[NYCGarbagePrince]

Originally Posted by Orient330iNYC

+1
I rent an apt in a luxury building near wall st, walk to work and have a bmw. one did not dictate the choice of the other. hell, my parking costs as much as a lease special 335i....
not sure what the generalization is trying to say.... everyone has their own priorities, everyone has different needs.
i will say though, if you are stretching yourself to make rent, eat, and have a bmw, you may need to reexamine those priorities, but at the end of the day, they are YOUR priorities.

Hey I just moved to wall st as well. And you are right.. parking is almost as much as the damn car payment....That's why I negotiated it into my lease.. I am in 95 wall..

[Comet]

Originally Posted by Prowess Symphony

woah. I want to live on a boat!

I used to live on my boat every summer.
internet was a hassle...

I live in a condo (in mtl) that costs more than a house and drive a BMW. I'm out of town a lot and there is no justifying having a full fledge house for no reason...

Condos > Houses if you are a bachelor

[punky8d]

This thread just kept on going...

[mrgoochio]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

What do we think about driving a newer BMW and living in an apartment? In general, I am talking about a person who chooses to live in an apartment because they choose to drive an expensive car. Not college students.

Should this person be saving for a house or is it perfectly acceptable to be, let's say 30 or over, living in an apartment with an expensive car?

sounds like glendale to me. no offense to the armenians of 1addicts

[mrgoochio]

Originally Posted by nukezero

true!

i'll live in a 1000 sq. ft. apt on Rodeo drive in beverly hills for $1500 / mo. versus living in a 2000 sq. ft house in COMPTON or South Central LA for the same price.


Everything is relative! There is no right answer.


you also have to understand there was an article that compared buying a home vs. living in an apartment. And it went to showed that if YOU knew your finances and accounting, that assuming all equal cost, that living in an apartment and saving the difference and putting it in savings compounds faster after 30 years versus the appreciatio of a house. That is also because a savings account doesn't lose equity, only inflation. But a house can not only lose value due to inflation but also due to the volatile market.

lol u really think u can afford a 1000sq apartment in beverly hills on $1500?

[josephr25]

Originally Posted by Tondtar

This constitutes a good portion of BMW drivers in LA - including those who own 6 & 7 series, believe it or not.

But then again, you are judged more but what you wear and drive here than anywhere else I know of and medain home prices in good neighborhood is still above $1 mil. mark. So driving a nice car makes up for the lack of opportunity in home ownership to a great degree. Make sense? ....Probably not

I can see living at home w/ a 3er, but 6er? 7er? Not saying it's not true since I'm not in LA... maybe Irvine since I see spoiled (stupid) kids there all the time. Then again both places can be ridiculously expensive to live in.

[mrgoochio]

i see plenty of young kids and students driving 50K+ cars around here. try westwood

[vioaltec]

depends, if its a nice apartment in an affluent community.

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Yeah, the more I think about it, it's not so much about WHERE you live, but the ratio of what you pay for mortgage/rent compared to what you pay for your car - and how much money you have left over.

For example paying $700 for rent and paying $700 for car.

[ragingclue]

I was hoping they'd bring a 335iT to the states, that way I would have both a car and a place to live....

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

I was hoping they'd bring a 335iT to the states, that way I would have both a car and a place to live....

There's always a vaaaaaaaaaaaan down by the riiiiiiver.

[jaiman]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

This is the exception, not the rule.

Not in a high end condo in a major city.

My condo's parking lot includes a couple of M5s, 7 or 8 p-cars and 1 f-car. And its in more of a funky neighborhood rather than a super posh one.

[jaiman]

Originally Posted by MontegoGoGoGo

Yeah, the more I think about it, it's not so much about WHERE you live, but the ratio of what you pay for mortgage/rent compared to what you pay for your car - and how much money you have left over.

For example paying $700 for rent and paying $700 for car.

That funny, because i've always wondered what the typical ratio is for people. Is your rent/mortgage 2x, 3x, 4x your car payment?

[MontegoGoGoGo]

I don't know the answer to that, as to what's "right." any financial guys know?
1/4 of your mortgage sounds good? Depending on what your other expenses are?

[jaiman]

Originally Posted by MontegoGoGoGo

I don't know the answer to that, as to what's "right." any financial guys know?
1/4 of your mortgage sounds good? Depending on what your other expenses are?

well, I'm a financial guy and i don't know. I'd expect car enthusiasts might be closer to 1/3 and people who view cars just as transport between a and b will be less than 1/4, but I've never heard a rule of thumb.

[J-9]

The question is so subjective; it's just mentally masturbating on the 'what ifs'.

[Njave]

It depends really, like someone says it's just about priorities. But having a home, calling it your own. No car will ever be able to replace that, so you can probably get the picture. But if you are happy, in your mid twenties or thirties, single, enjoying life, then who are we to judge your decisions in this case really.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by mogarbage

being prudent would be drinking your piss once a week to save money on water or coffee, but is it fun?!

No, no that isn't the same thing at all.

[mogarbage]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

No, no that isn't the same thing at all.

it absolutely is. this thread is about the order in which material possessions are acquired, and the level of social standards to be maintained in such a quest.

[mogarbage]

Originally Posted by MontegoGoGoGo

You're assuming that I'm assuming, I assume.

I'm just saying how these threads ALWAYS unfold.

do a favor, read what i first quoted, then re-read your reply.
dont let it bend you out of shape though. i can already tell comprehension isn't a strong point of yours

This is you getting over it.

how cute

[MontegoGoGoGo]

Originally Posted by mogarbage

do a favor, read what i first quoted, then re-read your reply.
dont let it bend you out of shape though. i can already tell comprehension isn't a strong point of yours



how cute

OMG. You. Are. Awesome. Let's be friends.

Just sent you a request.

[Tortfeasor 335xi]

Different strokes for different folks. I own my 335xi outright, no loan, no lease, its just mine. I also live in an apartment in Philly. In the garage for the apartment building there are a ton of cars costing a lot more than my little 335xi. All of these people could afford a house in the burbs if they wanted it, but they choose not to. Unless you know the reasons behind why they chose not to, judging their priorities is foolish and ignorant. There are a ton of good reasons to rent in the city rather than owning in the burbs, and I won't bore you by listing them here.

And for the record, if you got a loan from the bank to buy your house, are you really all that different from the renter of an apartment? Neither of you own your dwelling place, you are only being allowed to live their by someone else, assuming you pay your rent/mortgage on time.