Comment by lifestyleguru
6 days ago
> On one level I recognise that I have male privilege, but men do face their own problems, especially around midlife.
Male priviledge for 90% of males in Europe is non zero probability of being drafted and losing limbs or having face melted. In some regions the probability is approaching 100%. While underprivileged females will be free to leave the country and receive refugee benefits. Please stop mentioning it because it's spiralling quickly into support for extremist parties.
> Long-term unemployment is all-consuming; it prevents you from moving on and doing what you want to do with your life. You see all your friends on social media who are still employed and going out and doing amazing things.
Actually only then you finally have time to do what you want. The really cool stuff, not takeaway coffee, going to cinema, or one week vacation. Assuming you were saving and investing while employed. Social media posts of what employed people are doing while on annual leave is particular form of cynical tragedy.
> Actually only then you finally have time to do what you want. The really cool stuff, not takeaway coffee, going to cinema, or one week vacation
I agree, but it's an opportunity tempered by how long your runway is compared to the ambiguity of what's next. Sure, if you saved $100k and your ongoing expenses are low, you should generally feel comfortable spending $3k to $10k going on a long-term adventure or something. But if there's no prospect of income when you come back, or 6 months after you come back, or 2 years after, the more money and time you spend enjoying yourself is an opportunity cost as much as it is a financial one. Having spent a shit-ton of my "career" (like half) unemployed, I'm definitely on the side of using your free will the way you wouldn't get to otherwise, but there's this anxiety of not having any answer to "how the fuck am I going to pay to live in the near future? how fast is my clock ticking?"
There's only so many times you can mentally ride out the space in between paid work where there's the real possibility your entire net worth drops to literally zero or negative.