The big leap

Modern American life has created a staggered series of events for people to acquire the trappings of a grown-up — graduating from college, choosing a career, getting married, having children, etc. Having experienced all of these (I did not bear the children, but you get my meaning), I actually think the scariest was the decision ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Modern American life has created a staggered series of events for people to acquire the trappings of a grown-up -- graduating from college, choosing a career, getting married, having children, etc. Having experienced all of these (I did not bear the children, but you get my meaning), I actually think the scariest was the decision to become a property-owner. Which is why I can identify with Laura of Apt. 11D, who may not be at that location for much longer:

Modern American life has created a staggered series of events for people to acquire the trappings of a grown-up — graduating from college, choosing a career, getting married, having children, etc. Having experienced all of these (I did not bear the children, but you get my meaning), I actually think the scariest was the decision to become a property-owner. Which is why I can identify with Laura of Apt. 11D, who may not be at that location for much longer:

My stomach is in knots. I fear that I might blow chunks at any minute. My brain can not hold a thought for more than a nano-second. I think we bought a house…. We put in a bid. They upped it by a little and told us about the gutter problem. We accepted. Tomorrow we’ll call the bottom crawling lawyers and I suppose that’s it. Provided the inspectors don’t find bugs. Good Lord, what have we done?

What you’ve done, Laura, is take a very big leap. Sounds like the right thing to do, but a big leap is a big leap, even when you clear the chasm. Brad Delong suggests: “I have one piece of advice: fixed-rate mortgage.”

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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