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01.06.12, 12:13 PM General Topics
45 replies
I grew up middle class. My parents HHI was never more that 150K. However my grandparents had a fair amount of money, and helped us out a fair amount. They bought my parents their home as a wedding gift (it cost 60K in 1979). They paid for all their grandchildrens private education from K to as high as they were interested in perusing. My point is, I don't know if it's different because I grew up outside of New York, or because I was in school in the 90s, but I never felt poor at any of the private schools I attended. It didn't even occur to me, any differences I saw between my peers and I was just attributed to my parents being lame. [ Reply | Watch | Flag ]
General Topics 01.06.12, 12:13 PM Flag
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150,000 was very upper middle class in the time period... [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:16 PM Flag
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this! I sound about your age and my parents made a combined income of about 90K in Boston and we were considered upper middle class. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:18 PM Flag
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Because you weren't poor! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:19 PM Flag
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OP here: just to clear things up I know I wasn't poor. I wanted for nothing. This is in response to all the "we only make 600K will my DC be an outcast at private school" posts. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:21 PM Flag
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This is still ridiculous anywhere outside of NYC. You didn't grow up in NYC. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:22 PM Flag
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Those posts are ridiculous. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:24 PM Flag
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Do you think there's a little irony in your holding up *those* posts as totally lacking in perspective? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:26 PM Flag
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this this this! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:27 PM Flag
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Those posts are silly but NYC is so much more expensive than most places and if your parents bought their first house together in the late 70s, you are also talking about $150 in a less expensive area 20-30 years ago!! Sounds like they were actually quite well off [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:40 PM Flag
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You announced you didn't feel pool as if it were a revelation. YOU WEREN'T. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:40 PM Flag
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Well, you can assure your parents that spending their "middle class" earnings on private school was a waste, because you do not sound very bright. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:21 PM Flag
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that's because you were not poor, idiot [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:22 PM Flag
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You have got to be joking. 150K with no house or education costs, and you're poor. Practically a millworker's son. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:24 PM Flag
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hi OP, I think people are flaming you because you wrote a post about how ridiculous people are regarding their financial means and then you claim to have been middle class, but you were far from it. You come off as clueless as the people you are throwing veiled jabs at. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:26 PM Flag
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Oh, hi! I didn't know Captain Obvious was on UB! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:30 PM Flag
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hi OP! ::waves:: [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:32 PM Flag
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OR: It didn't seem to be obvious to OP, so I wanted to help her out. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:37 PM Flag
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Absolutely clueless. I guess your grandparents should get a refund for the education money they spent on you, because you came out kind of stupid. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:30 PM Flag
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No, that's Captain Underpants you are Captain Oblivious. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:31 PM Flag
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are you having problems posting in the right place? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:33 PM Flag
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No, just seem to think that poster is silly and out of touch. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:35 PM Flag
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"kind of"? you're far too kind. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:43 PM Flag
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True. She is a complete dolt, poor rich girl. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:48 PM Flag
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Hello, Irony! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:39 PM Flag
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Wow. This may be one of my new favorite posts. Usually, crazy posts are fake, but I have a feeling you are the real thing! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:39 PM Flag
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best. post. ever. truly. i am laughing hysterically [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:42 PM Flag
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Do you know what inflation means? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:44 PM Flag
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Hold on a sec, she never said her parents HHI was always $150K, only that it was never more than that. In 1979 you could have gotten a 2BR, 2BA apt in Manhattan for $60K on the UES, so that's not necessarily the cheapest area that she's talking about. I think that it's legitimate to say that she was MC meaning that they lived comfortably but not luxuriously as a family but for her gp's paying for private school. OP, I agree with you and I grew up in NYC - i knew that other kids had more money than we did but never felt "poor" just "not rich" which i don't think is a bad thing and htere were plenty of other not rich kids there too! i think these days, there is so much new money in nyc that really pursues all the trappings of the wealthy - the right buildings, the right schools, the right job, etc. and it's very hard to keep up with that. when i was grwoing up, the rich kids wore benetton not chanel! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:47 PM Flag
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HAHAHAHAHA [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:50 PM Flag
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Oh, honey, my parents made $50-60k combined - WE were middle class. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:53 PM Flag
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ditto. i remember thinking hhi of $100k was really, really rich. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:58 PM Flag
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I still think that. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:02 PM Flag
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i don't anymore. sorry. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:05 PM Flag
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NP: that doesn't make it true though. she's talking about going to school in the 90s not the 70s. i graduated college in 91 and starting salaries were in the $30-45K range for most entry-level jobs and this was not nyc-area (small city). 2 of those jobs and you'd be getting pretty close to that 100 mark and that was for 22yo! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:08 PM Flag
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In the 1990s, starting salary for a nyc teacher was about $35K (higher in burbs) - so even 2 teachers would be making $70K combined in their early 20s. I don't think anyone is questioning whether 2 teachers are middle class - even if they teach for 20+ years and are making $150K combined eventually!! [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:00 PM Flag
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awww cute. there are two of them. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 12:54 PM Flag
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Even if you don't think OPs premise about her parents class/income is misguided, she is still basically saying "don't worry about fitting in w wealthy people, only my gparents were wealthy and I was just fine!" Evernote can relate to that, no? [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:05 PM Flag
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most people will tell you that just bc gparents are wealthy doesn't mean you live a welathy lifestyle. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:11 PM Flag
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But she is taking about being comfortable/not around people who are wealthy and pretending to assure people who really are middle class that she never felt uncomfortable. The difference between growing up in a family that has been UMC or better for at least a couple if generations and true middle class is more significant than OP can seem to grasp [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:17 PM Flag
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But here the gparents were involved in her parents finances and covered what would ordinarily be major expenses for families -- leaving a lot of free $$ for other things. lso can't imagine those were actually the only things they paidfor [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:30 PM Flag
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It does mean that if the Grandparents are paying for private school and a home for the parents [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:42 PM Flag
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I get what youre saying, not sure why this is making people so crazed. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:05 PM Flag
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I agree. In OP's post, gifts from grandaprents plays the role of FA - enabling kids of MC parents to go to school with UMC and UC kids. And OP's point is that being relatively poor was never an issue for her. Relevant point. Ignore the nasty comments. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:23 PM Flag
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Except that $150K (with no housing costs) was actually living pretty well in those days. No idea the equivalent today, but I'd guess at least $600K - $750K. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:25 PM Flag
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Except that she wasn't relatively poor, GPs or not. [ Reply | More
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General Topics 01.06.12, 01:41 PM Flag
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