Manhattan Buckeye;502199 wrote:There are a lot of issues here, but the biggest one to me is that "they are paying off $250,000 in student loans." Folks, this is going to be an issue going forward. And it isn't a matter of "if", it is a matter of "when" the student loan crisis happens - much more foreseeable than the real estate bubble.

I recall Prof. Henderson's post before he took it off, it could have been written better but I actually agree with a lot of the underlying sentiment. It is difficult to be upwardly mobile when you have that type of debt burden. This is a nation that is getting drunker and drunker on debt, and eventually there is going to be a hangover.

Manhattan Buckeye;502254 wrote:Those are two very good questions.

Simply put, you put your children in private schools or you move to the suburbs.

queencitybuckeye;502267 wrote:With a quarter million in student loan debt, I would think a half-million dollar house in the burbs with an excellent public school system would be more in line with the family's current economic circumstances.

Manhattan Buckeye;502254 wrote:Those are two very good questions.

(1) From what I understand most of the debt is due to his wife's medical school expenses, as much as law school has become outrageously expensive*, the debts in medical and dental schools are far worse.

(2) It is hard for me to be judgmental on this. I haven't been to Hyde Park, but I know Chicago schools aren't known for their excellence. My wife and I live in an urban area with similar educational options. Simply put, you put your children in private schools or you move to the suburbs.

* FFT can add his thoughts, but the increase in tuition for law school in the last 10 years is criminally insane given the fewer career options. I graduated in 1999 with a tuition of under $20,000/year (and I had a partial scholarship to help) with damn near guaranteed a $125,000/year job for graduates. The same school now charges tuition of $45,000/year, with nearly half of the graduates unemployed.

Manhattan Buckeye;502280 wrote:Does $500,000 buy much in the commutable suburbs? It has been a while since we've been to Chicagoland, we have friends in LaGrange Park (sp.?) and my wife's godparents live in Lake Forest....our friends that live in the city have pretty hefty mortgages.

OneBuckeye;502327 wrote:I also goes back to schools stating their employment stats. They will count an employed student or someone who goes on the further education as employed but will only count the salaries of the employed lawyers. So their placement and tuition are over inflated.

Manhattan Buckeye;502280 wrote:Does $500,000 buy much in the commutable suburbs? It has been a while since we've been to Chicagoland, we have friends in LaGrange Park (sp.?) and my wife's godparents live in Lake Forest....our friends that live in the city have pretty hefty mortgages.

Manhattan Buckeye;502199 wrote:There are a lot of issues here, but the biggest one to me is that "they are paying off $250,000 in student loans." Folks, this is going to be an issue going forward. And it isn't a matter of "if", it is a matter of "when" the student loan crisis happens - much more foreseeable than the real estate bubble.

I recall Prof. Henderson's post before he took it off, it could have been written better but I actually agree with a lot of the underlying sentiment. It is difficult to be upwardly mobile when you have that type of debt burden. This is a nation that is getting drunker and drunker on debt, and eventually there is going to be a hangover.