A Handout or a Hand Up?

I just read an article on the NY Magazine site about boomers not helping their millennial kids out financially and the kids resenting their parents for it. I'm not a boomer or a millennial (Gen X all day, baby), so I can't speak for those groups, but I can speak about my own situation with my parents and money. 

I was raised without receiving financial support from my parents for college. My mother (who died while I was in graduate school) wasn't in a position to help me financially and my father really wasn't either (although he was certainly better off financially than my mother after they divorced in the 1980s). So I paid my own way. I worked for the university where I received my undergraduate degree so I could receive tuition assistance and I took loans out for graduate school (that I finally paid off probably 20 years ago). I also didn't get any funds from my dad when I bought my current co-op. I used my own money that I'd saved for the down payment. Considering the fact that I was in my 40s when I bought the place, I wouldn't have even imagined asking my father for money. He was retired by then and living on a fixed income. 

While I'm not against financially helping family members, I don't feel any parent is obligated to give their grown children money, but I also don't have any children, so I'm speaking as someone who's never been in this situation personally. Some kids do need financial help with bills, down payments, college loans, whatever and some parents are in a financial position to help their children, but if the parents choose not to help, are they evil for refusing to give their kids money? I don't think so.

New York, New York

I got back yesterday from a quick trip to New York for work. I got there on Saturday and the entire time I was there, I found myself being annoyed with the amount of people on the streets. I also found myself wondering how I worked there for 7.5 years while living in New Jersey and then Brooklyn. I was talking to a friend in NY about this and she assured me that the city wasn't as crowded back then. I left NY in 2013. Maybe she's right, but the sheer amount of people walking around midtown and taking selfies and videos of themselves (especially around Times Square) during my recent visit was ridiculous. I avoided Times Square like the plague when I used to work around that area, but I had to go through it to get to where I was going during my visit this past weekend and the streets felt downright claustrophobic. 

Shortly before I left New York, the city got Citibikes and I remember thinking, This is never going to work. How wrong I was about that! There are so many bikes on the streets there now: Citibikes, e-bikes, personal bikes. whatever. If you didn't have enough problems crossing the streets due to cars, trucks, and busses, now you've got bikers who will mow you down. 

Despite my complaints, I always enjoy visiting New York and this trip was no exception. After a heavy rain Saturday night, the weather was great Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday and I got to see my boss (who I had not seen in person since before Covid in 2020), other coworkers, and friends I hadn't seen in some time. I doubt I'd ever move back to New York because I can't afford it and because I don't think I could take it, but I'll continue to be a visitor. I just need to avoid Midtown the next time I go!

Say Yes to Michigan

Years ago, there used to be an ad campaign to encourage people to visit Michigan. The theme song for the commericals was "Say Yes to Michigan." I can hear the song in my head as I'm typing this post. I was in my home state of Michigan last week for the Memorial Day holiday and had a great time. I'm seriously considering a move back to the mitten state and I'm really close to making that happen. I'm pretty certain it will happen before the end of the year. I've been in the Chicago area now since 2013 (after leaving Brooklyn) and I feel like it's time to make another move. Maybe it's time to "say yes to Michigan" again!

In other news, I'm reading Heated Rivalry (and watching the series) and I have to say I'm enjoying both. The book is good and I'm ashamed at myself for not reading it earlier. I'm not someone who's into hockey at all (despite being from Michigan), but I'm enjoying the story and the characters. It's a nice departure from some of the more depressing stuff I've been reading over the past few months. Maybe it'll spur me to get back to my own writing (that's been sorely neglected). One can only hope!