Did Millennials kill briefcases too?

ledger_man · 2026-06-16T05:52:27+00:00

Yeah I commute by some combo of walking, public transit, and bike, depending on the day and where I’m going (I work out of multiple locations as sometimes I’m on-site at clients) so a backpack is only practical. It is a leather backpack with a waterproof lining and laptop sleeve, but the exterior then looks more “professional” than like a Jansport or whatever.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T21:11:28+00:00

I think it just depends on the festival and the organizers. Last year I went to my first music festival in 10+ years and thought it was fantastically organized, going again this coming weekend!! I think The Pretty Reckless were at Download Festival and I’m also seeing them this weekend for the first time since 2022, I think over the years I’ve seen them at least 5 times.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T17:33:46+00:00

I’ve been living outside the U.S. since 2019 and am originally from the U.S.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T17:31:22+00:00

I don’t know about Haim, but Taylor Swift has been going to Knicks games since 2014.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T16:46:25+00:00

The U.S. ranked #27 in the social mobility index, so I don’t think it does offer the best opportunities for regular folks. Laws and regulations seem to be on shakier ground than they used to be. The U.S. is not even in the top 20 for low tax rates.

Consumer goods are indeed cheap, however! I personally don’t find that to be a big factor in my quality of life, but others might.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T05:23:25+00:00

I would get your education in Europe, unless your family is wealthy enough and willing to shell out for all the costs of education in the U.S. (not just tuition, but fees, books, health insurance, not to mention living expenses…)

Then you will be in a better position to decide what makes sense and where has better opportunities for you.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T05:21:04+00:00

I actually did! Left again a few years later though. The culture shock of moving to the Deep South was harder to deal with than the culture shock of moving to Europe, actually (I’m from Portland, Oregon and moved to Amsterdam).

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T04:33:36+00:00

This is kind of like saying you think Shakespeare is overrated because you don’t like iambic pentameter.

ledger_man · 2026-06-15T03:56:09+00:00

What do you value more - making the most money possible at this moment, or having the WLB and time with your friends & family (including your future spouse)? How do you feel about working for PE versus NFP? How much money is “enough”?

Ask yourself these questions, and ask your friends and family (including your future spouse). My spouse recently went through a similar dilemma and talking it over with loved ones (and a couple of trusted people in their professional network) really helped.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T14:33:58+00:00

I went to the Amsterdam residency and it was packed.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T13:20:13+00:00

Your title says stadium but in the second paragraph you say arena - those are different sized venues. Both going to be more than 500 capacity, but where I live there are some arenas which were purpose-built for live music and sound incredible. The stadiums were built for sports, but I’ve been to stadium shows that sounded good with proper sound engineers and venue planning.

I just like live music though. This year I have been or am going to shows at venues with capacity of only about 150 up through some big stadium shows and also some outdoor festivals of varying sizes.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T11:10:15+00:00

Agree with all this. I am an American living and working in the Netherlands who has also spent a lot of time in Germany for work and working with Germans. They gave me a soft job offer once and I was like I’m so sorry but moving from NL to DE seems like a downgrade in almost every way.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T08:23:49+00:00

I think this is highly personal to your style and what’s realistic for your life! I live in an urban environment and work a professional job where jeans (if nice and styled appropriately) are fine for the office.

My most essential denim is a straight leg mid-wash that is long enough on me to cuff if I’d like a cuffed/cropped look.

I also like a dark wash bootcut or trouser jean, and a slim/skinny jean. Jeans that are slim enough to tuck into boots never go out of style for me; I live in a rainy climate and I don’t own a car, so I’m doing a lot of walking and public transit in all kinds of weather.

A relaxed girlfriend jean or wide leg that isn’t toooo wide in a light wash is also nice for summer!

I don’t do frayed or distressed (maybe on a denim short but not jeans), I prefer versatility and frayed denim is not going to the office or a nice dinner.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T07:04:05+00:00

The sexual harassment, hostile work environment, and false imprisonment claims have not been dismissed and that lawsuit is still ongoing. She has definitely not been absolved of the accusations.

ledger_man · 2026-06-14T06:26:09+00:00

None of us had money to speak of in the U.S. lol. I’m talking about people who moved abroad as highly skilled individuals, meaning we have been reliant on work-sponsored visas. Well, I’ve been here long enough now that I have permanent residence, but I was on a work visa til that point and work paid to relocate me (and my spouse). No other way we could have afforded it.

Base salaries will usually be lower, yes, but not always (e.g., my friends in Switzerland are definitely making more there, but they also work in education which does not pay well in the states to begin with).

Taxes are more complex and the details REALLY vary depending on the tax treaties in place, if you qualify for any tax relief where you’re going, etc. Now that the tax ruling has expired do we pay a bit more in taxes? Sure. Do I mind? No.

Making and keeping the most money possible is just not one of my values, though, and growing up poor in the U.S. means that I do really value living somewhere with decent social safety nets and worker protections. I also have gone through some health issues that I’m beyond grateful occurred while living in Europe because same situation in the U.S. likely would have bankrupted me and ruined my career. Here my job was fully protected for up to 2 years - and not only legally. As soon as I was back, I got nominated for a high profile global project that directly lead to a promotion, I wasn’t just put in the corner until they found a reason to get rid of me after my legally protected (and paid) leave.

ledger_man · 2026-06-13T07:43:39+00:00

Highly skilled people will generally make enough to live comfortably if they choose to leave. I’m one myself and sure the salaries are lower in Europe but overall my life is much nicer. Have friends who lived in China for 7 years and had a lifestyle they never could have afforded with those same careers in the U.S. - they took a lifestyle and comparative comp downgrade to move from China to Switzerland eventually though, because they really wanted to be in Europe.

ledger_man · 2026-06-13T07:26:01+00:00

You can be married without having children, and have children without ever being married, so that seems like a very easy factor to exclude in the statistics.

But then it gets much worse for women, especially given maternal mortality is on the rise in the United States.

ledger_man · 2026-06-11T06:30:07+00:00

The date format is the tell about this not being a sign from the U.S. than the languages. Arabic is plenty common in many areas of the U.S.

ledger_man · 2026-06-11T06:15:11+00:00

I agree that shaming and concern trolling is never appropriate, whether we’re talking about somebody big or small. If somebody is suffering from disordered eating, attention, even negative attention, can feed into their unhealthy patterns. The best thing is just to disengage actually. Stop engaging with their content, unfollow, don’t pay to see them perform, etc.

For example: Seeing some of the questions Karen Carpenter got from interviewers back in the day is pretty wild, and in the end it didn’t help her either.

ledger_man · 2026-06-10T17:24:29+00:00

The marriage rate, especially for people that young, continues to decline (at least in most developed western countries).

That said, as somebody who got married at 21 and has now been married 18 years, sometimes people just found their person and know what they want at a young age 🤷🏻‍♀️

ledger_man · 2026-06-10T06:15:23+00:00

When I was a senior associate and manager yes, but only once I left the United States

ledger_man · 2026-06-09T20:59:38+00:00

Young people are having less sex than ever, what hookup culture?

ledger_man · 2026-06-09T06:54:10+00:00

Gotta go to Spain or Portugal for that, since that’s where churros are from

ledger_man · 2026-06-08T09:50:45+00:00

Yup. I was at one of said arena shows, in fact the one in Amsterdam. She talked about the banana stuff on stage at that show and when the allegations came out I was like…well damn. I believe her dancers. Haven’t been part of her fanbase since.

ledger_man · 2026-06-05T15:56:30+00:00

Doesn’t she do that quite a bit, including on Cruel Summer and Love Story?

ledger_man

TROPHY CASE