Subsidized in the City

I applaud this young lady for her efforts for financial independence. I wonder if life would be harder if she had a $400 a month student loan to pay back for the next umpteen years of her life? She can brag all she wants about her skimping and sacrifice, but having college paid for is a HUGE advantage for young people today. Others certainly aren't as lucky as her to have that luxury.

First: Kudos to this young women for supporting hrself, on her own after school, after she got a job and was financially able to get herself an apt. To be able to get an apt. in NYC,NY is no easy feat, the prices have skyrocketed. I moved out of my $900.00/mth apt there and it went up to $2500.00/mth. That's a shame. The problem is no "affordable housing" - that's why many people take "advantage" of their parents generosity.

Thank you! As a 25 year old in Chicago, I thought I was the only one that wasn't depending on Mommy and Daddy to get through my day to day life. I absolutely agree that writting that rent check each month is liberating! Even those of you who weren't lucky enought to have your parents pay for school and are now feeling like you are drowning in student loan debt, can survive on your own! I have rent, a car loan, a student loan and an interest free credit card for which I bought all my furniture to furnish my apartment. Not to mention that I am now starting to plan a wedding and the cost of that is almost as much as what I owe on my student loans!! With the rising cost of gas, I am still able to live comforable. To make ends meet, I still work a few hours at my first part-time job as a cashier! It is better to live on my own than to be too proud to work two jobs.

Also, for those interested, the following link will allow you to listen to a NPR interview with Miss Sarafino regarding her essay: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92744950

"However, while in college full time, it is difficult to be completely financially independent in NYC." She didn't attend college in NYC from what I gathered from the story, nor did she live independent. She simply lived off her parents during the time.

My comments are more for those that seem upset that her parents helped her at all. I agree that you shouldn't take advantage when you are able to support yourself. However, while in college full time, it is difficult to be completely financially independent in NYC. It is one thing to receive help with rent, a totally different thing to get shopping sprees.

Continued from previous posting: There are a lot of twenty somethings that fall into two categories, both who do not choose to be educated: those who's family have the financial means to pay for their education, and those who do not. A smaller amount fall into another category: not financially priviledged and still manage to move out, get a good education and know it is like to work hard making your own way never looking back or needing to return home. I guess what I'm getting at is twenty somethings, educated and paying your own way in NYC can still experience how hard it can be to make ends meet. Do not judge, as you do not know what it is to walk in another's shoes. I know that youths often seem shallow, immature, inexperienced and selfish at times ( I too often feel this way). But if you are young and pay your own way in NYC, more than likely, you DO KNOW how hard it can be to make ends meet whether you received financial help in the past or not. Just because you may not ever live on the streets or have to beg for money or food doesn't mean you are not capable of knowing and experiencing a sense of hardship.

But hey, I could be wrong. Maybe she doesn't really know, but then again, maybe she does. This economy affects everyone, the single, married, young and old.

Melody is just giving her opinion. She is really arguing why people who can financially support themselves still live off of mommy and daddy. This has nothing to do with her personally. Why do you have to pick her apart? You don't know anything about her. She is a very hardworking person with a lot of drive. What do you not have anything better to do than to sit at your computer and belittle her for having an opinion? Mabe if you put this sort of effort into your everyday life you would be at work furthering your career and not having to ask mommy and daddy for money.

My goodness, there is a lot of bitterness in this thread. So many of you are impugning the author for the fact that her parents subsidized her education when yours did not...you do know that the fact that your parents did not cover your education does not make you better than her (or more entitled to an opinion), anymore than her situation makes her better than you, right?

There is absolutely nothing in the article that even suggests Ms. Serafino is making a comparison of her own situation to that of someone who put themselves through school. She's talking about something OTHER than that, and expressing an opinion about a DIFFERENT subset of people. She's actually not talking about the financial situation of people who put themselves through school in at ALL, and if you read the article and attempted to understand her point before spouting off your self-righteous, self-pitying rants, you would know that. You're very impressive for having struggled more than the author. We get it. Can we get back on topic now?

Wow, big deal. I love how she's judging all her friends who are living off their parents when it sounds like her parents have supported her financially until now. I did not have the luxury of growing up in a family who was able to pay for my college education...I did it on my own with scholarships, working and saving, and taking out loans. There are many others out there just like me and some who had it even harder. Her becoming "financially independent" AFTER graduating college isn't much...most people do.

I enjoy Newsweek because it usually speaks to a middlebrow audience, and that is rare in this age of cultural and political extremes. But Melody Serafino's "My Turn" piece was one of the most off-putting things I've read in the magazine in a long time. Here's this young woman, following 10 years of parentally-subsidized private schools (and apparently with no, or very little, student loan debt?), casting judgment on her similarly advantaged peers who are still living off the parental units? Huh?!

Guest columns like this one appear when national periodicals indulge the faux-wisdom of privileged young things whose school smarts far outpace the breadth of their life experience and the depth of their social intelligence. This woman clearly has no idea about how hard it can be to make ends meet in a major metro area. Especially at a time when the economy is tanking and so many people are in such dire situations, this piece was a poor use of precious space.

I enjoy Newsweek because it usually speaks to a middlebrow audience, and that is rare in this age of cultural and political extremes. But Melody Serafino's "My Turn" piece was one of the most off-putting things I've read in the magazine in a long time. Here's this young woman, following 10 years of parentally-subsidized private schools (and apparently with no, or very little, student loan debt?), casting judgment on her similarly advantaged peers who are still living off the parental units? Huh?!

Guest columns like this one appear when national periodicals indulge the faux-wisdom of privileged young things whose school smarts far outpace the breadth of their life experience and the depth of their social intelligence. This woman clearly has no idea about how hard it can be to make ends meet in a major metro area. Especially at a time when the economy is tanking and so many people are in such dire situations, this piece was a poor use of precious space.

Durp. This has been New York since Truman Capote and et. al, settled in NYC. Not to mention O. Henry. Where were you educated? Obviously, a Prep School that your parents could afford as much as your rent. Booo-Hoooo. Give me a Break. Make your Chops on our own, or stop complaining like a little girl.