[iwantcurlyhairtoo]

Would you be content earning £28,000 a year, having a wife/husband and two kids, living in a semi-detached with a Ford Mondeo on the drive? Going on holiday to a static caravan site in some obscure welsh village, maybe 10 days on the Costa Del Sol with that nice slice of inheritance money you've got coming in?

I know this is the Student Room and many of you will have loftier ambitions, but a good chunk of the crowd on here will end up in a vaguely similar scenario to the one I've presented.

How do you feel about that.. excited.. depressed.. indifferent?

[Old Father Time]

I think it depends on two factors, job and partner. These are the key to domestic happiness. If you enjoy your job, and enjoy your partner, then money doesn't matter. So potentially, yes, I could be happy with that situation. If I hated my job, only went to gain money for other pleasures, and found it boring/difficult to get along with my partner, then no. I'd hate it.

[Sapphire33]

if i i'm being really honest, no. i've always been so fiercely ambitious and driven to do better for myself and live a comfortable lifestyle albeit im not saying it'll make me happy. i want bigger and better for myself, i don't want to have to settle for a £28k salary, a ford mondeo and a semi detached house, although there is nothing wrong with that, i just don't want that for myself. we only have one life and i want to live it to fullest, do the unconventional things and experience the world, an 'ordinary' life won't provide that for me. some people are genuinely content with living an ordinary life. thats just not me.

[Spaz Man]

You don't necessarily need to enjoy your job but you do need to want to go to work every day.

[Spaz Man]

(Original post by Sapphire33)
if i i'm being really honest, no. i've always been so fiercely ambitious and driven to do better for myself and live a comfortable lifestyle albeit im not saying it'll make me happy. i want bigger and better for myself, i don't want to have to settle for a £28k salary, a ford mondeo and a semi detached house, although there is nothing wrong with that, i just don't want that for myself. we only have one life and i want to live it to fullest, do the unconventional things and experience the world, an 'ordinary' life won't provide that for me. some people are genuinely content with living an ordinary life. thats just not me.

Being ambitious is fine but always wanting more will never leave you satisfied. It's just human nature.

[EatRainbows]

I'm not stopping until I have a walk in closet big enough to dance in. And a big fancy en-suite bathroom So no I wouldn't be content ):

[Aisha~~]

Nah. That would be a depressing life for me. I need to be a cultural hub. Somewhere busy, classy, tasteful.

[Add!ction]

I live a lesser life than that now and feel lucky for what I have. I'd be fine with that lifestyle.

[Architecture-er]

(Original post by iwantcurlyhairtoo)
Would you be content earning £28,000 a year, having a wife/husband and two kids, living in a semi-detached with a Ford Mondeo on the drive? Going on holiday to a static caravan site in some obscure welsh village, maybe 10 days on the Costa Del Sol with that nice slice of inheritance money you've got coming in?

I know this is the Student Room and many of you will have loftier ambitions, but a good chunk of the crowd on here will end up in a vaguely similar scenario to the one I've presented.

How do you feel about that.. excited.. depressed.. indifferent?

Change that scenario to me being single, and that'd definitely depress me.

But if you have someone to struggle/live with, that makes everything so much easier


My aspirations for life aren't based on riches, they're focused on me trying to have amazing experiences. Oftentimes it feels like you need to be rich in order to have great experiences and see amazing places, but if you try hard enough you can make things work

[Teao the Cat]

Well, if I remove the two kids from that, yes, I'd be happy. and minus the static caravan and costa del sol- both my idea of a worst nightmare of a holiday, and would rather do without. I'm pretty happy at the moment with a one bed flat and a salary not much more than half of that.

[Bellissima]

i hope not... how depressing...

[HolyFuzazzle]

It's true it depends on whether you're happy with your job or partner but what the OP described sounds completely horrible to me. But I'm really scared I'm going to get it, it just sounds so depressing and so... dry. I wouldn't mind being slightly worse off and have a slightly more... interesting life.

[ckingalt]

Someone who is unable to accept such a life if it becomes necessary or impossible to achieve more, is ungrateful.

Someone who is unwilling to aspire for something more as long as they are capable is pathetic.

[lolipanda]

no what i really want to be is the supreme ruler of the world, but i'll settle for just britain if i have to...

[llessur123]

It's probably a wonderful life compared to some, you have people you love around you and enough to be comfortable. I want more but I would be grateful and probably content with that. I think I could achieve more financially though so it would feel strange settling with that.

What is "more" though? More money? More holidays? If I had that life but had the best experiences, had travelled and had a good time then I'd be happy than I ever could be with no good experiences and a big house. It's subjective, you can't know what a good life is for you until you're there.

[miser]

Yeah I'd be pleased with that so long as I liked my wife and job.

[PinkMobilePhone]

minus the caravan, yes that would suit me just fine.

At the moment I have the husband, i have the kids, I have the semi-detached house, I have the spanish holiday a year (albeit generally 10 days in Costa Dorada, but anyway close enough), I have a Honda Jazz (not a Ford Mondeo - but hey, it's personal preference)....

now to work on that £28k salary. If both my husband and I earned that much, I'd consider us to be pretty darned comfortably off.

One thing to add to that though would be if I can get my book published. That would pretty much complete things.

Oh and I have a dog, just to round it off nicely.

[writergirl]

(Original post by Sapphire33)
if i i'm being really honest, no. i've always been so fiercely ambitious and driven to do better for myself and live a comfortable lifestyle albeit im not saying it'll make me happy. i want bigger and better for myself, i don't want to have to settle for a £28k salary, a ford mondeo and a semi detached house, although there is nothing wrong with that, i just don't want that for myself. we only have one life and i want to live it to fullest, do the unconventional things and experience the world, an 'ordinary' life won't provide that for me. some people are genuinely content with living an ordinary life. thats just not me.

A girl after my own heart. This.

[Octohedral]

(Original post by Spaz Man)
Being ambitious is fine but always wanting more will never leave you satisfied. It's just human nature.

It's not about always wanting more, it's about the excitement of having something to work for, the adrenaline rushes, the anticipation... even the act of failure, if you can pick yourself up again.

What depresses me about the OP's picture is the fact it's so predictable. It's almost like waiting to die.

I'm sure I'll feel differently when I get old and boring, with a family to support, but meanwhile I promise you I will be fully satisfied if and only if I still have dreams

[Converse Rocker]

I'd be well chuffed with a Mondeo on the drive, it's a great car.

I'll probably just try and jump out of a plane every so often to spice things up.