What is your definition of success?

[deevergote]

If you notice, wed3k's comment ended in bragging... because he's a smartass (I totally missed it until I read it quoted in sonikaccord's reply.)

That's the interesting thing. To me, I'd see buying an expensive car to park in the driveway of my little 860 sq/ft house as being irresponsible. Blowing 3x the value of my home on a poor investment... a depreciating asset such as a high-end luxury/performance vehicle. From my way of looking at it, it makes total sense. It shows skewed priorities.
From your perspective, same exact situation... it also makes total sense. If a modest house meets your needs, there's no reason to buy a larger, fancier house. If owning a modest house means you have a large amount of disposable income with which to enjoy your passions, in this case, cars... then it makes perfect sense. If owning a cheap house means you can afford an expensive car without the risk of being unable to pay basic living expenses, that works.


That's why I posted this thread. I thought it would be very interesting to see what people have to say... and it has indeed been very interesting.
We've got everything from financial success, to professional success, to educational accomplishments, to emotional stability, stable family life, and even spiritual success.
I think the ones that sum it all up nicely are those that focus on a balance that just results in overall happiness. Granted, that balance will vary from person to person... but that happiness and satisfaction is generally the ultimate goal.

[Domesticated]

The housing thing is on point. I'm moving from a 1375/month condo in a great neighborhood to a studio in a worse neighborhood for 475 because I realized renting more than I need is a waste of money.

[owequitit]

At age 4, success is.......................not peeing your pants.
At age 12, success is.....................having friends.
At age 20, success is.....................having sex.
At age 35, success is.....................making money.
At age 60, success is.....................having sex.
At age 70, success is.....................having friends.
At age 80, success is.....................not peeing your pants.

[owequitit]

If you notice, wed3k's comment ended in bragging... because he's a smartass (I totally missed it until I read it quoted in sonikaccord's reply.)

That's the interesting thing. To me, I'd see buying an expensive car to park in the driveway of my little 860 sq/ft house as being irresponsible. Blowing 3x the value of my home on a poor investment... a depreciating asset such as a high-end luxury/performance vehicle. From my way of looking at it, it makes total sense. It shows skewed priorities.
From your perspective, same exact situation... it also makes total sense. If a modest house meets your needs, there's no reason to buy a larger, fancier house. If owning a modest house means you have a large amount of disposable income with which to enjoy your passions, in this case, cars... then it makes perfect sense. If owning a cheap house means you can afford an expensive car without the risk of being unable to pay basic living expenses, that works.


That's why I posted this thread. I thought it would be very interesting to see what people have to say... and it has indeed been very interesting.
We've got everything from financial success, to professional success, to educational accomplishments, to emotional stability, stable family life, and even spiritual success.
I think the ones that sum it all up nicely are those that focus on a balance that just results in overall happiness. Granted, that balance will vary from person to person... but that happiness and satisfaction is generally the ultimate goal.

The older I get though, the more I realize I don't WANT a huge house. I would rather have a modest house with a kick ass garage and a hangar.

I am also more interested in rescuing an older house or building a unique house out of something like shipping containers than I am about having a huge house that impresses everyone.

[Ralphie]

I am surprised you would judge a neighborhood by the cars in the driveway Mike.

In your line of work I know we have talked about it before, how you deal with house foreclosures and the owners have brand new cars outside.

I would not judge a neighborhood by vehicles parked outside. I would, however, judge it by how well kept the houses are or how involved the people are in the community.

And success to me is simply being able to provide for my wife and daughter. As long as they are taken care of, even if it means I go without the toys and things I enjoy doing, It is all good.

I am not as far in my career as I would like to be but I got a late start and I am behind in my education but I am working on that now and hopefully in 3-5 years should be much better off.

[deevergote]

Well, it's not quite as simple as that... but cars are a good indicator of a neighborhood.

A neighborhood filled with $280,000 houses that all have 10-15 year old Corollas in the driveways indicate a neighborhood that is largely populated by people that are likely living at or very close to their means. One or two houses with cheap old cars in the driveway, fine. Some people may not care about what they drive. Some people may simply be frugal. Maybe only a few of those are actually in financial distress. However, if the majority of the cars are old beaters, it says something about the neighborhood. The condition houses usually reflects that as well.

I'm also not saying that a shack in the ghetto with a brand new Lexus LS parked outside is occupied by someone I'd consider "successful". A small, modest house as recently discussed is one thing... but a dilapidated home in a dangerous neighborhood is another. That's just a lack of priorities. Being in the foreclosure industry, I know for a fact that a run-down rowhome in Camden is worth about 50% of the cost of a brand new Lexus!

Ultimately, though, the cars in a neighborhood are a very good indicator of the type of people living there. It's an unfair assessment of an individual, or even a handful of people... but when observed as a community as a whole, it becomes much more accurate.

Judging by the condition of the homes and the involvement of the people are also very good indicators. I just didn't include them because they didn't go with my whole car theme

[owequitit]

Well, it's not quite as simple as that... but cars are a good indicator of a neighborhood.

A neighborhood filled with $280,000 houses that all have 10-15 year old Corollas in the driveways indicate a neighborhood that is largely populated by people that are likely living at or very close to their means. One or two houses with cheap old cars in the driveway, fine. Some people may not care about what they drive. Some people may simply be frugal. Maybe only a few of those are actually in financial distress. However, if the majority of the cars are old beaters, it says something about the neighborhood. The condition houses usually reflects that as well.

I'm also not saying that a shack in the ghetto with a brand new Lexus LS parked outside is occupied by someone I'd consider "successful". A small, modest house as recently discussed is one thing... but a dilapidated home in a dangerous neighborhood is another. That's just a lack of priorities. Being in the foreclosure industry, I know for a fact that a run-down rowhome in Camden is worth about 50% of the cost of a brand new Lexus!

Ultimately, though, the cars in a neighborhood are a very good indicator of the type of people living there. It's an unfair assessment of an individual, or even a handful of people... but when observed as a community as a whole, it becomes much more accurate.

Judging by the condition of the homes and the involvement of the people are also very good indicators. I just didn't include them because they didn't go with my whole car theme

I read this, and had to remind myself that $280K doesn't go very far in Jersey...

[deevergote]

Depends on where you are. In my area, $280k could potentially get you a half acre, a 2,000 square foot home, a 3 car garage, and an in-ground pool.

Still, there ARE neighborhoods (McMansion developments, mainly) that have houses that sold for that much, maybe more when they were initially purchased before the market crash... that have old, low-end vehicles in practically every driveway. I've visited many neighborhoods like that for work. 10% of the houses are vacant, 20-30% are for sale, and I often visit multiple houses in those developments for foreclosure inspections (and often, they're not the ones that are vacant or for sale!)

Cars clearly aren't the only indicator, as Ralphie pointed out. But very often they are one of the clearest.

[wed3k]

there's a lot of younger people in the bay area bragging about "owning" a house (most dont own but still paying a mortgage...)

id rather not get stuck so my most ideal living situation aside from living with the folks is an ambulance. im going to buy an older powerstroke diesel ambulance and convert it. best part is the mobility and ill make my investments into machinery for the shop. financing those will still build credit.

apartments around here are going for 2500/month for a 2 bedroom. im cool off that.

[CyborgGT]

^ Where do you live, that's insane. I'm sharing a townhouse with a friend right now that's just under half that price and probably has twice the space. It's not shabby either. You can get a really nice 2bd apartment (or even a decent 2-3 bed house with garage) in my area for mid-$1000s easy.

I was once at the court paying off a ticket and overheard an officer talking about housing. Said he was from New York and making $100,000 a year out there is just getting by, compared to how well off you can be in Colorado with the same pay. My sister once took a vacation to NYC with a group of friends... they got chloroformed in their hotel (hostel, I think she called it?) while they were sleeping and were robbed. No thanks.

[Ralphie]

Hey now my house was 282k out the door haha!

I have an acre and it is about 2000 sq feet. Only a oversized one car and no pool but it is cozy.

Basically a good starter home. We will be looking to get a bigger house in the next 2-3 years and we know we will probably be spending between 345-445k on the house but it is an investment for the kids. The only thing I hate is that I am sure my property taxes will be around 10k a year.

So do I fit in the stereotype.....my house is 280k and there is a 6 year old CRV and 6 year old Altima in the driveway haha.

But most of the houses in my area are 350k+

And Scott hit it on the head....280k doesn't get very far in certain parts of NJ.

[Ralphie]

oh and p.s.

the other reason I HATE the car analogy is because in my neighborhood, it is really mixed. I think some people would consider my area the mcmansions as Deev called it....

yes there are some houses in my neighborhood that are around 750k and higher...

but I have literally seen every type of car in these driveways.....

Ill see if I can find some examples on google maps- brb.

[chessboxer]

I know this is a vague question, but I'm curious to see what the answers are.
What do you guys (and girls) consider to be a proper indicator of success? Education? Physical condition? Home ownership? Career placement? Travel experience? Romantic/sexual conquest? Public notoriety? Something else?

As lame as it sounds, to me, cars are the definition of success. I know quite well that a car is a terrible investment, and many successful people drive cars that don't announce their status (to my knowledge, Jeff Goldblum still drives the Land Rover that was given to him for being in Jurassic Park!) Still, I seem to define MY OWN success by the cars I can afford, or want to afford. When I have a certain income, based on my career achievements and education, I have certain cars that I'd expect to afford.

When I drive through a particular neighborhood (looking for a house in the next few years), I look at the cars before anything else. I judge the neighborhood based on the cars the residents drive.

I'm becoming a hippie in my old age so what I view as being truly successful is a bit different.

I do admit that there is a form of being successful for pretty much anything and at its core, success just means achieving the desired result of what you were trying to accomplish. Success is accomplishing your goals.

Now goals can vary and be either good or bad, so you can be successful at being either good or bad at something. If you enter into a business deal with the intent of bringing the whole thing down and it does goes down, you are successful in that endeavour, though in the end it is a negative form of success overall (this too is dependent on if the business itself was good/bad).

Before I ramble on too much, I think almost everything is subjective and the ideas of good and bad are a false dichotomy.

To me, the most important and most defining and important aspect of "being a success" is something within you. It is an inner peace that I try and seek constantly and with 3 kids, bills, debt, work, etc, that seeking is constantly interrupted.

To have a sense of peace, kindness, and understanding, to not have what you want but to want what you have, regardless of what that is.

Are those people with 10 ferraris and 3 mansions successful? From a capitalist-I-made-it and have tons of money standpoint, yes, they are successful.

However, being financially successful is not all that we should consider.

Individual happiness and peace is the truest form of success, enlightenment (what that is is debated widely) is success. While all of the creature comforts in life are great, I do not personally believe they are the end all be all for defining success.

Think of the people who don't have a lot of material wealth but have incredible families and social support systems, people that are constantly flooded with negativity, disaster, and tragedy in their lives. The ones that can wither any storm, retain a sense of happiness, and continue to marvel at the fact that we even exist at all, those are the successful people.

The lavish things in this world will pass and while I can never know the minds of those with 10 exotic cars versus those of tibetan monks or hippies on a commune that just connect with nature and live off the land while respecting it and not destroying it, I would rather have none of the material possessions and all of the peace and understanding of those in the latter groups who do possess it.

I think I have been reading too much Alan Watts lately. I'll stop rambling now, I don't even know that I made a point there. You are successful if you made it through this massive wall of text. Perhaps real success is a tibetan monk with a sweet garage!

[phatdoughnut]

I think I made it. First one through high school, college from our family in America. That to me is the biggest thing. Got a house two dogs and been married for 13 years. I think the biggest one was being able to refinance our house to a 15yr and keeping the same payment. w00t!

[Ralphie]

OK so I present to you exhibit A-


This house is selling right now for over 800k.

Only pickup trucks in the driveway, and in the evening hours a Wrangler.

No Lexus or Mercedes or Massarati....

no offense to pickup owners, shit I would love a C10 right now haha.

I just don't think judging areas by vehicles is good....

they could be thrifty or they could be barely getting by because of the house...

and someone with a 125K house that has a Jaguar outside may have bad priorities or just knows they would rather spend money on cars and minimize the house costs...

I see so many different houses here with cheaper imports and older cars that to me say more about the people then the neighborhood but I guess it can go both ways.

Interesting topic though.