After a difficult year when many grandparents didn't see their grandchildren, some are considering moving closer to family.
But should the emotional pull of being near loved ones always win out over the practical considerations of such a big decision? trib.al/OTvww3I
First, consider the research on retiree satisfaction. The top drivers of satisfaction include:
♥️Partners
🫂Friends
🩺Good health
Interestingly, spending time with grandchildren is not among the leading factors contributing to retiree happiness trib.al/OTvww3I
If you’re a grandparent who is...
✅Single
✅Younger
✅Educated
✅Wealthy
You are the most likely to move to be near grandchildren and report high degrees of satisfaction trib.al/OTvww3I
Also, think about the quality of the relationship you have with your child and partner, if they have one.
Have a serious heart to heart conversation about how you envision being nearer to each other playing out trib.al/OTvww3I
Establish what kind of boundaries would be in place:
➡️Would they want you to assist with childcare?
➡️If so, would it be a regular or sporadic thing?
➡️What is your comfort level with these potential arrangements? trib.al/OTvww3I
Weigh the financial considerations, too. Moving is a major financial expense.
Selling a house requires a lump sum payment to a real estate agent and moving costs trib.al/OTvww3I
Don’t move without serious budget projections.
The housing market is tilted to sellers right now, so while you may reap big gains, you may be hard pressed to find something affordable in the new locale trib.al/OTvww3I
And think about whether where they live is where you ultimately want to be, apart from your grandchildren.
Does the area promote your health, your friendships and let you pursue your interests? trib.al/OTvww3I
Don't forget, your adult children could potentially move too for a job or life change. Imagine if that were to happen a year after you relocated.
You don’t need to drive far from home to see lawn signs calling to “Unmask Our Kids."
This fall, schools will be open across the country. Some districts are requiring masks, some aren’t. Which side of the debate is right? trib.al/bRGAPoW
Although we’ve spent a lot of time thinking about the harm done by Covid-19, we’ve done little to assess the harm that masks can do.
A recent letter in JAMA raised awareness about a crucial issue: Our kids are breathing air that’s full of carbon dioxide trib.al/bRGAPoW
Initially, the argument for masks was that they kept the wearer from infecting others. Nowadays evidence of the benefits is plentiful.
What the JAMA letter argues is that in considering whether to mask schoolchildren, we must weigh the benefits and risks trib.al/bRGAPoW
Credit Suisse's new vision for its employees’ work-life balance is the latest example of what’s becoming an all-too-common theme: large employers virtue signaling that they’re now all hip and flexible when it comes to how and where their people work trib.al/cXVlbF3
It’s clear that very few companies have actually committed to new ways of working that can be easily implemented or measured.
Many have pledged to offer more flexibility without specifying who can actually take advantage of it and how frequently trib.al/xrJOC5G
The danger is that the new flexible working rules might not be practical for many employees, and companies will have to backtrack on what has been interpreted as a commitment to lots of remote work.
That’s a breeding ground for intra-office dissent trib.al/xrJOC5G
Would you spend $1.3 million on a dilapidated, crumbling house?
Someone already has. In New Zealand, one of the most unaffordable housing markets in the world, quality and price are not obstacles to the property boom trib.al/lFnLdGd
Property markets around the world are running hot in similar ways to New Zealand’s.
128 out of 150 cities saw prices rise year-on-year in the first quarter of 2021, with 43 growing at double-digit rates — more than twice the amount in the previous year trib.al/Bc1xtoH
A genuine economic recovery is underway, driven by $5.4 trillion of extra savings worldwide.
Aspiring “upsizers” are searching for space and long-term financial investments, especially among aging millennials who see a shot at outpacing rich boomers trib.al/Bc1xtoH
How many times have you said to yourself: “If I could only earn $X, then I’d be happy.”
It raises the question: How much money is enough to truly feel wealthy? trib.al/OLSKdYi
People’s views on wealth have changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
➡️ In 2020 respondents said $2.6 million was needed to be wealthy
➡️ In 2021, respondents said $1.9 million was needed to be wealthy trib.al/vs5UGZF
What it takes to feel wealthy is a moving target.
Although it’s wise to think about how to grow your personal wealth, you can spare yourself a lot of anxiety by focusing on how to find contentment trib.al/vs5UGZF
A month after Kristallnacht, @davidjshipley’s father’s family left Berlin for the U.S.
As Jews, their time as Germans had to come to an end, to put it charitably. The family went first to NYC before settling in Oregon, a distant corner of a foreign land bloomberg.com/graphics/2021-…
Their relentless desire to become Americans, to join up with the country that had saved their lives, was brought home to @davidjshipley recently when he stumbled on Julian Shipley’s — his grandfather — study guide for his citizenship exam bloom.bg/2TDbG1o
@davidjshipley It wasn’t until the 1950s that the U.S. put in place a standardized citizenship exam.
Before then, applicants went before a judge, who quizzed them. Trick questions were forbidden, but everything else was fair game bloom.bg/2TDbG1o