Snob Factor?? (Mercedes: 2015, student loans, buy)

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by Parhe

Can someone explain the snob thing to me more in depth? Only thing mentioned much currently seem to be about having nice cars, dressing well, and children going to nice schools. I always thought that was normal, though maybe that is just normal for most Korean American communities. I lived in New England and the West Coast (Seattle, LA, and San Francisco), though currently in Texas like most my life, and the three qualities seemed like ones equally present in all of them.

IMO, you can definitely go too far "dressing well" and having "nice" cars. If you can truly afford it without putting any strain on your finances or making your future uncertain, go for it. But if you need to carry a balance on a credit card and can only afford to put 3% into your 401k after leasing a Lexus and buying up Nordstrom, then you and I have a really different set of values. I do think it's important to buy clothes that are appropriate for the occasions you'll encounter and that are well made and durable, but when you start worrying about labels and prestige, you move from utilitarian consumption to conspicuous consumption. Same when you buy a $70,000 full size SUV to drive primarily to work and the grocery store. Now everyone has different things that make them happy, so like I said, if you're extremely rich, do whatever you want. But if you're not, don't max out all your credit cards and then whine about the economy.

[DFWDove]

Snobs buy to impress and to portray a certain lifestyle. Botox and silicone enhanced tanned faces with eyebrows almost touching hairlines are like cherries on their cakes. It is important for them to look the part, guess it helps with deep embedded insecurities.

[radiolibre99]

Didn't Texas replace California as the highest consumer of plastic surgery services?

[wallawallahoohoo]

Originally Posted by DFWDove

It is a race. I see people commuting for 1-3 hrs per day and picking lower performing school districts, just so they can have latest McMansions.

I see people buying latest models of luxury cars on lease when they can buy decent ones on cash.

I see every other woman flaunting LV /Parada bags and Jimmy Choo while kids are being sent to community college to save money.

There are so many things that make no sense for us who don't get the thrill of running the rat race.

Some good public schools require a commute for work, e.g. Coppell, Southlake, Plano. For those families it's probably worth the commute trade off vs. living closer to town and sending kids to private.

[Saintmarks]

Snobs are amongst us wherever we go. Don't see how the geography plays into it except in the fine details. The kids and I have seen it here in McKinney as well as the surrounding burbs. I saw the same thing in the Atlanta burbs and the Birmingham burbs, just differing nuances related to the history of the area. Texas doesn't have it anymore than anywhere else, the history of the place makes it look a little different, but it is still there.

Now there is a thing called Texas pride that might get confused with snobbery and Texans have that in spades. My father-in-law used to say that you should never ask anyone where they are from. If they are from Texas, they will tell you. If not, you don't want to embarrass them.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Snobs are amongst us wherever we go. Don't see how the geography plays into it except in the fine details. The kids and I have seen it here in McKinney as well as the surrounding burbs. I saw the same thing in the Atlanta burbs and the Birmingham burbs, just differing nuances related to the history of the area. Texas doesn't have it anymore than anywhere else, the history of the place makes it look a little different, but it is still there.

Now there is a thing called Texas pride that might get confused with snobbery and Texans have that in spades. My father-in-law used to say that you should never ask anyone where they are from. If they are from Texas, they will tell you. If not, you don't want to embarrass them.

The snob factor might be seen as more evident because of the economic success and people rushing to spend and make it known that they've moved up the ladder. The lack of overall creative, interesting industries that define the local economy like tech, entertainment, art commerce, heck even high finance etc. might also play a factor. Oil/gas/energy and everything in between are just means to an end kind of industries. No one wants to be a part of it outside of making gobs of money.

The lack of a beautiful natural landscape in the major cities (outside of San Antonio and Austin) too. I could see how the main outlet becomes the accumulation of stuff, the social scene around your friends and neighbors (which leads to gossip), and the keeping up with the joneses game.

Granted I agree that it's not just a Texan thing. There are complaints I hear from people in the North Carolina forums about the same thing too. It might be a Southern thing as the South has developed into the middle class haven for professionals.

[aggie972]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

The snob factor might be seen as more evident because of the economic success and people rushing to spend and make it known that they've moved up the ladder. The lack of overall creative, interesting industries that define the local economy like tech, entertainment, art commerce, heck even high finance etc. might also play a factor. Oil/gas/energy and everything in between are just means to an end kind of industries. No one wants to be a part of it outside of making gobs of money.

The lack of a beautiful natural landscape in the major cities (outside of San Antonio and Austin) too. I could see how the main outlet becomes the accumulation of stuff, the social scene around your friends and neighbors (which leads to gossip), and the keeping up with the joneses game.

Granted I agree that it's not just a Texan thing. There are complaints I hear from people in the North Carolina forums about the same thing too. It might be a Southern thing as the South has developed into the middle class haven for professionals.

I don't believe you have to be a "snob" to want to make gobs of money though. Maybe you just value the amazing peace of mind that comes with the security of maxed out retirement accounts, no debt, full insurance on everything, a large liquid emergency fund, prepaid college tuition for the kids, the ability to eat whole foods, etc. Maybe you just want those things for the peace of mind they provide and not as a signal that you're better than everyone else.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by aggie972

I don't believe you have to be a "snob" to want to make gobs of money though. Maybe you just value the amazing peace of mind that comes with the security of maxed out retirement accounts, no debt, full insurance on everything, a large liquid emergency fund, prepaid college tuition for the kids, the ability to eat whole foods, etc. Maybe you just want those things for the peace of mind they provide and not as a signal that you're better than everyone else.

Of course. That's perfectly rational. I'm not knocking working in a very practical field. I'm just saying that there's a subset of people with the field that also think a perk is moving up the ladder and playing the keeping up with the joneses game. I've hung out with plenty of people within the field and rarely was business mixed with pleasure. That to me always struck me as an industry that seemed purely a means to an end. Hanging around people who worked in other fields like tech, architecture, entertainment, design, fashion, public policy, high finance, etc, they don't know when to shut off. I can tell there's a competition based on something greater than just income. The egos are less built on a flashier car (that's just a side perk) and more on ideas.

It just looks sillier when 100k middle management professionals in oil/gas, accounting, etc think they're all that in their master planned community McMansions when there are real game changers out there who have something more to show.

[EDS_]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Of course. That's perfectly rational. I'm not knocking working in a very practical field. I'm just saying that there's a subset of people with the field that also think a perk is moving up the ladder and playing the keeping up with the joneses game. I've hung out with plenty of people within the field and rarely was business mixed with pleasure. That to me always struck me as an industry that seemed purely a means to an end. Hanging around people who worked in other fields like tech, architecture, entertainment, design, fashion, public policy, high finance, etc, they don't know when to shut off. I can tell there's a competition based on something greater than just income. The egos are less built on a flashier car (that's just a side perk) and more on ideas.

It just looks sillier when 100k middle management professionals in oil/gas, accounting, etc think they're all that in their master planned community McMansions when there are real game changers out there who have something more to show.

That's absolutely ridiculous.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by EDS_

That's absolutely ridiculous.

Care to explain or are you just going to rely on a drive by quip?

I was just theorizing. I didn't say it was the ultimate truth.