That’s a wild question, cause for me and most of the people I know, a fantasy version of myself with double my income would mean not worrying about groceries, maybe a short trip out of the country once a year, being able to pay off debts, and affording some medical procedures that we’ve been putting off. Maybe saving some money so my kid isn’t homeless in a few decades. Not some life of leisure.
To answer your question, though, it would be categorically worse.
From what I’ve read, biological parentage can get preference even if the child had been living in another household. You’d think what you said would be the case, but state legal opinions are not a thing I would be super trusting of if I were in that position given how our rights are in a precarious position, to say the least. IANAL, but everyone should write a will. That’s better than letting lawyers and judges guess at what you want.
Not an expert, but there is a lot less ground to legally challenge the partnership if a couple is married. If a couple isn’t married and one of them suddenly dies without a will or some sort of similar situation, the deceased’s family can fight for everything from how their funeral is executed, custody of children, or even control of finances. Obviously it would involve some sort of legal intervention, but marriage would supercede any familial relationships in most cases. I’m not sure how common it is, but I’ve definitely heard stories about this in gay relationships where estranged family ends up getting legal guardianship of children because the parents weren’t officially married and one died.
I’m married and, though I don’t think I can numerate all the ways, we are definitely more financially stable than we were when we were just dating. Even just the convenience of being able to do certain legal and medical stuff on my partner’s behalf makes a big difference. And that’s isn’t to say it’s for everyone, but it is worth investigating if you have specific concerns.
Safety Dance by Men Without Hats feels a bit like low-hanging fruit, but I think it fits quite well. Whether it is dancing or really any sort of expression, you ought to do it if you desire to regardless of how others may feel. And if your friends constantly constrain themselves based on the judgements (or fear of judgement) of others, that isn’t going make them new friends either. I wish I danced more when I was a kid. But I dance now.
Rock/Ground/Steel gym leader. There are a lot of chonky lizard bois and I am going to love them all, even as a 12 yr old destroys my shit with a monotype starter.
The feeling that things might get better.
My first was a Rattata from bootleg pack since Grandma didn’t know better. Favorite was a foil Kabutops in Japanese.
Lots of good recommendations already, but my personal favorite is PhilosophyTube, both on YouTube and Nebula. The terribly depressing reality of many topics is couched by elaborate theatrical sets and costumes. At this point, there is a huge back catalog of topics that cover everything from traditional Socratic thought to modern social issues and everything in between.
Well, hell is supposed to be forever. Eventually the liquid piss would evaporate, leaving behind solid compounds that, in my experience, would still smell quite bad. And then, she’d burst into flames again. Sounds like a win-win.
I don’t play Magic, but that issue definitely overlaps with tabletop gaming. Early into my start into the hobby, I played in a public campaign at my FLGS and the whole table was kind of sad stereotypes. Thankfully on my way out that night, I met some other folks who were looking for another player in their private game and they were all more socially adept, sanitary, and welcoming.
THAT’S A NICE HEAD YOU HAVE ON YOUR SHOULDERS
Michigan, but I know what you mean.
A similar thing happened in my school with a card game called Euchre. Heaven forbid the students enjoy the small amount of time between bells or in a class once their work is complete.
Seeing a fully armored horse ragdoll across the sky as my Fians melt Imperials is nothing but beautiful.
Not a single gift, but my MIL has this obsession with keeping things “even” for the holidays so everyone receives the same number of gifts. This inevitable means that everyone receives a set quantity of filler gifts. So I get grouped in with my BILs, who are nice but we are different people. She’ll split sock packs between us, bulky shirts that don’t fit me, car and garage accessories that I have no use for, etc. I got a single roll of duct tape once. Not even good duct tape, a thin dollar-store roll. I’ve said so many times I don’t need a pile of things to unwrap, that I’d be far happier with just one, thoughtful gift I could really use instead of having to haul a boxful of cheap useless things home. But nope, gotta get those numbers up.
Sweetened, doesn’t particularly matter with what. Though I think my favorite has been a honey/citron/ginger tea from Costco. No caffeine, but the flavor was immaculate.