How did Mike support a large family?
-
-
Catnip86 — 9 years ago(December 02, 2016 03:24 PM)
It is possible, considering the times. The kids (gasp!) shared rooms! Imagine that? He didn't need an 8 bedroom home so every kid could have their own bedroom (plus the master and maid's bedrooms) Kids did share bedrooms at one time and manage to grow up with no permanent damage at all! Today, each kid would have to have their own bedroom, their own computer, A TV with video game system in their room, etc. They would never help and do chores, too fragile these days.
-
pd3145 — 9 years ago(December 02, 2016 08:45 PM)
That's a good point. It was only a 3-bedroom house with two bathrooms, (assuming the one behind the stairs is a bathroom), and an ensuite.
The maid's quarters, where Alice slept, is a very small room in every house I've been to which had it. -
Owlnut73 — 9 years ago(December 03, 2016 03:25 AM)
I am guessing that even though they were never shown, there were more bathrooms.I am sure there must have been one in the master bedroom. And Alice, surely had her own, but her room seemed to be off the kitchen. Yes, the door behind the stairs is supposed to be a bathroom. In a Very Brady Christmas, The two grandsons asked where the bathroom was, Peter sent them to the den on purpose, because his girlfriend wanted to know what it was like to have a big family.Then, Cindy told them it was the other door.
-
IFeedPigeons — 9 years ago(December 05, 2016 03:52 PM)
There are 3 instances that I can think of where it was indicated that Mike and Carol had their own bathroom:
- Unknown episode name - Mike comes out from the wall behind their bed brushing his teeth, and IIRC, he has a small towel over his shoulder as well.
- In the "exact words" episode, Carol tells Greg that Mike is taking a shower.
- In "Getting Greg's Goat," Greg follows the goat into the bathroom and comes out with the shower curtain wrapped around him as he flails about comically Carol screams something like, "That's my good shower curtain!!"
-
virnman-549-227337 — 9 years ago(January 14, 2017 11:34 PM)
Yes, my mom stayed home and so did all of my friend's moms. We lived in a big house and my father wasn't an architect, he was a school administrator. One thing was that credit was much harder to come by, so people didn't live in debt, they lived within their means. Home loans were 10 and 15 years, not 30. Because of that, my folks were only in their late 30's when they had our first house paid off. No house payment (and never a car payment - always cash) by 38. It's a lot easier to save money in that situation obviously. My father said by the late 70's he was sticking away $1k every month and earning 10% - 12% daily compounded interest on it. Yep, back in the day the middle class actually thrived.
-
deem_bastille — 9 years ago(January 15, 2017 06:47 AM)
that and real estate wasn't as high as it is now.
I bought my apartment 7 years ago for 230 grand. same size as my neighbors my neighbor bought her apartment in the 80's for 25 grand. and she had that in cash.
Also has anyone ever thought of life insurance for the first mrs brady?
Oh God. Fortune
vomits
on my eiderdown once more. -
mamie-lou — 9 years ago(January 19, 2017 01:07 PM)
It's strange how times have changed! My parents had two kids, and when my dad got out of the air force they bought their first home, it was custom built and it was HUGE. Huge lot, which I had the displeasure of having to mow LOL! My dad worked for the railroad and he was always having to work out of town, going from Spokane where we lived, over to Montana, Idaho, then to Seattle. So my mom stayed home because that's what he wanted her to do. It was nice to have a home cooked meal every night and someone there all the time in case we got sick or something. My mom couldn't really call my dad in Montana and tell him one of the kids had a doctor appointment so he had to take them! It was a different situation, everyone thought my parents were divorced! But I don't remember them having to pay as many bills as my household does now. We both work but it's still hard sometimes at the end of the month, but I wouldn't have to be in as much debt I just make bad decisions sometimes then have to struggle until I have something paid off. At least they had Alice so if they went out they didn't really need to hire a babysitter, could you imagine that cost? Or daycare for 6 kids, although Greg and Marcia were just about old enough in the beginning to watch the other kids. And good point about life insurance as well. Maybe Mike used it to pay off the house if he had a mortgage!
-
seamas-85553 — 9 years ago(January 27, 2017 09:23 AM)
Yep.
My parents bought a 4 bedroom colonial on 1.25 acres in a commuter suburb on Long Island in 1969 for under 50K.
It was completely middle class. School admins, a professor, an engineer, businessmen, etc.
They sold it in 2001 for 10X thathouses in that neighborhood now go for $750K to $1M. It is not middle class anymore. -
rhs6358 — 9 years ago(January 21, 2017 12:51 PM)
The whole dynamic of salary versus what you could afford was totally different years ago. One of my uncles worked in a book distribution warehouse for years, basically as a laborer. He married and raised two daughters and also owned a small house on the pay he made. Nowadays, you probably couldn't get a one bedroom apartment.
-
seamas-85553 — 9 years ago(January 27, 2017 09:17 AM)
Yes.
An architect can make decent coin, and in 1970, six kids wasn't
THAT
unusually large. I was one of five and knew of quite a number of families with 5-8 kids. Most had stay at home moms and middle class incomes. Maybe not a live in housekeeper, but I would think that an architect with a rack record would be making an upper middle class income.
Plus Carol was turning tricks on the side. -