<p>eastcoascrazy–yes, winter can be a concern but keep in mind, these areas are experienced in handling snowy weather and it isn’t as much of a concern as it is on the east coast where snow removal can be an issue. Iowa, Missouri, etc. are far more temperate than many east coast areas too. Personally, I would be more concerned about the extreme heat and humidity in many areas of the country. I don’t know anyone that is “trapped for months” in their home. That is quite an exaggeration or those people have unfounded fears.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl – Your description of the “few” $50,000 and < families you know sounds like a good many of the $100,000 +/- families I know. The “prestige” that so many CCers hanker for is just not part of the equation for 95% of Americans regardless of what side of the $50,000 divide they reside in.</p>
<p>I’m from northern Wisconsin. I know the weather. The whole “they know how to handle the snow up there” is true, but only takes a person so far. I didn’t mean to say anyone actually IS trapped, but the elderly certainly can FEEL trapped. My parents chose to age in place. TheY had the money to do so with panache, but even so, the last few years of their lives there were parts of the year when my mother was afraid of falling on her own driveway, cancelled hair appointments and some doctors appointments because of icy/snowy conditions in the parking lots, and did her daily mile walk inside her own home. </p>
<p>For years they wintered in the south, and loved every minute of it. When that yearly commute became too much they chose to spend the last years in northern Wisconsin. It was hard on them. That simple walk to the mailbox in January became a frightening thing, because they knew very well the statistics of elderly people ever fully recovering from falls. They had strong friendships in both places, and none of their kids lived in our hometown. They would have had a higher quality of life had they made the choice to age in place in their southern home. They said as much. They were not more fearful of falls than any of their contemporaries, by the way. We who aren’t 90 years old have a hard time understanding perhaps.</p>
<p>I would agree that the heat and humidity of the deep south should also be a consideration for anyone considering a move to a place further south than anywhere they’ve previously lived. I’d recommend a lengthy summer visit before taking that plunge, as well.</p>
<p>I think my family is an argument against the point made above that lower class families only send their kids to a trade program and don’t understand prestige.</p>
<p>Our household income is about $25,000. We have a household of 4, including our freshman D. She is attending a top 50 school, 1000 miles from home, and applied to several top 20 schools. Her school has a no loan for tuition program, but does give loans for room and board. They do not meet 100% of need.</p>
<p>She turned down one of the three loans they offered her and we have a monthly payment to make in order for her to attend there.</p>
<p>Can it honestly be said that all (or most) people that make less than a certain amount don’t understand what a college education can do for a person? Or that they are stuck within a certain mileage of home? Or are too stupid to understand the difference between a good school or a bad school or what prestige is? I beg to differ.</p>
<p>Weather is a big consideration it’s true. I cracked my sacrum falling on ice & it still bothers me.</p>
<p>With global climate change our planting zone has gotten bumped up a notch in the Puget Sound so I am eager to see if that means tomatoes this year!
Seattle is also planting the first urban food forest & I am eager to be involved with that.</p>
<p>I admit that I have lived my whole life in Seattle & as long as Pearl Jam has it as their home base, I am not likely to move either. :)</p>
<h1>21 SteveMA, Pizzagirl said that the people in the 50K bracket were NOT jealous of her children’s expensive colleges.</h1>
<p>My experience parallels Pizzagirl’s. I think many people, not just people in a certain income bracket, find the idea of paying 200K+ for a liberal arts education to be incomprehensible. They don’t get it. </p>
<p>Mostly, people who had a liberal arts education themselves value it for their own children. As most people have not had this experience, they don’t value it. And it’s too expensive to take a flyer on.</p>
<p>Bajamm I don’t think that lower or middle income, is the same as lower class. I think class delineates how you spend your time and money. Those who choose to restrict their opportunities and interactions have a much narrower outlook than say someone who regularly uses the public library.</p>
<p>It would be interesting to compare however the out of state rate of attendance between state schools to see if that translates into a more diverse population over time.</p>
<p>^I agree, emeraldkity4. There are people who make a lot of money who have very narrow intellectual horizons and no hunger for knowledge for its own sake.</p>
<p>eastcoascrazy–Northern WI weather is vastly different than even southern WI weather. Again, SD, IA, MO, etc. are more temperate than most places on the east coast.</p>
<p>NJSue–What’s to “get”? A $200K education is not going to give you the advantage you think it does…the real world is quite different from the CC world. Also, that $200K education for someone that makes $50K is only going to cost THEM about $20K…who really doesn’t get it? I’m sure you don’t mean to come off as a snob, but you really are coming off that way.</p>
<p>I have to agree there is a difference between lower income and lower class. </p>
<p>The way lower income kids go to college is some what different than higher income kids. Most of my classmates pretty much went to state schools. Mostly to community college and not full time. Many times is takes years for them to finish. Many like my dh went in the military and then went to college. It took my dh 6 years to finish his undergrad because he went part-time. It took him 5 or so years to finish his masters. He had to take semesters off for work. Kids today are still doing the same thing. They go to college but they need many more years to finish than the normal four years. In the end, most wind up in the same place as their higher income friends but it just takes them a few more years to get there. BTW about 85% of dh’s education was paid by his employer.</p>
<p>You can live in our town in Westchester on $50,000 - you just have to be willing to live in an apartment in an older building.</p>
<p>The lower income kids around here are going to schools like Harvard and Yale because they cost less than the state schools or community colleges…</p>
<p>I live in an area where most of us live on $50,000 or less.Most of the kids go to the satellite universities in the area and live at home. DS will most likely go to private school with enough merit/FA to cover it. Where I am from all the parents believe in the importance of education, especially the lucky few who work in the steel mills or the auto plants making $80,000. They want the kids to have choices.</p>
<p>SteveMA, How many lower income kids have the stats to even be competetive at Havard, Yale, or any of the other meets full need schools? My kid sure doesn’t. Most kids regardless of income don’t.</p>
<p>In some ways being really low income is easier than making $50,000-$60,000. ( Ive done both & I am not speaking of chronic poverty)
Very low income brings eligibility for subsidizes & programs. Being lowish middle income means you pay for everything yourself.</p>
<p>However, very low income brings with it, much more instability & uncertainty. Hard to do well at school when you don’t know where you are going to live next month & when you are ashamed to bring friends home.</p>
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<p>I am referring to a specific group of people that I know that fall into that category; I’m not making any blanket generalization about people who make < $50K a year at all. I guarantee they don’t fall into the Millionaire Next Door type with substantial portfolios given that they are always hitting H / me up for money. </p>
<p>I’m quite aware that there is little such generalization that could be made about people making $50K; sorry if that wasn’t clear. </p>
<p>Heck, my parents both grew up in very working class blue collar circumstances and their families had radically different outlooks on education - my father’s family didn’t say boo when their kids dropped out of high school, whereas my mother’s family was always more aspirational and were quite aware of and respectful of the “better” colleges and universities in their metropolitan area.</p>
<p>Thanks for the perspective on cost of living-I guess I never really got that if work didn’t pay as much, but housing & expenses didn’t cost as much, you still could have a pretty good quality of life. D’oh.</p>
<p>I have never lived anywhere else & I would miss the mountains & the sound if I moved. ( although if D2 lives abroad after college, I would seriously consider moving too)</p>
<p>Steve, I don’t want to derail this into a discussion of the weather, but our perspectives of mild winter weather is completely dependent on what we are comparing it to.</p>
<p>I also lived for a long time in Omaha. Coming from northern Wisconsin, I thought the winters there were just as you describe: Generally mild, though with occasional blasts of arctic air and some of the worst blizzards I’d ever seen. From MY perspective it was great. However, from the perspective of ALL the med school students who had come to Omaha from California (and for some reason, there were a number of them) the weather there was miserable. In October they were looking for winter jackets with hoods. They did not think the winters in Omaha were mild at the time. They do not recall the winters as having been mild when we run into each other at reunions.</p>
<p>Which doesn’t mean I think people should avoid moving north, but I do think it is important to visit during the worst time of year, weather wise, before making a move. If you want to encourage people to move to the Dakotas, Minnesota, or Wisconsin, they need to visit in January, or February when the snow is brown. (And sure, they should visit Florida or Arizona in July.)</p>
<p>reeinaz–around here- a lot. Obviously with a 7% acceptance rate that is the real issue. Again, around here $50K isn’t “working class” often that is a mid-level professional that has a college degree. Even if they are not attending Harvard, they are going to top colleges for little or nothing out of pocket with a combination of merit aid and FA. I really don’t know anyone that is paying full freight for college quite honestly, no matter what their income level. People around here are just too practical to shell out that kind of money when they don’t have to. Kind of like the 40K pre-school thread. If someone here tried to open a pre-school like that they would have zero kids sign up.</p>
<p>“Low Income” is relative.</p>
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<p>Just because one hesitates, or refuses, to pay $200K+ for an UG education does not mean they are intellectual dolts. It does mean they put an ROI value on the situation. Maybe they make the choice to sit around in coffee houses and discuss the ins and outs of the Kantian view of life AFTER they have graduated, debt free and with good job prospects. And there is a good chance the barista bringing the double cap with no whip is working to pay off some of their own student debt.</p>