Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
"Buying the smallest and crappiest house in the nicest town"
question comes down to this,
1) Would you want to surrounded by everyone that makes $500,000 per year while you are only making $100,000 per year?
2) or would you want to live by everyone making $50,000 per year while you are making $100,000 per year.
I think most people want to choose option 2.
I don't necessarily think option 2 is better. If I made more than everyone else in my town, those people will envy me and I could also have problems fitting in, as other parents would see me as "better off" because I make more, whether or not I really am. Who's to say such kids who are perceived to have more won't be bullied?
I haven't seen anyone mention, unlike the first scenario, I am more of a "threat" to people in option 2. If I come in making twice as much as they do, they'll assume it's only a matter of time before others with my salary move in, raising the cost of real estate and eventually pricing them out.
There may be wealthy people who will make it clear if one doesn't fit in, but it's sometimes possible to earn their respect of one's kids that are respectful and classy to the wealthy kids.
Let's remember that snobbery isn't exclusive to the wealthy. People without wealth may still "think less" of someone with wealth. Snobs are secretly insecure people that elevate themselves over others to convince themselves (and others) that they are "better".
Buying the crappiest house in the "best" town living far over your means will make your kids grow up to be jealous of their surroundings, and be very insecure with a very low self-esteem. Your perception of these things is very black & white. Some of the "better" towns are less safe than some of the more affordable towns. I have seen kids bully those less fortunate than themselves, which can have some bad results. Any bullied kid could fail out because he/she is so miserable in school. As for women, maybe if your definition of "better-looking" means sleazy, greasy looking, smoking cigarettes and wearing a shabby pink sweat suit that only gets tighter the more weight she gains, with a loud obnoxious personality.
This is just a way to sugarcoat your need to uphold your image, when you tell random people what town you live in, you want them to think you are better off than they are. Even though you are living by far less comfortably.
its amazing, your definition of "better-looking" above is exactly how i would define it. the greasier and more cigarettes they smoke the hotter they look to me! oh and how i love loud and obnoxious personalities!!! what a turn on! i think you are thinking about certain people respresented on certain reality shows, not the sophisticated ladies of holmdel, new jersey.
your above sentence seems inaccurate to me. if someone is living in the crappiest house, then id assume they arent living above their means. id assume they chose a house thats within their means because a nicer house isnt within their means. i dont really see this issue of kids being jealous about their surroundings as being legitimate. when i see people who are bitter towards those who have more than they do, i see it as a flaw in those people and their parents. they had a better situation, but they failed to take advantage of it and chose to be a malcontent.
i wouldnt think the person is living far less comfortable because their house doesnt have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. i would hope they would spring for working air conditioning. i would think they are sacrificing certain material things in order to get something that they consider more valuable, a better place to raise their children. people often have to make those choices and i think its a good choice to sacrifice some luxuries to live in a better town.
its amazing, your definition of "better-looking" above is exactly how i would define it. the greasier and more cigarettes they smoke the hotter they look to me! oh and how i love loud and obnoxious personalities!!! what a turn on! i think you are thinking about certain people respresented on certain reality shows, not the sophisticated ladies of holmdel, new jersey.
your above sentence seems inaccurate to me. if someone is living in the crappiest house, then id assume they arent living above their means. id assume they chose a house thats within their means because a nicer house isnt within their means. i dont really see this issue of kids being jealous about their surroundings as being legitimate. when i see people who are bitter towards those who have more than they do, i see it as a flaw in those people and their parents. they had a better situation, but they failed to take advantage of it and chose to be a malcontent.
i wouldnt think the person is living far less comfortable because their house doesnt have granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. i would hope they would spring for working air conditioning. i would think they are sacrificing certain material things in order to get something that they consider more valuable, a better place to raise their children. people often have to make those choices and i think its a good choice to sacrifice some luxuries to live in a better town.
Are you serious? They most certainly are living above their means. What you just described is "being house poor". If the plan is to buy the crappiest house, then spend $50K+ to update then yeah, thats the right idea. I can get behind that idea. But to bust your nut buying the most expensive house you can, only to have no money left over for anything else is the definition of living above ones means.
An analogy to what you're saying is it's ok to buy a base 328 bimmer with no options and fake leather, rather than the Audi/infiniti/cadillac thats fully loaded. To me you're a fronter. You would rather be able to tell people you drive a bimmer, than buy a better car. Just like you would rather tell people you live in town x as opposed to comparable town y.
Are you serious? They most certainly are living above their means. What you just described is "being house poor". If the plan is to buy the crappiest house, then spend $50K+ to update then yeah, thats the right idea. I can get behind that idea. But to bust your nut buying the most expensive house you can, only to have no money left over for anything else is the definition of living above ones means.
An analogy to what you're saying is it's ok to buy a base 328 bimmer with no options and fake leather, rather than the Audi/infiniti/cadillac thats fully loaded. To me you're a fronter. You would rather be able to tell people you drive a bimmer, than buy a better car. Just like you would rather tell people you live in town x as opposed to comparable town y.
you can assume anything you want, but i dont think its appropriate to assume you are correct in every instance. like i said, id assume the person bought the crappy house because thats what they can afford. im not saying anything about any plans to renovate it or make any changes to it. maybe if that same person overextended himself, he would have bought a nicer house. but this guy said, "no, i can only afford the crappy house so thats all im going to get."
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
