For sale

Not too long ago, it was fashionable to buy a piece of real estate in a place you vacationed in and fell in love with. I don't know if it still rings true today. After the banking crisis and the bursting of the real estate bubble in the USA, affording a house in the US is tough, though not impossible. The rules have changed, gone are the days when it is customary to plunk down a huge chunk of change into a house, get a mortgage, be stuck in a dead end job, just so to pay for that 'dream house.' I don't know who coined the phrase 'dream house.' or the other popular one, 'dream job.' There never was a 'dream house' or a 'dream job.' A house and a mortgage is just that, payment till death. The size of houses became increasingly larger and further away from the jobs. Now we are all stuck with a 'little house of horror' situation. Clearly anyone wanting to purchase a home should do so but buy one that is not too huge or too far away. As for 'dream job', one should considerr whatever jobs are available and get a foot in the door. Just as Suzie Orman says, 'arrive early, leave late, come on weekends, be the MVP and be the indispensable employee, one your boss can't do without.'
In my job, I've been the preceptor for many intern Pharmacists and they run the gamut of characters. The most important feature is, they don't have what it takes, they are not tough enough. Considering the jobs are so tough, the only way to handle it is to be tougher than the job. I had a recent case of a staff pharmacist who was paid a huge sign on bonus to work in my store, he quit after 3 months. Mind you, I built this store up, created the jobs, even created his job, I didn't get any bonus. Each year at this time I meet college graduates and I wonder if they'll make it.
In my travels I see a lot of misery in other countries and I am appreciative of the opportunities I still have in the USA. Each time I feel discouraged at work, I think of the poor people I met in Cairo, in Morocco, in China and so many other places, I put a lid on my own misery and go on....