Keeping up with the Jones Syndrome (Charlotte, Greenville: environment, relocate, luxury)

[berryjuice4life]

I have to agree with all above..dh lost his job as well we had the 2 luxury cars, big beautiful house it was furnished..lol...we lived high and mighty and well POOF it was gone, we decided to move down here for a simple life as those "things" just became less important to me as dh could care less about any of it....My priorities changed..NOW having children in school It is difficult because these "kids" do have the fancy clothes they wear, and they parents have what they have...children are very impressionable so it doesnt make it easy for a parent like us to say no, even though many of times we have...My son wears Hollister however he buys it with his own money as I wont spend it for a 13 yr old.. its also diffiuclt as my dd goes to school with ALOT of kids she is in private school that have money, and she wants to know why we dont have those things anymore well she is 9...so in the grand scheme of things, it just isnt important as we are happier now then we were before

[flyingscotsman]

Originally Posted by berryjuice4life

so in the grand scheme of things, it just isnt important as we are happier now then we were before

Sums it up perfectly money cannot buy happiness.

[berryjuice4life]

no it doesnt but it sure helps..LOL

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by flyingscotsman

Sums it up perfectly money cannot buy happiness.

Money is a convenience, nothing more and nothing less. All it can do, is make your life easier. It can give you a temporary fix of "happiness" or "peace of mind", but real happiness is generated from "within".

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by TheEmissary

Money is a convenience, nothing more and nothing less. All it can do, is make your life easier. It can give you a temporary fix of "happiness" or "peace of mind" but real happiness is generated from "within".

Amen brother, amen. If more people could REALLY get this, the world would be such a better place

[anifani821]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Amen brother, amen. If more people could REALLY get this, the world would be such a better place

Another amen . . . happiness does have to come from within, and with or without money, you will not be happy if you have issues you have not resolved.

Same with moving. If you have issues, you bring them with you.

A lot of things in life are easier if you have plenty of money . . . but the things that really count (a peaceful life and contentment) cannot be bought.

Just sad that many people are teaching our children that material things/external things are what make a person happy - leading to the "keeping up w/ the Joneses syndrome!"

[TheEmissary]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

Amen brother, amen. If more people could REALLY get this, the world would be such a better place

loves - it's the small things in life that produce the greatest amount of true happiness. Just being able to wash my car on Saturday, made me happier than my stock portfolio going up three grand this morning. Growing several flats of plants from seeds and watching them grow and prosper the entire summer, is a better mood enhancer for me than getting a dividend payment worth ten times more.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by anifani821

Another amen . . . happiness does have to come from within, and with or without money, you will not be happy if you have issues you have not resolved.

Same with moving. If you have issues, you bring them with you.

A lot of things in life are easier if you have plenty of money . . . but the things that really count (a peaceful life and contentment) cannot be bought.

Just sad that many people are teaching our children that material things/external things are what make a person happy - leading to the "keeping up w/ the Joneses syndrome!"

Wise words my friend

The sad cases are the people I see who constantly change their external situation in hopes of finding the peace they seek. They move from one house to the next, one town to the next, one state to the next, and even one job to the next. But when your problems are what's going on inside of you, no matter where you go - there you are!

[sstarrx3]

Originally Posted by nyxmike

Unless your jealous or envious, does it really matter whether someone wants to drive a nice car, or wear nice clothes, or have nice things? Most people who do can clearly afford it, or it is a hobby of theirs (they enjoy cars or fashion). It is the people who are living by the skin of their teeth in order to have these things are the ones that look like fools (and they usually don't have nice cars or nice clothes because all their money is invested in their mansion - just look at 90% of Union County "luxury" communities and you will see what I mean. I live in one and witness it daily. Most likely more than half the people that live in my neighborhood can barely afford to).

Charlotte is nothing like Miami, NY, LA etc in that sense because 1)we don't have the large amount of people that those places do and 2)we don't have as many wealthy people as those places do. The more people, the more wealthy people there are. However, Charlotte, for its size, has a pretty large amount of wealth and that, I think, is a good thing. It shows that their are opportunities to succeed here (plus we get to have better things than other cities our size, like dining and shopping).

This was the point of the origional post. Both parents working full time jobs just so they can live in a huge house in a prestigious neighborhood to appear wealthy. Keeping up with the Jones

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by sstarrx3

This was the point of the origional post. Both parents working full time jobs just so they can live in a huge house in a prestigious neighborhood to appear wealthy. Keeping up with the Jones

Great thread sstarrx3, thanks for starting it

I always feel sorry for the folks I know who chase the almighty dollar that way, and at their childrens expense.