Thread: Societal Norms Discussion

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

LOL, after my last divorce I was so far behind I thought I'd never dig out.

Don't want to leave a mass of bills, just don't want to leave anything we could have enjoyed.

True. Our bank won't let us die just yet - here's another societal norm that might be different in other countries: owning your own home.

Australian's generally all dream of owning their own home - it's the pinnacle of a lot of people's financial goals over here. I guess you all know DINK (double income no kids). Well, we've got another one over here: DINKUM. My wife and I are dinkum aussies - double income, no kids, unbeleeeeevable mortgage!

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

True. Our bank won't let us die just yet - here's another societal norm that might be different in other countries: owning your own home.

Australian's generally all dream of owning their own home - it's the pinnacle of a lot of people's financial goals over here. I guess you all know DINK (double income no kids). Well, we've got another one over here: DINKUM. My wife and I are dinkum aussies - double income, no kids, unbeleeeeevable mortgage!

James.

LOL @ DINKUM.

I think most people here in the states aspire to own a home. Although with the current cost of real estate in lots of the country it may be an unattainable goal for a lot of young people.

wow... go away for a day and look what I miss !

"God is law" and "go pump your boyfriend" in the same post

I'll bet that is exactly what Jesus said to the soldier who speared him while on the cross.
" GO PUMP YOUR BOYFRIEND AND TAKE A WHIFF!!!!"

Who knows, maybe Jesus was gay.
after all, there was an apostle named " Peter"

opps... did I offend someone?

Not as much as any good Christian who read this thread should have been offended at MercV12 preaching hatred.

I get censored for trying to have a intelligent debate over the moral and social implications of homosexuality.
Now I come to find some hothead making simultaneously the worst argument that can be made against homosexuality and the worst argument in favor of religion



I'll be on the border "picking off Mexicans" for whatever jerk said that

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

Ok, now that I have placed the appropriate party in the iggy box for the duration, where were we?

Ah, yes.

Bruno, which half is liberal and which half is conservative?

I think I best use an example because I would not know how to explain differently.

I like socialized healthcare because it works for us. I pay enough in SS, but health care and dental care are essentially free and of goo quality. Any system has its cracks and it sucks if you fall in between, but overall it works.
An american asked if I didn't mind paying for people without a job, and people who needed treatment because they did something stupid.
I don't because over here we don't think of it like that. we pay based on what we earn, and get all the treatment we need.
This would put me on the socialist side.

I also think our exit from nuclear energy was a big mistake because there are simply no economically viable alternatives. This was decided when the greens were in the government. Now they are gone and there are talks to reverse that decicion.
This would place me with the conservatives.

I think that it is insane that criminals can be released before even half their time is up. And given that certain kinds of sex offenders have a near 100% of relapse rate, I think they should be monitored for life.
This would place me with the right extremists.

My acceptance of gay marriage, muslims and people with different opinions would place me with the lefties.

I think the environment is very important so I am all in favor or curbing pollution.
This places me solidly with the greens, except that I am not convinced that the kyoto agreement will make a difference.

Despite the fact that I have nothing against Americans, I also think that we should fingerprint and photograph all american visitors for no other reason than the fact that we are treated the same when we visit the states.
That would make me a nationalist.

Finally, I think the government should keep their hands off from my money, except for income tax and sales tax. I think it is criminal that people have to pay inheritance tax or property tax. This would mke me a true blue liberal here.

So you see, when it comes to politics I am all over the place.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

here's another societal norm that might be different in other countries: owning your own home.
James.

All Belgians want to own their own home, or preferably built it.
Generally, people with dual income can buy a house and pay off their mortgage in 20 to 25 years. We chose for a 20 year mortgage because then it will be paid off by the time my daughter goes to college.

Prices of building plots and houses have risen significantly.
We were able to build a freestanding house in one of the 'village' areas away from the big cities, but less than an hours drive from the most important cities.
To buy a decent house in the big cities has become impossible for any but the rich.

Originally Posted by Bruno

All Belgians want to own their own home, or preferably built it.
Generally, people with dual income can buy a house and pay off their mortgage in 20 to 25 years. We chose for a 20 year mortgage because then it will be paid off by the time my daughter goes to college.

Prices of building plots and houses have risen significantly.
We were able to build a freestanding house in one of the 'village' areas away from the big cities, but less than an hours drive from the most important cities.
To buy a decent house in the big cities has become impossible for any but the rich.

It's similar here, although probably not as extreme yet, at least in the cities. We were lucky and bought in between price peaks. But we had to do a 30 year mortgage so we could afford the repayments.... But, you know, it's a great investment - when we die, the kids we couldn't afford to have will reap the benefits, for sure...

James.

Originally Posted by Jimbo

when we die, the kids we couldn't afford to have will reap the benefits, for sure...
James.

We are at the max we can actually pay off and still have 2 children.
We have a free standing house on 800 square meters of land in a dead end street near the center of a small village.

Theonl reason we could afford it is because the house still needs a lot of work on the inside. Over the last 4 years I have done a lot of hidden work (plumbing, electricity) and I just finished the renovation of the master bedroom. asically I tore out everthing (ceiling, plaster on the walls, electricity) and started from scratch.

If I had't been a 'tim the toolman' we would not have been able to have a house like this.

I find this thread pretty amazing. There are people here who have been so helpful and forthcoming with getting others to improve their shaving. Generous in their selling and passing on stuff, dedicated and committed in their cottage-industry setups, innovative in their ideas (about shaving!), patient and forgiving in their debates (about shaving!) and yet...

so much complexity and complication!

There are poeple here to whom I feel indebted for helping me out, and yet I think I would probably deck one or two of them if we ever went out for a drink. Truly, this forum represents a little slice of the enormous variety of lifestyles and cultures out there. It puzzles the hell out of me.

More than once I've abandoned a response to parts of this thread (and others), because, well, my opinion is merely another data point on the line graph of life , so instead I've ranted at the screen out loud and purged myself of frustration and offence that way.

My wife wonders why I spend so much time reading our posts. Man, it's like reading on crack!

Originally Posted by Jonedangerousli

No kids. Our goal is to die the day we run out of money, LOL.

My wife and I were planning to do it the other way around.

Originally Posted by Bruno

My wife and I were planning to do it the other way around.

After comparing the two posts you did state it the way I intended. If history is any indication there's a good chance that we'll run out of money at least a couple of times before we run out of life, LOL.