WOHMs - could you afford to take 3 mo...

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-22-2005
WOHMs - could you afford to take 3 mo...
1595
Mon, 11-05-2007 - 11:13am

WOHMs - could you afford to take 3 months of totally unpaid leave?



  • Yes, we have enough saved up for that
  • Yes, we could save up enough for that
  • Yes, DH makes enough to get us by
  • No
  • other


You will be able to change your vote.






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iVillage Member
Registered: 08-08-2006
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 10:47am
As a telecommuter, my company pays for all that. It's much cheaper for them to provide a home office and equipment than to have office space for us. We were incented to give up our office to wah.
iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2003
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 10:47am
Great. I was just pointing out to Jackie that the only two choices if you live in a small town are not 1. Commute or 2. Work at a minimum wage job.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2004
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:00am
No but it is not easy to find an employer that hires telecommuters.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-22-2000
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:05am


So was mine.


iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2003
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:06am
It's easier in some fields than others. My SFIL telecommutes from WV to Long Beach. He goes into the office maybe once or twice a year. My point is that there are generally more choices than just commute or work in a minimum wage service job even for those living in small towns.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-06-2004
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:11am
LOL! I work for a multi billion dollar company however our office has made so many cuts, we are down to 10 people instead of 60 7 years ago.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:22am

"In my ideal world, people would live and work in the same community."

Sure. That would be my ideal world as well. But I think you vastly overestimate the choices many people actually have. We have always strived to live and work in the same community, and have generally suceeded in spite of several international moves. However, I'm not blinded by our success. I am fully aware of just how difficult that is to accomplish, given the many many years of poor city and community planning in the US.

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2003
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:32am
I think people assume they will have to commute, and therefore don't look for alternatives. I also think that if people had been unwilling to commute longer and longer distances and had demanded better planning 30+ years ago, people would have even more choices available to them today.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:36am
It's really lovely that you are so optimistic about being able switch to a highly convenient career at the drop of the hat if you were to ever lose your job. But most people really do end up having to take whatever job comes along, regardless of convenience or distance from home. When the family contains two people with careers, it gets even more challenging to find two jobs within a short distance of one's home. Again, we've managed to accomplish that. But I am also perfectly well aware of the fact that we have been very very lucky.
iVillage Member
Registered: 08-29-2002
Fri, 11-09-2007 - 11:44am
Whatever happened 30+ years ago, the point is those choices are not as abundant today as you seem to think. And, yes, attitudes (and city planning) need to change. I've seen some feeble signs of it in places where communities have finally allowed commercial and housing zones to overlap, but it's going to take years and a lot of money to fix the problem. Even rural to city commuting would be more easily possible if there was a reasonable train system back in place.

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