work/life balance

No one has written on here for a little while. I wondered if it is because we are all quite busy with work. I find it interesting how much time we put into work. Sure, money is a great lure and it helps if you like your job. Just, with getting up before the sun rises and getting home after it has set I wonder sometimes if this is what I want for myself.

I received an email from a friend recently to update on where things are at with her. She sounds like she is very successful, travelling around Europe for her managerial/advisory job 4 days per week, staying in an apartment in Paris 1 day per week to work, and then returning to her home to Brussels for the weekend. I was quite envious, as it sounds so glamourous, and the money she must be earning is probably far more than I could ever get as a Psychologist. However, I thought more about it and she has a dog and a boyfriend, and I wonder how that goes. I'm still jealous though.

I personally feel a lot of pressure to "get" stuff. Like a house, a better car, a better couch. Whatever. It's that "oh, that would be nice" feeling. I see some of my friends buying investment properties while I'm still renting and it's not a good feeling. Yet I don't really want to work 12 hours a day like those friends do, as I probably would never get to see my lovely house and couch and would mostly only drive my spiffy new car to and from work.

It's a hard thing though, balancing it out. What do others think?