[PoorLurker]

Looking at where people live is like trying to decipher a conversation by hearing two seconds of it.

Too many variables.

Some days I wish I lived in a small one bedroom apartment with a nice car.

Cars are beautiful to me. So are houses. However, if you find the right apartment, it just looks like one huge house! You just happen to live in a small fraction of it. Then, use money to get a super nice car and be living large!

[EL Jeffe 5]

Friend of mine driving M5 living in apartment but he is single

[PoorLurker]

The real question is

"Would you rather drive a crappy car living in a house or a nice car in an apartment?"

Maybe I am in a funk, but the nice car sounds so appealing right now. The 8 sq. feet of space I have occupied today in my house would be the same in an apartment haha

[TheNus]

Here is the thing, this logic is overly simplistic. I don't know if this has been mentioned but I will reiterate if it has. Some of us choose to live in an apartment; or more accurately luxury apartments, high rises or historic lofts because we like to live right in the middle of the city. It is near our office, bars and restaurants are walkable and the area is very nice. I am pretty sure the people living on my block who drive Lamborghinis, Ferraris, Rolls Royce etc would have no problem owning a home. But like many posts in this forum people are just looking for an excuse to be better than someone. My reason for living in an apartment is described above, but I also don't see myself living in my current location long enough to warrant buying a home and the trouble that goes along with that when you leave the area. I already deal with that when I moved here with my previous house.

[hau_nguyen91]

I live in an APT and I drive a M3, so what? it make 0 sense why I should buy a house right now when I have no kids and only have a girlfriend. We will buy a house when we ready. I need to enjoy the shit out of this car while I am young because who knows down the road I will never get a chance anymore.

[jmg]

Personally, if I was single and had no kids, id buy a house and rent it out while living in a nice but modestly sized apartment near work. I'd trade my M3 for a Porsche Turbo and eat like a king everyday while I contemplate creative ways to spend my money. Then I'd sleep like a baby in my giant bed in front of my giant TV with a 20 yr old scotch in one hand and a 20 yr old in the other.

Haha jk. I actually really love the family life I have today.

[Rik84]

This thread is full of so much potato I don't know what to say.

As mentioned above - this forum is constant douche off where spoiled and entitled asses constantly have to show how amazing and successful they are.

Live in an apartment, live in a fucking box for all that it matters. Who gives a flying fuck???

For the record. I own a house on one side of the country and lease a townhouse in Vancouver. I could buy, I could rent a house, I could move to the suburbs and buy a damn estate if I wanted to. But it's myself, my wife and our 2 dogs. Our lifestyle is that of city dwellers - food, booze, entertainment, all steps away.

[JoeyBananas]

Originally Posted by PoorLurker

Interest is interesting.

Think about property tax too. When one's property tax bill is an M3 payment, it calls for a bit of a cringe.

Precisely why I hate my state of NJ

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by Rik84

This thread is full of so much potato I don't know what to say.

As mentioned above - this forum is constant douche off where spoiled and entitled asses constantly have to show how amazing and successful they are.

Live in an apartment, live in a fucking box for all that it matters. Who gives a flying fuck???

For the record. I own a house on one side of the country and lease a townhouse in Vancouver. I could buy, I could rent a house, I could move to the suburbs and buy a damn estate if I wanted to. But it's myself, my wife and our 2 dogs. Our lifestyle is that of city dwellers - food, booze, entertainment, all steps away.

If you own a house and rent in Vancouver, you're obviously not the moron I'm talking about.

[UPSROD]

Originally Posted by shockin330i

Yeah, add maintenance for lawn care and everything else, I think I'll stay here until I get married.

All of those things are built into your rent price...you are paying for them already!

[shockin330i]

Originally Posted by UPSROD

All of those things are built into your rent price...you are paying for them already!

Actually it's not. We don't have a lawn. And she's honestly the best landlord ever. She actually lowered my rent last year
?

[insanecoder]

Its your prerogative.. but it'd be nice to garage the bimmer to keep it lookin fab

[David70]

A lot of good reasons to live in an apartment (location, lack of maintenance, lack of repairs, relocation plans, uncertainty in what your plans are, etc.) and if you can afford both the car and where you live do whatever you want.

[someguywithanm3]

It's not always best to buy. I bought an investment property a couple of years ago for less than market value and I plan on selling it because home prices are borderline ridiculous (this area). I feel sorry for most people buying right now at advertised prices.

[BayMoWe335]

Originally Posted by David70

A lot of good reasons to live in an apartment (location, lack of maintenance, lack of repairs, relocation plans, uncertainty in what your plans are, etc.) and if you can afford both the car and where you live do whatever you want.

Do you think those are generally the reasons or it's generally someone buying a car they really can't afford? I know the answer.

[R3dliner]

I live in a apt with a indoor garage and I do love it. My rent is probably double of what some you guys are paying for mortgages. Can't touch anything house wise around here for less than 1M unless I go out to long island which I hate. Heck I can find houses for 200k upstate but at the end of day it's subjective based on where you live and your lifestyle.

[David70]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Do you think those are generally the reasons or it's generally someone buying a car they really can't afford? I know the answer.

When I moved to Cincinnati 10 years ago I lived in an apartment for a year because I didn't know where I wanted to buy. When I lived in TN I lived in one of 3 apartments of a house I owned, so technically lived in an apartment also. When I lived in Hermosa Beach, CA I lived in an apartment also, mainly because I didn't know how long I would live there (turned out to be 2 years). If I moved again to a new city I would still get an apartment for a while and for all of the cases above I could afford a newer BMW.

So the answer is it is sometimes a bad idea and sometimes not. That's the problem with "generally" and limited information, you really can't determine much.

Should most people buy a newer BMW? The general answer is no but for many there is nothing wrong with it.

[TheNus]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Do you think those are generally the reasons or it's generally someone buying a car they really can't afford? I know the answer.

Is this what you want to hear? In my building you will sometimes have four mid-twenties to early thirties guys sharing the same two bedroom that I live in with my dog. It makes it cheap enough for them to also afford their cars and bottle service in order to live that lifestyle. Uptown Dallas 30K millionaires. There you have it. Everyone that lives in an apartment and has a nice car is hood rich. Proof positive, no questions asked.

[JN1]

Also, leasing + tax writeoffs = BMWFS gets your money vs. IRS.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by BayMoWe335

Do you think those are generally the reasons or it's generally someone buying a car they really can't afford? I know the answer.

I think the vagueness inherent in what it means to be "affordable" is precisely what causes needless amounts of tension and stress.

We already know most Americans live beyond their means -

"Most Americans Have No Savings, Even if They Make More Than $100,000 a Year"

66 Million Americans have No Emergency Savings

Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Have Less Than $1000 in Savings

76% of Americans Are Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Americans between 40 and 55 have an average retirement balance of $14,500 (granted, if you're getting a guaranteed pension this matters less). But nearly 25 million retirees are going to retire in poverty by 2050. That's in addition to the 45 million people who already live in poverty (a number likely to grow by 2050). That's insane to me.


Whether or not these levels of wanton spending translate to the upper middle class, I'm not really sure.

[Germanauto]

I think OP is referring to cheaper apartments in the suburbs type of thing. Still, you don't know everybody's situation. Maybe that individual has a good education and career but is still in his/her 20s and is saving up to buy a house, maybe they are unsure of where they are gonna live 2 years from now, etc. When my family moved to a new metropolis, we lived in an apartment for a year while waiting for our new house to be built. My folks had one newer luxury car at the time.

It is not unreasonable, however, to judge when things seem off.

[NemesisX]

Originally Posted by Germanauto

I think OP is referring to cheaper apartments in the suburbs type of thing. Still, you don't know everybody's situation. Maybe that individual has a good education and career but is still in his/her 20s and is saving up to buy a house, maybe they are unsure of where they are gonna live 2 years from now, etc. When my family moved to a new metropolis, we lived in an apartment for a year while waiting for our new house to be built. My folks had one newer luxury car at the time.

It is not unreasonable, however, to judge when things seem off.

I don't know about reasonable vs unreasonable. I think it's tactless to judge period. I don't see it adding any value to any party involved (the judged or the judger)

Why are people so keen on trying to assess someone's financial situation based on material possessions?