Rich people are weird. They want to have as much money as possible, at any cost, but not look like they’re too rich because they know it’s socially, culturally, and morally unacceptable to pursue wealth like a drug addict. And when they’re forced to make difficult choices about how to use their money, they turn to other rich people who are equally disconnected from reality for help.

One rich person, in particular, had trouble deciding whether to buy a second home or not. So, they went to the people in the r/fatFIRE subreddit, a community for people who want to retire early with “a fat stash” of money. Here is what they said.

Please remember that any advice you find online, including this blog, especially those on Reddit, and doubly especially those from rich people online are only opinions and are not legal financial advice.

The Question

The author of the post in question is 35 years old, retired for two years, has three young kids, and has over $18 million in net worth. They specifically mention that they live in a poor area and do a good job of “blending in decently” but has a feeling that their close friends “know” (as though they have some obligation to hide their wealth from the hungry, ravenous poors that surround them). The author says they have a goal of “dying with zero” and have monthly expenses of $20,000.

They say that a river house appeared on the market for $800,000 25 minutes away from where they live which is far enough away to feel like it is in the “middle of nowhere (according to a rich person). They say their wife was worried about buying it because it would take them away from their city life and they’d spend all their time going back and forth and it would mess with “the minds of the kids” somehow. However, they said their biggest concern was that it would remove all doubt from their friends and family about their true net worth.

In the end, they had two questions for the community: did anybody else juggle owning a vacation home with young children, and did it enhance their family time or become too big of an issue?

The Community Response

All of the commenters who have had more real-world experience than the post author didn’t see the issue with having a second home so close. A commute of 25 minutes is barely any driving time, and close enough that you can be there and back in an hour in case of an emergency. The concern that they would spend all their time going back and forth and mess with the minds of their kids was unfounded and based on something other than reality.

Most commenters took the opportunity to share the price and location of their own vacation homes, and called this decision an “easy buy”. So, if you’re looking for some of the culprits of why home prices are so high, look no further than the people in communities like this who collect second and third homes like they’re trading cards, leaving them vacant most of the year.

In the end, the author followed the advice of the commenters and made the highest bid for the home, but it was taken off the market.

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