Re: 30somethings in debt

[Guest guest]

Thirty and Broke

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A Rite of PassageThese trends have intersected before -- paying off college loans has never been easy, and earlier generations have had to contend with weak job markets -- but they are felt more keenly today. Almost two-thirds of students have to borrow money to get through school; as many as one-quarter may be accumulating credit-card debt to help pay for tuition. The median debt for college graduates in 2004 was $15,162, an increase of 66.5% since 1993. That may not seem like a crippling sum, but plenty of individuals owe much more. Back in 1993, only 4.2% of graduates had loans exceeding $25,000. A decade later, 17% did.

Today's 30-year-olds are also the first generation for whom having a credit card was a rite of passage. Most of their parents couldn't get a credit card until well after graduation. But beginning in the early 1990s, students have been bombarded by tempting offers at a time when they were just scraping by. For those whose financial education had scarcely begun, it seemed like free money: Spend a couple of hundred dollars and only pay the minimum balance of $10 a month. So students used their cards to buy computers, clothes, gas, textbooks, and sometimes even to pay for tuition. Living with debt has become perfectly acceptable: Last year 76% of college students had credit cards and their average debt was $2,169. "We wink at the magical thinking that credit-card companies encourage us to engage in," says Darryl Dahlheimer, a program manager at Lutheran Social Service Financial Counseling in Minneapolis. "The bitter 30-year-olds are the ones who are still paying off the pizza they ate when they were 20."

When these students start out in the working world, many use their credit cards to fund a richer lifestyle than they can afford, get by between jobs, or cover emergency expenses. The average credit-card debt among 25-to-34-year-olds was $5,200 in 2004, 98% higher than in 1992. "Young people are taking on a level of debt that was never possible for an earlier generation because it's not based on income," says D. Manning, author of Credit Card Nation and professor of finance at Rochester Institute of Technology. "This is a generation that has a razor-thin margin of error."

Few would argue that building up credit-card debt is in anyone's best interest. Most economists, though, believe that borrowing $20,000 or so for a degree that, in the past anyway, would enable graduates to earn $1 million more over their lifetime is a pretty smart investment. But for those who have to borrow considerably more, or come from families that can't slip them a couple of thousand in a pinch, student-loan debt can be a real burden. "We're a society that values freedom of choice, but debt can restrict and narrow choices," says Gaston Caperton, president of the College Board and former governor of West Virginia. The real price of a college education may have to be calculated by different means altogether.

Reality CheckIt took R. Love a full decade to get through college, mostly because he kept quitting to make what money he could at places like Burger King and Friendly's Ice Cream (FRN ). Then, when he finally graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2002, he couldn't find a decent job. His wife, , pressured him to take whatever he could find, and eventually he did. But he begrudged her; she was disappointed in him. A year later their marriage collapsed.

Now, at age 31, he is about to finish his master's degree in business at RIT. is charming and highly capable and has lots of ideas about what he might do. He thought of moving to Chicago, a city he regards as full of promise. But he's realizing that to secure the $70,000-a-year job he hopes for, he has to be willing to go pretty much anywhere. He would, though, like to stay within driving distance of his parents, who live in rural Pennsylvania; money for plane tickets home may be hard to come by. knows he will have to live frugally for years so that he can pay off the $71,000 he owes in student loans and the $40,000 balance on his credit cards.

lives with his girlfriend, Savita Thakur, who is a 28-year-old technical writer and part-time student in the same MBA program. But he won't be in a position to get married, have children, or buy a house for a long, long while. "I have to meet my financial goals to pursue my career properly. I can't take on more debt and do that," he says. In this, he is not alone: Fourteen percent of graduates said in 2002 that they had delayed marriage because of their loan obligations, compared with 9% in 1987.

met at wood University in Scranton, Pa., where he completed his freshman year and then dropped out. After she graduated in 1996, they moved to Rochester, so that she could take a job as an auditor for a bank there. When they were feeling pretty comfortable financially, he returned to school and this time got through his bachelor's degree in management information systems in three years. But in Rochester, long dependent on such companies as Eastman Kodak Co. (EK ) and Xerox Corp. (XRX ), there were few technology jobs available back in the spring of 2002. By the fall, he was working on the sales floor at CompUSA, and at Sears Roebuck & Co. (SHLD ), too.

In February, found a job at Paychex Inc. (PAYX ), the payroll processing company; it was only temporary, but at least he could put his education to use. When his two-month contract was extended, thought he had a good chance of being hired for a permanent position. So in June he enrolled in the MBA program as a part-time student. Halfway through his second quarter, he was let go from Paychex and couldn't find another job. In November, he took a leave of absence from school. "The friction returned to our marriage," he says. "School was cutting into the time I had to look for work."

parted from his wife a month later with two credit cards, $27,000 in college loans, and a car that signed over to him. He used his unemployment checks to pay the rent on a studio apartment. He lived off his credit cards, relying on a small sum that his extended family gave him to cover the minimum balance each month. He returned to school and bought a $3,200 computer system, then a $1,500 digital camera. He lost 40 pounds from the stress of his divorce and bought all new clothes. At the time, this hyperconsumption seemed normal to , as it would to many others of his age. "Our culture has trained this generation to believe that success is measured by acquisition," says Dungan, the author of Prodigal Sons and Material Girls: How Not to be Your Child's ATM.

In the summer of 2004, 's life began to unravel. The crises that often discourage young adults were made more intense by his financial troubles. An uncle who had been everything admired died from cancer. He began doing poorly in school and withdrew from two classes. He was approaching the spending limits on his credit cards. "I knew if I didn't catch myself in time, I would be headed to bankruptcy," he says.

Savita, his family, and an adviser at school helped him cope with his personal losses. By January, had cut back on his spending and become meticulous about paying his bills on time. His grades improved. He began thinking about how he could manage his finances once he entered the working world. "I've learned my lesson," he says. "There's a real disconnect between what students today think they can have after graduation and reality."

"Sense of Betrayal"This is a generation with an unusual sense of entitlement. They were brought up as consumers, comfortable with prosperity, certain of their eventual success. For those who graduated when they were in their early 20s, America was at its most exuberant. Then came the recession, September 11, a slow economic recovery, growing job insecurity, pressure all around. "A college education doesn't protect you from the vicissitudes of global competition," says Bernstein, director of the living standards program at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. Real earnings for full-time workers between the ages of 25 and 34 who have only a bachelor's degree have, in fact, dropped by almost 10% since 2000, by 5% in 2004 alone. This exaggerates the burden of their debt. For many 30-year-olds, establishing themselves takes longer and is more complicated than they thought it would be. "It's so much more difficult to achieve the adult milestones today than it was 30 years ago," says Draut of the think tank Demos. "There is some sense of betrayal."

Cristina García Gamboa, who just turned 30, is articulate and energetic, someone who while reading Madeleine Albright's biography will ask a friend to recommend books on European history for background. She was an exceptional student and received scholarships that nearly covered her first three years at College. During vacations, her uncle gave her frequent-flier miles so she could return to Houston, where her mother insisted Cristina work at the grocery store he managed. All of her summer internships had to pay: After her junior year, she worked at Lockheed Corp. (LMT ) during the day and Toys 'R' Us (TOY ) at night.

From the beginning, Cristina's mother, Bertha, didn't see the difference between a diploma from and the community college where most of Cristina's high school classmates went. Her philosophy was simple: Don't pay when you don't have to. Bertha, who moved to Texas from Mexico when she was 17, wouldn't use the term return on investment, as Cristina does, but that's how she looks at higher education. So after Cristina graduated in May, 1998, with a double major in Latin American studies and economics, it was a scandal that she returned home $21,000 in debt and unemployed.

Cristina quickly accepted a $42,000-a-year position as a Latin America analyst with Motorola Inc. (MOT ) in Miami, only to be laid off seven months later when the company reduced its investment in the region. She moved back to Houston, worked at a public relations firm with a Hispanic focus, and lived with her parents. Her fiancé, Gamboa, had graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1997 with about $27,000 in student-loan debt and $3,000 in credit-card debt, and he was living with his family in Chicago while working at Navistar International (NAV ) as a design engineer. By May, 2000, they had saved the $25,000 they needed to host a wedding party for 400 guests.

Cristina and began their married life in Houston, where they could afford to buy a house, instead of Chicago, where they couldn't. Their $51,000 debt weighed on them, though, and they agreed to cut it in half before they borrowed more to buy a place. They got it down to $26,000 in a year. At the end of 2001 they purchased a $112,000 house eight miles outside of Houston with a $4,000 downpayment. It's a modest place, says Cristina, and with their salaries they could have afforded something "more grand," but they didn't even look, she says, because of their student loan debt.

If Cristina's mother had been planning their lives, that's when they would have started a family. Instead, Cristina enrolled in a 15-month master's degree program in marketing at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 2003 and entered the MBA program at the University of Texas at Austin (no more private schools for him) the year after. When he finishes in May, 2006, they will have accumulated an additional $100,000 in debt. They consider graduate degrees a necessity in the business world, yet paying for them may well constrain them in important ways in the years to come.

Feeling the PinchCristina's first job offer after Medill was to join SBC Communications' (SBC ) leadership development program at company headquarters in San . That's about 80 miles from Austin, which made it a less-than-ideal proposition. But Cristina was wary of being unemployed. "It was frightening to owe $50,000 when we first got married. And now we owe more," she says. "We owe more in student loans than on our house. You convince yourself that it's good debt." She started at SBC in mid-January.

Cristina and plan on paying $1,256 a month on their loans for a decade, which is manageable if they live in an affordable city and both work. That makes the prospect of having children anytime soon not too "realistic," as Cristina puts it. Their debt has put them in a bit of a quandary. They want one of them to stay home with the kids for several years. Cristina and had many ambitions when they decided to go to graduate school: Among them was to secure positions that provided enough flexibility, financial and otherwise, for their family. But that time seems further off than they hoped.

These days, Cristina is adjusting to life in a small town mid-way between San and Austin, a long commute in a noisy car that needs new tires, not being able to help their family as much as they would like, her mom calling her office at night and saying: "You're still there. I thought you went back to school for a better job." It's not quite what she saw for herself at this age. "I thought I would be living it up at 29," she says.

-----

There's a lot going on behind the scenes here. A large part of the student loan problem is because of the government's involvement. Colleges get many students with federally backed loans. if the student defaults, fails out of college or whatever, they still get their money. Because of this, colleges have been steadily raising their tuitions because they know they can get away with it. Student debt does bother them. Rather, they have to keep the faculty happy with fat paychecks, student assistants to do most of the work (including teaching), and they have to keep the alumni happy with winning sports teams that soak up so much of the college money that at some places the economics and sciences buildings are in such bad shape they are close to being condemned. The fact that many colleges are also very top-heavy with administration hurts too.

State colleges face other problems. Whenever "hard times" hit the state coffers, the politicians scream for more taxes. To trick people into agreeing, they cut funding for education, police, fire and rescue, etc. Do they cut their wasteful pork projects or other useless (except for getting them votes) programs? Of course not. So instead they cut funding to the colleges which then have to raise tutition to make up the shortfall, while at the same time increasing the debt load on students and thier families. They get away with it though because people don't pay attention and don't hold the incumbent liable in the next election.

Next in line is that students aren't taught financial education. It doesn't take a degree in economics to understand personal finance. Such classes used to be common through to the 1960's but then they all but vanished. The local junior college had 1 just 1 course offering each semester in personal finance and even though the class filled up, the professor had to fight each year to get it included. Once he died they dropped it. But this education should begin in the early grades and continue right through college.

But then you see the final aspect I will mention. College education is necessary these days because public school education is of such low quality. NOt 40 years ago a high school diploma carried more weight than a bachelor's degree does today. Even now it is getting to the point where you have to have a master's degree or higher to be considered for many jobs that used to barely require a bachelor's degree. This is because many colleges are watering down grades so they can keep alumni, state regulators and prospective students happy. After all, a college where most people get C's and above looks good on paper, but is it really?That the question raised now about some of the Ivy League schools since many officially don't give lower than C's anymore and most of the student body has A's. You can't tell me that isn't phony as 3 dollar bill.

So, all these things and more are working together to drive up the cost of education. Its not helping anyone but the college administrators and professors who live high on that money and the bankers who hold the notes. It is hurting lots of people who would otherwise be among the best and brightest.

[Guest guest]

" She is now paying off her loans, $300 a month; at that rate

> it will take her until she's about 50. " Twenty thousand isn't even

that

> much, but it feels hefty, " she says. " I'm not making any headway. " "

>

>

> " Like many who emerged from adolescence amid the promise of the

late 1990s,

> Paige never imagined that money would be the issue upon which

crucial

> decisions in her life would turn. "

$20,000 isn't much? Never imagined money would be an issue. There's

her problem.

" She has been fascinated with forensic

> psychology ever since reading a book in college about a woman who

studied

> serial killers, and she was accepted into a master's degree program

at the Chicago

> School of Professional Psychology in 2004. " But it could have been

my life's passion. " "

It is a shame, and college is becoming prohibitively expensive for

the average family. But had her family had the forsight to save

instead of spend she might have been able to do this. It kind of

smacks of an entitlement attitude. Besides, disappointment is good

for children to experience.

" And as soon as they entered

> school, they were offered credit cards; by 30 many have

accumulated thousands of

> dollars of that very expensive debt, too. Imprudent choices

sometimes have

> compounded their troubles. The consequences can be profound: Many

of those

> 30-year-olds feeling unduly burdened by their financial

obligations have had to

> make compromises on some of life's vital decisions. "

Problem again.

>

>

> " Paige is a typical graduate not only because of the amount of her

student

> loan debt but also because of the way in which her attitude toward

it has

> shifted. In those early years, she felt unprepared for life on her

own and had

> what she calls an immature attitude toward money. She paid as

little as she

> could on her student loans, about $50 a month, while working in

Tulsa as an

> accountant at Deloitte & Touche and later at WilTel Communications

Group Inc.

> (_LUK_ (http://finance.aol.com/usw/quotes/quotesandnews?

sym=luk & exch=USA) ) as a

> product manager. She could have handled making higher payments, but

that

> would have meant scrimping. "

Egads, not the dreaded SCRIMPING. If only Paige and her parents had

understood how good it would have been for her in so many ways, to

have done the scrimping thing.

" Paige, though, had long ago learned the prevailing

> cultural language of brand names and status symbols. Living in

reduced

> circumstances simply didn't correspond with what she thought she

understood about

> being an adult. " My lifestyle was a little out of whack, " she

says. " I expected

> to be able to live the way my parents raised me. " "

Parents are very much to blame for spoiling their children. She's

changed her attitude, that's good. But $65,000 isn't too shabby for

someone her age and she should be able to make out quite well with a

$65,000 job even with student loan payments. No hardship here.

[Guest guest]

I have a couple things to say about this:

1) College is not an entitlement, it's a choice.

2) Despite that, it appears to be needed because employers would

prefer someone who is " college educated " over someone who isn't. Yet

3) The importance of a degree in today's workforce is over-

exaggerated. When I used to participate in the hiring process at my

old place of employment, the idea was to find a college graduate

because it showed the person was capable of making it through a

higher level of education. If a person could do that, then they

could more likely than not handle the rigours of a demanding job.

The person's major didn't matter. They could have majored in basket

weaving and been hired.

4) Even so, there is one real danger here besides the accumulation

of debt, and that is a simple exclusion of anyone who cannot afford

to pay for college from getting it, and a consequent and probable

failure to getting a higher paying job as a result.

At my old job, though it was of course discriminatory, we would not

hire frat boys or sorority girls because we knew that college, being

so hard to obtain for some people, was not something to be frittered

away on beer bongs and toga parties. My new place of employment

feels the same way.

But one thing HAS changed.

My new place actually DOES look at academics now instead of just

whether or not a person has gotten a degree. Thus we are hiring more

high school graduates with " A " averages than we are college grads

with " C " averages.

I am hoping that other businesses will begin to do this also, and I

think this will happen anyway since employee's work ethics and

performances continue to decline statistically anyway. The number

one place to restructure a company would begin with ensuring new

hires are qualified in the first place, and if this means hiring a

high school grad over a college one, then I am all for it.

Tom

There's a lot going on behind the scenes here. A large part of the

student loan problem is because of the government's involvement.

Colleges get many students with federally backed loans. if the

student defaults, fails out of college or whatever, they still get

their money. Because of this, colleges have been steadily raising

their tuitions because they know they can get away with it. Student

debt does bother them. Rather, they have to keep the faculty happy

with fat paychecks, student assistants to do most of the work

(including teaching), and they have to keep the alumni happy with

winning sports teams that soak up so much of the college money that

at some places the economics and sciences buildings are in such bad

shape they are close to being condemned. The fact that many colleges

are also very top-heavy with administration hurts too.

State colleges face other problems. Whenever " hard times " hit the

state coffers, the politicians scream for more taxes. To trick

people into agreeing, they cut funding for education, police, fire

and rescue, etc. Do they cut their wasteful pork projects or other

useless (except for getting them votes) programs? Of course not. So

instead they cut funding to the colleges which then have to raise

tutition to make up the shortfall, while at the same time increasing

the debt load on students and thier families. They get away with it

though because people don't pay attention and don't hold the

incumbent liable in the next election.

Next in line is that students aren't taught financial education. It

doesn't take a degree in economics to understand personal finance.

Such classes used to be common through to the 1960's but then they

all but vanished. The local junior college had 1 just 1 course

offering each semester in personal finance and even though the class

filled up, the professor had to fight each year to get it included.

Once he died they dropped it. But this education should begin in the

early grades and continue right through college.

But then you see the final aspect I will mention. College education

is necessary these days because public school education is of such

low quality. NOt 40 years ago a high school diploma carried more

weight than a bachelor's degree does today. Even now it is getting

to the point where you have to have a master's degree or higher to

be considered for many jobs that used to barely require a bachelor's

degree. This is because many colleges are watering down grades so

they can keep alumni, state regulators and prospective students

happy. After all, a college where most people get C's and above

looks good on paper, but is it really?That the question raised now

about some of the Ivy League schools since many officially don't

give lower than C's anymore and most of the student body has A's.

You can't tell me that isn't phony as 3 dollar bill.

So, all these things and more are working together to drive up the

cost of education. Its not helping anyone but the college

administrators and professors who live high on that money and the

bankers who hold the notes. It is hurting lots of people who would

otherwise be among the best and brightest.

[Guest guest]

>

> There's a lot going on behind the scenes here. A large part of the

> student loan problem is because of the government's involvement.

> Colleges get many students with federally backed loans. if the

> student defaults, fails out of college or whatever, they still get

> their money. Because of this, colleges have been steadily raising

> their tuitions because they know they can get away with it. Student

> debt does bother them. Rather, they have to keep the faculty happy

> with fat paychecks, student assistants to do most of the work

> (including teaching), and they have to keep the alumni happy with

> winning sports teams that soak up so much of the college money that

> at some places the economics and sciences buildings are in such bad

> shape they are close to being condemned. The fact that many

colleges

> are also very top-heavy with administration hurts too.

>

> State colleges face other problems. Whenever " hard times " hit the

> state coffers, the politicians scream for more taxes. To trick

> people into agreeing, they cut funding for education, police, fire

> and rescue, etc. Do they cut their wasteful pork projects or other

> useless (except for getting them votes) programs? Of course not. So

> instead they cut funding to the colleges which then have to raise

> tutition to make up the shortfall, while at the same time

increasing

> the debt load on students and thier families. They get away with it

> though because people don't pay attention and don't hold the

> incumbent liable in the next election.

>

> Next in line is that students aren't taught financial education. It

> doesn't take a degree in economics to understand personal finance.

> Such classes used to be common through to the 1960's but then they

> all but vanished. The local junior college had 1 just 1 course

> offering each semester in personal finance and even though the

class

> filled up, the professor had to fight each year to get it included.

> Once he died they dropped it. But this education should begin in

the

> early grades and continue right through college.

>

> But then you see the final aspect I will mention. College education

> is necessary these days because public school education is of such

> low quality. NOt 40 years ago a high school diploma carried more

> weight than a bachelor's degree does today. Even now it is getting

> to the point where you have to have a master's degree or higher to

> be considered for many jobs that used to barely require a

bachelor's

> degree. This is because many colleges are watering down grades so

> they can keep alumni, state regulators and prospective students

> happy. After all, a college where most people get C's and above

> looks good on paper, but is it really?That the question raised now

> about some of the Ivy League schools since many officially don't

> give lower than C's anymore and most of the student body has A's.

> You can't tell me that isn't phony as 3 dollar bill.

>

> So, all these things and more are working together to drive up the

> cost of education. Its not helping anyone but the college

> administrators and professors who live high on that money and the

> bankers who hold the notes. It is hurting lots of people who would

> otherwise be among the best and brightest.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I saw a very intersting exhibit on basket weaving at the Field

Museum in Chicago earlier this year (or maybe last year).

Some of these baskets were very artistic. All were woven with reeds

or thin strips of wood, but one was woven with strands of shaved

reeds that could not have been much more than more than a sixteeth

of an inch thick.

Basket weaving can be an art form, and taking classes is worth it,

although I don't know that spending COLLEGE tuition for it would be

an expense I would want to make given the prices of tuition these

days.

Tom

> In a message dated 11/16/2005 3:57:48 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> no_reply writes:

>

> They could have majored in basket

> weaving and been hired.

>>

> Actually some colleges offer something close to that. Some of the

colleges

> out in California offer many degree programs that aren't worth

anything more

> than a laugh.

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I love the Field Museum! It's my favorite museum, I think it's a

very good one, however I am not very knowledgeable about museums.

What do you all think are some of the best?

>

> > In a message dated 11/16/2005 3:57:48 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> > no_reply writes:

> >

> > They could have majored in basket

> > weaving and been hired.

> >>

> > Actually some colleges offer something close to that. Some of the

> colleges

> > out in California offer many degree programs that aren't worth

> anything more

> > than a laugh.

> >

> >

> >

>

[Guest guest]

,

Since you are in my area, I can suggest a few.

1) The Field Museum. Now that they have built extra storage space

below ground, they will be putting more exhibits on the first and

second floor in areas they had been using as a storage area. They will

have a new dinosaur area soon.

2) The Burpee Museum in Rockford. This is good for about an hour and a

half. The exhibits are interesting and presented in a way that does

NOT bore people.

3) The Milwaukee Public Musuem. It's bigger than Burpee, smaller than

the Field, interesting, and easy to get through like the Burpee.

4) Art Institute of Chicago. Make sure to go downstairs and see their

minuture rooms.

5) House on the Rock in Wisconsin. Not a museum, but the eclectic

collection of stuff will transport you into a fantasy world.

6) Not a museum, but the animals (despite recent media reports) are

well cared for, and all the exhibits except the penguins have been

modernized. Look for a rehab of the south part of the lion house, and

of the south pond (by Cafe Brauer) within the next two years.

Places NOT recommended:

1) Shed Aquarium. They keep demolishing the main halls to build stairs

so you can get to other exhibits, and these other exhibits are ones

you have to pay for. They are really expensive. You could go to the

Ripley's Aquarium in Galtinburg Tennessee and see much more

interesting exhibits for jalf price.

2) The Brookfield Zoo. It's got lots of " wow " but the facilities are

archaic. Run by the Chicago Zoological Society, the animal houses and

property are owned by the Cook County Forest Preserve which takes the

parking fees and most of the zoo admission price and pockets it,

leaving the animals to rot away in their sub-par exhibits.

3) The Museum of Science and industry. They have replaced most of the

hands on exhinits with computer terminals, and glitzy exhibits that

appeal to children but don't teach them anything.

Tom

Administrator

I love the Field Museum! It's my favorite museum, I think it's a

very good one, however I am not very knowledgeable about museums.

What do you all think are some of the best?

[Guest guest]

Old industrial museums, preferably with working machinery -

fascinating :-) big old stone buildings, with water wheels too :-)

>

> I love the Field Museum! It's my favorite museum, I think it's a

> very good one, however I am not very knowledgeable about museums.

> What do you all think are some of the best?

>

>

[Guest guest]

Tom, sadly I am not in Chicago anymore, but thanks anyway. I have

been to the Museum of Science & Industry, Brookfield Zoo, Art

Institute and Shedd Aquarium. I didn't know about the miniature room

at the Art Institute, darn, I missed it, and I thought the Shedd

Aquarium was supposed to be pretty good--I like the Beluga whales I

saw a few years ago--but good to know it's not necessarily one of the

best, so I can visit some others.

Am thinking of going to Gatlinburg, anyway so I'll keep the aquarium

in mind. I didn't much like the Museum of Science, etc. I thought it

was overrated. Saw the Titanic exhibit there a few years ago, it was

okay. I was in New York a few years ago, wanted to go to the museums

there but didn't get to.

>

> I love the Field Museum! It's my favorite museum, I think it's a

> very good one, however I am not very knowledgeable about museums.

> What do you all think are some of the best?

>