JinJer 28: Guns & Roses

[TatiFish9]

I am happy for them! Life events are so exciting. Finally we have one from this fam that is not courtship, marriage or babies!!!

I love the contemporary Christian vibe they're giving off. Maybe some of their deep-seated views will catch up to their lifestyle. They both look stunning. Hope they're as happy and healthy of a couple as they appear to be on the outside.

As far as money goes...

One of my pet peeves in life is the assumption that we know a person's financial worth based on their income. It's short sighted. People amass wealth in various ways. Jeremy could have lived at home while working, rented with friends, invested, inheritance, 1st home savings (personal or gift) etc. We do not know where the money's coming from for sure. They could have entered this as equals. Some people are sitting on gold mines. They're just not flashy with their financial status.  Plus Jeremy makes money each time he's on the show as well.

This reminds me of the Bates episode where Alyssa explains her husband is not rich just because his father is a senator (congressman???). I will admit I would assume they are well off, but they would know better. 

[Jana814]

They have been building a lot of apartment buildings and condo complexes around me. The big thing that they are coming with are washer & dryers. 

[seraaa]

46 minutes ago, Ace3 said:

So there is my question: Are they debt free? I remember the other girls have "premarital counseling" with her parents basically pinky promising that they wouldn't go into debt for any reason (specifically a conversation with Derrick about how he wouldn't go into debt to fix a car?) so did Jeremy agree to those same guidelines? Is he cool being out of debt for everything except a mortgage? I get that - at least it would help build their credit. So many questions about the life they live away from the compound!

Jeremy went to college, no? So many he looked at his hypothetical student loans and was like, look, Mr and Mrs duggar, this ship has sailed

ETA: But then so did Derick. Nevermind 

[louisa05]

We're closing on Monday on a 3 bedroom ranch with a full basement and 2 car attached garage for a bit under $140,000. 

Hate on the Midwest all you want, but housing is much cheaper here. 

[Taylurker]

We have a Duggar Real Estate thread if anyone wants to dive in about the house in particular more there. Not a mod and obviously we can discuss here, just wanted to point out that we have one. I think it will make a good reference thread for the future.

Super exciting that JinJer bought a house, though! And in under a year of marriage. Jinger is the first Duggar kid to do that right off the bat.

Yes, I think that these two are very smart indeed.

[Ace3]

44 minutes ago, seraaa said:

Jeremy went to college, no? So many he looked at his hypothetical student loans and was like, look, Mr and Mrs duggar, this ship has sailed

ETA: But then so did Derick. Nevermind 

I feel like Jeremy had some scholarships, but I could be wrong. Lord knows students loans aren't the end of the world, although to Jim Bob they might be. Education + Debt?!

[2manyKidzzz]

8 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

We're closing on Monday on a 3 bedroom ranch with a full basement and 2 car attached garage for a bit under $140,000. 

Hate on the Midwest all you want, but housing is much cheaper here. 

I grew up in Northern Indiana, Souh Bend, and I certainly don't hate on it. This sounds like a great deal to me. Congrats.

[onekidanddone]

8 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

We're closing on Monday on a 3 bedroom ranch with a full basement and 2 car attached garage for a bit under $140,000. 

Hate on the Midwest all you want, but housing is much cheaper here. 

How about a trade?  My tiny condo for your house. I'll even throw in one of those pine trees things to hang from your rear view mirror to sweeten the deal.

[Shouldabeenacowboy]

1 hour ago, TatiFish9 said:

One of my pet peeves in life is the assumption that we know a person's financial worth based on their income. It's short sighted.

Absolutely, just as it is short sighted to assume that people are well-off just because they buy a ton of new, brand clothes (like I posted on the Whitney Bates thread). For all we know, they put it all on the credit cards and have massive credit card debt. Never assume. 

On the real estate topic...I live in Washington DC (District proper, not suburbs) and have my own place, which I bought long before my husband was in the picture. I bought in an area that was still "edgy" / borderline but has completely turned over for the best within a couple of years. I paid rent for a year, long enough to figure out I was tired of paying rent, and several years of professional globetrotting (nothing glamorous about that, e.g. long evenings alone in hotels, away from family, shuffling work/personal life/bureaucracy/sanity in languages I did not necessarily speak) allowed me to build up a nice nest egg for that down payment. 

The prices in DC are eye-watering, I get it. But I'd rather have an expensive condo in a city full of free museums, excellent career opportunities, three major international airports, top-notch hospitals and universities, international community, a short flight or train-ride to world-class opera in New York, and with plenty of direct flights to Europe and Scary America (where our families live) than have a (comparatively) cheap mansion tucked somewhere far away from all this. Not worth it in my very personal opinion. Now my husband is a country-boy who hates having next-door neighbors and used to live in a house surrounded by woods (my personal idea of hell) in a smaller town in Virginia, and which is currently on the market ...so I promised him trees at some point. But the thought of leaving our current place for some "Desperate Housewives" suburbs like you see around here makes me cringe inside. We'll see 

[Snarkle Motion]

18 minutes ago, Ace3 said:

I feel like Jeremy had some scholarships, but I could be wrong. Lord knows students loans aren't the end of the world, although to Jim Bob they might be. Education + Debt?!

Didn't he play soccer at Syracuse for a few years? Not sure if they give scholarships.

[Jane M.]

JinJer bought a house and that's great!!

Dullards and Benessa, take notice and learn something. 

[louisa05]

57 minutes ago, onekidanddone said:

How about a trade?  My tiny condo for your house. I'll even throw in one of those pine trees things to hang from your rear view mirror to sweeten the deal.

No hard feelings, please, but hell no! LOL!! We are getting out of a tiny duplex where we are so crowded with stuff that it is claustrophobic. And I'm not talking about unnecessary stuff, more like no place to store the Christmas tree but my closet. No place left to store one cooler at all so it sits on the kitchen floor. That sort of crowding. 

@Shouldabeenacowboy And that's the hating on the Midwest sort of shit I'm talking about. We are 15 minutes from a major metropolitan area with theatre (including touring Broadway shows and opera), a huge free Shakespeare Festival each summer, a world class zoo, major sporting events regularly, tons of good local restaurants, some good museums (though not as good as the free ones an hour away in the state capital),major musical acts coming through regularly plus a good indie music scene,... and we are ten minutes from a huge National Wildlife Refuge, 30 minutes from fantastic state parks, and a day's drive from the Black Hills or the Rocky Mountains; three hours from a bigger metro area with even more amenities. If someone is sitting here sad, bored and uncultured, they are trying really hard to do so. 

[backyard sylph]

4 minutes ago, louisa05 said:

No hard feelings, please, but hell no! LOL!! We are getting out of a tiny duplex where we are so crowded with stuff that it is claustrophobic. And I'm not talking about unnecessary stuff, more like no place to store the Christmas tree but my closet. No place left to store one cooler at all so it sits on the kitchen floor. That sort of crowding. 

@Shouldabeenacowboy And that's the hating on the Midwest sort of shit I'm talking about. We are 15 minutes from a major metropolitan area with theatre (including touring Broadway shows and opera), a huge free Shakespeare Festival each summer, a world class zoo, major sporting events regularly, tons of good local restaurants, some good museums (though not as good as the free ones an hour away in the state capital),major musical acts coming through regularly plus a good indie music scene,... and we are ten minutes from a huge National Wildlife Refuge, 30 minutes from fantastic state parks, and a day's drive from the Black Hills or the Rocky Mountains; three hours from a bigger metro area with even more amenities. If someone is sitting here sad, bored and uncultured, they are trying really hard to do so. 

We used to live where we could take the train into New York, 80 minutes from it all. But it was so expensive we could rarely afford to do so. Here in Cincinnati, we have season tickets to the world-renowned symphony, go out to nice restaurants on concert evenings, visit the brilliant zoo, see an MLB game, etc., on the same income. In a bigger house, with a pool in the backyard.

I miss the Mid-Atlantic a lot. I miss the delis, the pizza, the sea, oh how I miss the sea, and a far more multi-cultural environment. But here I get to experience a lot more of what I had to just watch passing me by there.

[merg429]

Boston here. I am on the same page as the Brooklynites, parking spots here cost $200,000-$400,000.  A one bedroom in some of the new condos going up is almost $1 million.  

I have friends in some areas of the city who pay $3000/each for a 400 sq ft appt. 

[jerkit]

I am in Ohio in an especially LCOL area. My 2350sqft house with 0.75 acre was $200K. A few years ago, it probably would've been more like $180K.

[xlurker]

All this talk about housing costs reminds me why I moved out of Jersey and to the frozen tundra....I miss the ocean, terribly, but I have a bigger house, on more land, in a beautiful setting.  A major city is just over an hour away if I feel the need, but honestly, the beauty, the privacy and the low property taxes keeps me put right where I am

 

[MadeItOut]

14 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

Kitchen is not that beautiful. The house also has the most hideous ceilings I have ever seen. 

(if this is not allowed, please remove)

I'm shocked though how I, non-US and totally not aware of any housing websites there or whatever, can find these pictures in 2 minutes.

 

Ooooo I dunno - nice coat of paint and a better window dressing...

[fluffernutter]

That kitchen is Jinger's? It's a lot nicer than my outdated kitchen.

 

[SapphireSlytherin]

Lots of folks go to college sans student loans.

Hating on Flyover Country is my right-and-left-coast-friends' favorite pastime. I'm a 3-ish hour flight from the right coast, about a 3.5-ish hour flight from the left coast. We have a 2,000sf 3/2/2 house (too big - we're downsizing), four cars (two are really more "toys" than daily drivers), a tiny mortgage because LOW HOUSING PRICES in the Midwest, and access to world-class hospitals/universities/cultural events/etc.

 

[VelociRapture]

I don't hate any specific area of the country. New England is my home though. Always has been and I hope it always will be.

Plus, I can't live in a state that has laws on the books that discriminate against others (but specifically women or the LGBTQ community.) Husband and I had seriously considered moving to North Carolina a few years back - he had traveled there for business and loved it. I really loved the pictures I saw and the descriptions of the food and the laidback feel husband described feeling. But we dropped that idea the second they passed that stupid bathroom bill. No way in hell am I living somewhere that could make life difficult or dangerous for my brother.

[HarryPotterFan]

@VelociRapture And Texas will be voting on a similar bill 

[VelociRapture]

1 minute ago, HarryPotterFan said:

@VelociRapture And Texas will be voting on a similar bill 

Ugh. I'd joke about taking back not hating particular parts of the country, but I'm worried I'd get mobbed by angry Texans. 

But seriously. The Texans responsible for voting assholes into elected office (local, state, and national) are the worst. And I hate that the textbooks used across the country are largely determined by Texas choices because they have so many students (I hope I'm remembering that right. If not, sorry Texas!)

[closetcagebaby]

DC here, too. And there's no way me and my boyfriend will ever be able to afford to buy here. Even in the burbs, condos start at about 200k (for one bedroom, so forget starting a family). I love DC and would stay here forever if I could, but it's sort of impossible to live here with my income (around 35k this year), whereas I think my lifestyle would probably increase in a different area with the same income. 

[feministxtian]

The COL here isn't bad at all. Our new apartment rent is WAY under market value b/c we know folks. We have 3br, 2ba and right at 1150 square feet. Housing prices (to buy) are crazy....everything from multi-million dollar estates to cheapo foreclosures and all stops in between. We're HOPING that the settlement from my car accident would be enough to buy a house free and clear. We've been following the foreclosures and bank-owned houses and we'll probably be able to buy a 3br/2ba with a decent sized yard. I'm hoping and praying we can find one with a pool. 

2 of my kids live in the Denver metro area. #1 son is paying 2700.00 a month in rent for a 4/3 house with a full basement. Personally I think he's nuts. 

 

[Shouldabeenacowboy]

3 hours ago, louisa05 said:

 

@Shouldabeenacowboy And that's the hating on the Midwest sort of shit I'm talking about. We are 15 minutes from a major metropolitan area with theatre (including touring Broadway shows and opera), a huge free Shakespeare Festival each summer, a world class zoo, major sporting events regularly, tons of good local restaurants, some good museums (though not as good as the free ones an hour away in the state capital),major musical acts coming through regularly plus a good indie music scene,... and we are ten minutes from a huge National Wildlife Refuge, 30 minutes from fantastic state parks, and a day's drive from the Black Hills or the Rocky Mountains; three hours from a bigger metro area with even more amenities. If someone is sitting here sad, bored and uncultured, they are trying really hard to do so. 

Wow, hold your horses there for a minute, and please point me to where exactly in my post I am hating on the Midwest. Where I am mentioning the Midwest at all, to be precise. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of places in the Midwest I really like, which still don't tick all my boxes - for example, from the places I am thinking of, it's a bit/a lot of a pain in the behind to get to Scary America and certain locations in Europe (which is a huge priority for us). I have the same issues I outlined in my prior post in a lot of other non-Midwest locations in the USA that I really love, and that's why I am not living there. 

What I did say very clearly in my prior post are things like "in my very personal opinion" and "for our family". You have those great amenities where you are? Fantastic. Chip on the shoulder - really not needed

P.S. On the topic of opera: there are several opera houses in the USA, nice ones, very nice ones, and a-OK ones, but there is none that even remotely compares to opera back home, except the New York one. Los Angeles comes close, but I am yet to find something else that is comparable. Quality of performers, scenes, directors/conductors, musicians, etc. I am happy to always visit new places and stand corrected, but the quest continues

P.P.S. I also mentioned career opportunities (again, in my specific case). I am in a very niche area that is very location-specific. There are only a handful of places that would really work for me - technically, I can work remotely from anywhere in the world, but practically, I need to be where the market is hot. Usually, that means NOT in tucked away places anywhere. In the Midwest, my realistic options are Minneapolis, Chicago and Detroit. Minneapolis ticks 99% of my boxes, but my husband would rather go south and warm than north and cold (!), Chicago I could move to, but same issues with husband, and Detroit I have never visited, but I like my team there and I suppose I could give it a shot. At the same time, what would these cities provide to us more than DC does? So we stay put - for the time being at least.