not pay much in federal or even taxes…

If you're willing to go the co-op route, this (https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/22602-Manor-Rd-7-1_Queens-Village_NY_11427_M41749-29108?from=srp-list-card) is available in a decent part of Queens with a very long bus ride to the subway.

It would take roughly four years of gross average household income to buy it, and these units require 20% down...

Somewhat seriously though, do you *need* the garage given that it's a used car? The large sheds that are sold at Home Depot would be a reasonable and cheaper alternative if they're available in your area if you wanted *something* outdoors to store stuff...

I'm going to buy the garage, but lease it to you at a fair rate so I can be the real estate mogul. :-)

And this why we're friends. :-)

A mortgage for all intents and purposes is a wonky way of trying to invest and save money given the high costs, maintenance, and property taxes. Homes for all intents and purposes are for consumption, and we buy them because we have more freedom to decorate and renovate as we see fit within legal regulations compared to apartments. The only difference is that unlike most consumer goods, you can get some of your money back (in theory) when you sell.

So when I was unemployed and living off my parents, I was carried by the remainder despite not being on unemployment, Medicaid, or anything else?

I'm guessing Germany doesn't require X number of years of employment being eligible for unemployment?