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Old 11-04-2016, 01:58 PM
 
Location: Arizona
6,137 posts, read 3,839,058 times
Reputation: 4899

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I have some distant relatives who last year invited members of the family to Holmes Beach in Florida. They are upper-middle class bordering wealthy and they really thought it was the greatest place on earth.

It was a very nice island in my opinion but when I saw the prices I just about couldn't believe it. Then this morning I was at a coffee shop and they had a leftover financial magazine I opened it up and the advertisement was for condo's on that very same island from $500,000.

I notice beach houses in the area go for about $900,000 for a single-priced house and there is only decent sized grocery store and everything else is expensive locally owned places.

I notice the same thing in Hilton Head Island and the beach areas outside of Wilmington, NC like Kure Beach where they are extremely pricey since they have gotten media coverage when they formally were affordable in the 1990s

I looked at the price history on these homes and the whole area used to be comperable to the national average just a decade ago and then it started getting media coverage and the upper-middle class and wealthy started rushing in.

As a working-class guy I have to say I would prefer Daytona Beach or just live in St Petersburg and go from beach area to beach area in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota County rather be confined on a little quaint beach with extremely expensive retail and restaurants.

The whole time I was there I kept having to go to Sarasota and Bradenton for big-box retail as the locally owned places were several times more expensive and had no variety.

I guess not having the standard retailers means for the upper-class that they are getting away from all their supposed hustle and bustle.

It seems like the same thing has happened in alot of touristy areas. They are usually away from it all with mainly locally owned businesses and touristy shops and yet have a huge following amongst the upper-middle class and wealthy.
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Old 11-04-2016, 10:21 PM
 
Location: Buffalo, NY
3,552 posts, read 3,034,159 times
Reputation: 9703
Tribalism. The same reason they drive a Lexus, golf at expensive country clubs, travel to the Caribbean to scuba dive, take ski vacations in the Rockies, move to the suburbs, and vote Republican - that is how upper middle class people in America who have "made it" identify themselves. The peacocks have to strut their feathers amongst their peers.
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Old 11-05-2016, 08:14 AM
 
3,615 posts, read 2,315,001 times
Reputation: 2239
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovecrowds View Post
I have some distant relatives who last year invited members of the family to Holmes Beach in Florida. They are upper-middle class bordering wealthy and they really thought it was the greatest place on earth.

It was a very nice island in my opinion but when I saw the prices I just about couldn't believe it. Then this morning I was at a coffee shop and they had a leftover financial magazine I opened it up and the advertisement was for condo's on that very same island from $500,000.

I notice beach houses in the area go for about $900,000 for a single-priced house and there is only decent sized grocery store and everything else is expensive locally owned places.

I notice the same thing in Hilton Head Island and the beach areas outside of Wilmington, NC like Kure Beach where they are extremely pricey since they have gotten media coverage when they formally were affordable in the 1990s

I looked at the price history on these homes and the whole area used to be comperable to the national average just a decade ago and then it started getting media coverage and the upper-middle class and wealthy started rushing in.

As a working-class guy I have to say I would prefer Daytona Beach or just live in St Petersburg and go from beach area to beach area in Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota County rather be confined on a little quaint beach with extremely expensive retail and restaurants.

The whole time I was there I kept having to go to Sarasota and Bradenton for big-box retail as the locally owned places were several times more expensive and had no variety.

I guess not having the standard retailers means for the upper-class that they are getting away from all their supposed hustle and bustle.

It seems like the same thing has happened in alot of touristy areas. They are usually away from it all with mainly locally owned businesses and touristy shops and yet have a huge following amongst the upper-middle class and wealthy.

A beach home is one of the worst investments you will ever make, buying 700,000-1m + home in kure beach or hilton head or amelia or jupiter island also mean paying astronomical flood insurance and crazy insurance rates, the threat of hurricanes and total loss is a very real possibility.

At least if you live in california you have seen your housing skyrocket to ridiculous rates if you live on the coast, even then you have earthquake and other crazy fees. I personally think the California beach is nice to look at but way too cold sea temps and just ok but its a much better investment buying near the beach in california than buying a home in hurricane alley
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Old 11-05-2016, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
12,059 posts, read 13,823,863 times
Reputation: 7256
If I had unlimited money and could live anywhere not reliant upon a job I would probably pick a warm island somewhere as well.
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Old 11-06-2016, 08:38 AM
 
1,349 posts, read 1,696,876 times
Reputation: 2391
Supply and demand. Very few homes can be on the beach and many homes can be off the beach. Therefore the land on the beach is more valuable so to make the best margin a developer will build luxury homes and rich people will want them.

Also, OP, many people don't consider proximity to national soulless big box retail a plus.
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Old 11-06-2016, 10:52 AM
 
8,797 posts, read 6,739,066 times
Reputation: 8542
Yeah, I don't get the premise...chain stores are good??

Also, the headline is REALLY generalizing. Some people like expensive resort towns, and if they have money maybe they go to those places. You could just as easily write "Why are upper-middle class drawn to big cities?" or "Why are upper-middle class drawn cookie-cutter suburbia?"

Also, the "overrated" thing is editorializing. I could write "why do people like tomatoes in sandwiches despite being disgusting?" It's up to the OP, but I think a good headline doesn't presuppose an opinion.
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Old 11-06-2016, 02:13 PM
 
Location: WA
1,448 posts, read 1,928,420 times
Reputation: 1516
Status-signaling. That is, if they aren't full-time residents.

I've seen a lot of it.
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Old 11-06-2016, 04:43 PM
 
7,072 posts, read 9,564,206 times
Reputation: 4531
Quote:
Originally Posted by RocketSci View Post
Tribalism. The same reason they drive a Lexus, golf at expensive country clubs, travel to the Caribbean to scuba dive, take ski vacations in the Rockies, move to the suburbs, and vote Republican - that is how upper middle class people in America who have "made it" identify themselves. The peacocks have to strut their feathers amongst their peers.
There are plenty of wealthy in the northeast and west coast who vote Democrat.
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Old 11-06-2016, 04:57 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,649 posts, read 28,520,585 times
Reputation: 50473
Quote:
Originally Posted by ram2 View Post
There are plenty of wealthy in the northeast and west coast who vote Democrat.
Yes, and living where they live is for bragging rights. I grew up in a town in which the topic of conversation in the grocery store was where they were going on their cruise, only to be one-upped by the other person who was going somewhere better. Back and forth, back and forth, like a contest.

It's all about social status and showing off. I still have some relatives who are like that. They have to live in the "best" town and go to the "best" places. Then they have to tell everyone about it. I've seen so much of it that I laugh it off as silly and I want nothing to do with it. It must be stressful for them, being so competitive. That's their idea of "fun"?
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Old 11-07-2016, 05:32 AM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,381 posts, read 43,879,257 times
Reputation: 16613
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
Yes, and living where they live is for bragging rights. I grew up in a town in which the topic of conversation in the grocery store was where they were going on their cruise, only to be one-upped by the other person who was going somewhere better. Back and forth, back and forth, like a contest.

It's all about social status and showing off. I still have some relatives who are like that. They have to live in the "best" town and go to the "best" places. Then they have to tell everyone about it. I've seen so much of it that I laugh it off as silly and I want nothing to do with it. It must be stressful for them, being so competitive. That's their idea of "fun"?
My own experience is that many of the wealthy tend to understate their affluence, not show it off...I'm really talking about those that have had their wealth established for some time and not the 'new money' that posters seem to be referring to here.
There was actually a pretty impressive book written on the subject a few years ago; its' premise lined up well with my own perceptions, which are that the average self-made millionaire lives at a standard below his means and prefers to not draw attention to himself.

The Millionaire Next Door
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