Been thinking a lot about what I want out of life recently and realised, I don't want what you're told to want. Holidays abroad, fancy cars, massive houses which are way too big and expensive material things. I'm content with starting training as a Toyota tech, then maybe when that stops being fun/profitable, I'll switch to HVAC or Industrial Mechanics depending on what EVs do to the automotive landscape. I don't need to be some hedge fund manager or whatever, just no interest to me, I don't care at all about prestige, I care about what the job physically adds to the world.

Most of those jobs at the low end are around 30k a year, with the upper end being around 40k to maybe 45k+ but it seems like so many people are telling me I need to aim higher, aim for far more. Where I live, I can get a 3 bed house for something like 230k, higher end being 270k and maybe even 300k in nicer areas. Like yeah if you live in London where you need to be paid 6 quintillion pounds a second to not starve to death, then aim higher because you need to, but outside of London, Bristol and other expensive towns, the advice feels out of place, out of context.

When honestly...I'd be fine with just going out on long walks in the countryside and holidays here, living in a 3 bed house which is big enough for me and mine and ideally 2 or maybe 3 kids, enough money to be comfortable doing anything we need or want without stress and cars that run (outside of a Honda Civic type R or a AE86 ;'D). Like my soul is basically just the guy who lives on a council estate with his wife and kids with either some flash git car or a old Japanese banger and I wouldn't mind that life. I know a lot of people like that who are living perfectly happy lives and they're great people.

I am weird, is everyone else weird, or is it just a mix of both? Is American culture about constant consumption and keeping up with the Jones's bleeding over like their awful Ford trucks?