What is your opinion on the United Kingdom?

[Chupaca bruh]

Church
Sports

 

[JLTraveling]

Mental health. My mom got into the field at just the right time, in the late 70s when community mental health centers were new and a ton of money was being thrown at mental health issues. She started with an AA, then climbed the ladder as she got her BA and MA. Was working on her PsyD when she had to retire on disability. By the time I got into the field, mental health was no longer a priority and I was working long hours for peanuts, even with a BA. I changed fields after that.

 

[Meriweather]

Don't know what any of them do.

 

[cats mom]

He's a young Dr. with a very successful practice, so I'd take their money. As cute as they are (and they are cute) the 4 children under 10 would be a pass though.

 

[tvguy]

Servers in a restaurant, who are good, can make pretty amazing money. At least in a state where there is no "sub" minimum wage for tipped positions. When I was in High School, when the minimum wage was $2 an hour, I had a job that paid $2.25 an hour and I was delighted. Until I found out my friends who were waiting tables were earning an addition $2-$3 an hour in tips.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

We are overrun with skunks in my town this year.

I think we live in the same area (NJ) and two years ago we had to hire a wildlife person to come out and get a family of skunks living under our shed. Babies and all. I thought my SO was going to die. He is not a fan of critters. I see skunks often running around at night.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Illegal immigrants. I live in New Jersey and I can be in Mexico in 15 minutes.

How do you know they are illegal?

 

[MrsPete]

Yes to insurance. When I was a kid, I heard my parents say it was expensive, but I thought they were being overly dramatic. In my mind, it's not so much that the insurance is expensive -- it's that we pay SO MUCH, and I've never had a single dollar back from my homeowners or car insurance. Also, it's an "invisible cost"; that is, I can't SEE anything in return for that big check. I genuinely despise paying it every July.

Taxes are kinda the same, but at least I can see the benefit of my taxes. I mean, I drive on roads, my kids went to school, and I am protected by the military. Insurance feels worse than taxes.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

Dominican Republic for a wedding.

North Carolina for a funeral. Drove through the night, went to the funeral and drove home the next day. It was for a friends young son that passed away. If not we probably wouldn’t have gone.

 

[MrsPete]

Nowhere. My parents never took us anywhere they didn't want to go. Ah, growing up in the 60's and 70's when kids weren't the focus of everything.

I was going to say the same thing.

 

[reecejackox]

i have family in South Africa

 

[MrsPete]

One of our current problems is the lack of people willing to work. Businesses from fast food to higher paying jobs are trying to find employees. "Now hiring" signs are everywhere. Several businesses have cut back on their hours open and days open because the lack of staff.

Yeah, we have that same issue. Our Walmart has a sign out front: Now hiring, starting at $14/hour. That's pretty good money for a job with no educational requirements.

Our homeless population is increasing and you can find them anywhere in town now, but I suppose that's true everywhere else. We're also a human trafficking hub.

People SAY that about our area, but I teach high school and have never been aware of one of our kids "going missing" -- not one. I don't want to stick my head in the sand and say "not us", but it seems like I'd hear about it in real life. A couple times we've had a kid run away, and teachers /students are all questioned about what the kid might've done or said in the weeks prior to his or her run-away.

Someone needs to pick up all the masks being thrown on the ground - no, I'm not touching them.

I'll take the other side of that: People need to quit throwing their masks on the ground.

 

[tvguy]

I have a cousin who moved to Australia, and another who moved Dubai. About 8,000 miles from me for both.

 

[MrsPete]

You don't swap home just their lifestyle

My neighbors just lost their adult child, so I'd definitely rather be me.

My new neighbor is a teacher so I’m jealous of all the time she is spending outside this summer while I’m working away at my dining room table. But I’d rather not switch actual lives with her and now that I think about it, on the other side of me is two college professors that are off all summer too.

I'm a teacher, and one thing about it is that -- even in the summer -- we're "always on". That is, I'm still getting emails from parents, I was over at the school today to complete a small task, and I'm working on lesson plans for a new class next year (not every day, not all day, but it's on my mind); I probably average 5-7 hours/week of work in the summer. No pay for that.

My husband is retired now, but he also had a job in which he brought work home, was on call, and was "always on". My parents had jobs that fell into this category too -- we understood "Mom's home, but she's not accessible to us because she's working".

Until my daughters finished college and moved into their careers, I didn't realize what a negative this is. In their jobs, when they leave work, they LEAVE WORK.

 

[kanerf]

I also have family in South Africa.

 

[antmaril]

When I was a little girl, I thought it was very boring to go shopping for fabric with my mom.

 

[tasha99]

Japan

 

[Shelley Chiarats]

ANTS . . . every spring we fight them when the rains come and they go looking inside for someplace dry.

 

[E&Cmom]

Spain