If you aren't in a rush, prices will definitely drop by Black Friday; expect them to hit around the $2,000 mark once those sales kick in. They’re already seeing significant discounts on certain models over in Germany...
Based on Vidin's signature, he's basically Mia's biggest fan—he'll probably head over to Munich to catch a Bayern Munich game and just try to lug a TV back with him, assuming his trunk is big enough to fit it. 😁
hahaha, man, there's no coming back from that one! 😛 🤣
Anyway, thanks a ton, my friend 👍 That's actually the exact one I was looking at—it’s basically the gold standard in every single one of those vs reviews whenever they talk about the best LG models, so I’ve definitely done my homework on this specific unit.
brightpilot6 said:A few months back, I went through a total ordeal trying to buy a television for my parents; I was bouncing from store to store, carrying USB sticks loaded with both SD and HD footage just to test them out... I spent countless hours pouring over reviews and forum threads.
Ultimately, it seems everything boils down to the fact that among these premium brands, within these mid-to-lower price brackets, the televisions are almost identical for us "average" users.
You didn't mention what size you're looking for, and honestly, that changes things quite a bit.
In the end, I picked up a Sony KD43XE7077 for them (my second choice was the Samsung UE43M5522, and while I would have preferred a Panasonic, they didn't have a 43-inch model available), so here is my amateur review. For movies or watching sports... it's excellent. You can still find them around today if you look.$1.25.
I should also mention that after visiting six or seven different stores, nearly every salesperson recommended the Sony over the Samsung. Though, as I said, you really can't be fooled by sales talk if you're looking closely.
Edit - ah, sorry, I missed that "E" earlier 🤣 Just ignore that.
And that's where I think you really can't be misled. If you have a partner with a better eye for detail, why not just ask them which one looks better to them?
🤣🤣 I gave her the green light on pretty much everything, so I can't exactly nitpick this 😁too
I'm moving to a place where every single channel is HD, so I won't have any issues with signal quality, though I won't be glued to the channels constantly anyway; I'll probably just grab some cable package or something similar to DirecTV, maybe get ESPN or whatever else is available, and hopefully, everything will be streaming in 4K. If I wasn't moving, I wouldn't even have these options, and I'm certainly not crazy enough to drop this kind of cash on a TV if I weren't leaving the States. I don't even need to list the reasons why.
And like most people on here, naturally, it's mostly going to be sports and movies.
I'll admit, I definitely fall into that category you so eloquently described as the typical everyday user, it's just that right now, I happen to have about three and a half thousand in USD, which is roughly the same as three and a half thousand in our local currency.
Well, here's the thing then. I'm moving soon, probably in about six months, and I've already started looking at TVs and honestly, I'm totally stuck because I was already pretty much sold on getting a Samsung TV. There wasn't even a doubt in my mind, so I figured I'd just start browsing around, checking different stores to see where I could snag the best deal, and then I stumbled upon a mountain of reviews that basically say LG's OLED absolutely destroys Samsung's QLED.
I'm willing to drop up to maybe $5,000 on a TV, but generally, I'm looking mostly in that $3,000 to $3,500 sweet spot. I really don't want to blow tens of thousands of dollars just to end up with some random junk... obviously, I want the absolute best, just like everyone else... And look, I have zero interest in experimenting with some random budget Chinese brand or whatever they call them. For me, top tier means LG or Samsung, though I might consider a Sony if the deal is right, but anything else just doesn't cut it for me...
Look, it’s pretty obvious you can’t just waltz in anywhere and start raking in the cash. Wherever you land, there's always some rigid hierarchy in place, and let me tell you, those old-timers are absolutely insatiable—they want every single scrap for themselves. But whatever, that's not even the point. I know two guys who did internships at federal agencies; they had a rough time of it, honestly, but they actually got breaks once they finally "broke in," which apparently took about two hours. One guy told me that during their lunch break, they were basically 4.4 miles away from actual work, and I was just like, "Are you kidding me?" He just nodded, said everyone wanted in, and then they’d head out for a drink at the local pub after... which is practically mandatory .
Man, we’re working with this one government IT firm, and let me tell you, the way they distribute resources is just a total joke, not to mention their absolute lack of professionalism 🙏. For God's sake, it's like they think they're gods or something, instead of just being employees at some mid-tier IT outfit 🤣
And everyone there is swimming in cash while doing basically nothing. They learn that a+b=c and suddenly they think they're geniuses—which is hilarious because they aren't actually tech wizards, they're just acting like they're part of some elite Silicon Valley squad when they really aren't
James Anderson5 said:Last year, I came across some public opinion poll in Cleveland, and the most desirable employer was the government 😁 Well, obviously. The average salaries are way higher than in the private sector, job security is basically absolute, and you usually don't have to work hard at all. But if you try to start your own business, it feels like walking through a minefield because you're constantly exposed to fines for every little thing. So, what's there to think about? 🤣
You’re talking about having a conscience that shouldn't be up for "valuation," but hey, that's just how the culture works here. If someone isn't bored to tears by doing absolutely nothing all day or feeling totally intellectually dead, then fine.
If that's your thing, go for it.
Since I already quoted one gentleman, I might as well quote another:
James Anderson5 said:Whether you like it or not, that’s basically been the reality here for about the last 28 years, with maybe a few tiny exceptions. With a crew like this running things, there's no way we're ever going to see the kind of democratic processes or even a halfway normal government that you or I would actually want
Honestly, those guys aren't even the main issue anymore; they're just "living dead" relics from some tiny backwater town, so what can you really expect besides outdated opinions? The massive, glaring problem is actually the youth and the fact that most of them don't want to actually work—they just want to land some cushy government job and sit around doing absolutely nothing. Instead of being ashamed of themselves, or better yet, instead of steering clear of those lazy options, they should actually want to work hard, gain some real skills, and try to actually build something meaningful with their lives.
And what happens? Well, let me quote this one young guy for you:
I’ve got a bigger head than Mojo Jojo, but I’m not looking for handouts because I know if I tried to pull any strings, it would blow up in my face since someone always has more influence, or someone always has a connection to a guy who has an even bigger connection to the biggest guy of all, the one everyone calls Todo because he pretty much runs the whole damn country.
Man, what is wrong with you people? It’s not that simple, okay? Everyone carries their own baggage based on what their family went through under whatever regime was running the show. If your relatives were targeted by fascists, then obviously the communists look like the good guys, and if it was the other way around, well, you get the point.
Take my family, for example. They’re pretty much anti-communist in one specific sense because everything they owned was snatched away under the guise of "serving the state." We’re talking about the farmland, the tractors—everything, damn it. But then I ask my old man (and my mom too), and they’re always like, "Eh, it wasn't all bad, they had decent jobs, traveled here and there, all those little perks..." whereas with my grandfather, who was more on the Nazi side, 😁, man, when he was alive, you couldn't even breathe the wrong way if you mentioned the Reds.
But generally speaking, everything just feels pretty bleak, if you know what I mean.
Justin James10 said:Honestly, that seems like a pretty realistic scenario. Though, for the moment, it looks like both us and the immigrants are being bypassed by the larger trends.😁
Who told you, Peter Thompson4, that cleaners in Germany are starving? Sure, the wages are low, but that's just relative to the American standard—and that’s actually a good thing! It's all about perspective, isn't it? For example, a government minister in certain parts of the world might earn less than $1,000 a month, yet in those countries, that's considered a very solid salary.
Are you kidding me right now? That is exactly what I'm telling you! The actual dollar amount doesn't matter—what matters is the ratio between your paycheck and the cost of living. But then again, like someone else mentioned, everyone is basically getting screwed over anyway. I honestly hate my own damn degree sometimes; I swear, forget the whole thing, because if you're just working to survive, you're nothing more than a slave. And let's be real, it's total bullshit here that having a college degree feels almost meaningless since everybody has one, yet even with a degree, you're still treated like a nobody, let alone if you only finished high school.
In any civilized country, you can live a normal life with just a high school diploma, whereas having a degree actually puts you a step above them.
But it's only here where like 90% of society holds a degree, yet it's also only here where it's socially unacceptable to demand better treatment or fight for a higher wage without being totally crushed for it. You aren't allowed to push back; you're expected to just smile and stay humble because someone was "kind enough" to give you a job in the first place. Who gives a damn about a fair salary, right?
Look, you clearly don't get how economics actually works, because nobody is out here saying a janitor needs to make more than their manager, we’re just saying they need to earn enough to actually live by the current American standard.
But hey, please, continue lecturing us on how those softies over in the States handle things. Please.
And apparently, if you look at folks in Germany, they're living on the edge of starvation, can't even afford a basic deli sandwich.
Seriously guys, you’re just throwing out these mindless little jabs like I don't know what's actually going on and you're some kind of expert. I work in finance, if you even care. For God's sake, why don't you just head over to India and be happy cleaning out sewers for fifty cents a day, or maybe go to Vietnam and assemble sneakers for a buck? Man, what a total brainwash. It's always "Americans this" or "Americans that," while everyone acts like the Germans, French, or Brits are freaking gods...
Listen to this guy, whining about how wages are actually decent here in America while claiming nobody wants to work 🤦
Man, listen, if you think anything under ten grand a year is "laughable," then you’ve clearly had your brain washed by some socialist nonsense—and hey, if you want to pretend we should all just be thrilled with $5k, that’s your business, not mine. A lemon is a lemon no matter how much you try to polish it, and look, there are plenty of reasons why things are this way, but thank God I'm not going to get into all that. These fake "work hard and be happy" schemes are just being sold to idiots; nobody does this kind of grind out of pure passion without caring about the paycheck. Let’s be real, buddy, money matters immensely and we’re all out here grinding for the cash, plain and simple.
I mean, if I’m busting my ass for $8.25 hours an hour, and some jerk just because they live in a country slightly more "leftist" than ours gets paid twenty bucks more for the exact same thing, it makes zero sense.
And of course, now we have people like you acting like this is normal, but honestly, employers just love that we’re willing to settle for whatever, which is exactly how you end up with people doing grueling physical labor getting paid 10-30% less than they would overseas. What is even the point of this damn country then?
Jessica Gonzalez said:It gets pretty crowded there during the big matchups, I guess. Plus, they really tempt you with food, which isn't exactly cheap. Maybe it would be better to just grab a seat somewhere in downtown Chicago.
Yeah, it’s definitely not cheap, but I actually dig this American concept, even if it's probably the cheapest thing on their menu while being way above average price for us here, and it's such a shame because the place looks really nice.
Sam Brown20 said:Does anyone have a solid recommendation for a cafe in downtown Chicago where I can actually catch a game? Somewhere in the Loop or maybe near the West Loop. I'm looking for a laid-back vibe—nothing too fancy or pretentious, just a place where you don't feel out of place if you aren't dressed up for a gala. I wouldn't mind somewhere near United Center, either.
There's Brewbites over in the suburbs if you're planning on catching a bunch of games in a row.🤷
I honestly don't even know why I'm bothering to act surprised, because frankly, I couldn't care less about some trivial nonsense like renaming a city plaza, but then again, you really have to be fundamentally opposed to a totalitarian regime if you want to stay sane. I mean, how can you possibly justify staying quiet when there's a legitimate chance you could end up behind bars just for swearing or singing a song? It’s like telling people living under North Korean rule to just chill out and stop crying when five generations of their family have been rotting in a labor camp because of some dictator.