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Indeed. The consequence is that our small-town Mississippi lawyer/doctor/business-owner is going to feel socially isolated. This is the reverse of the predicament of the glamour-city professional, who is surrounded by similarly affluent people, and who comes to believe that the whole world is similarly affluent.
Whom would this Mississippi outlier potentially date and marry? With whom would he/she socialize? Ought this person to go around practicing a stilted accent and self-limited vocabulary, to suitably pass for being a "man of the people"? Should this person take care to desist from peppering his/her speech with literary references? Should this person learn to love Bud Lite and NASCAR?
Stereotype much.
First of all, most "small-town Mississippi lawyer/doctor/business-owner" types likely came from that area or a nearby state originally, so they are comfortable with the social norms - although these are not "a stilted accent, self-limited vocabulary, Bud Light, and NASCAR."
While it is true that because of where they grew up they are more likely to be a fan of say SEC football than opera, you might be surprised at the level of knowledge some people from rural areas have about "culture" or how widely read and traveled they are. I think it is a good thing that they realize most people are not as affluent as them - unlike the clueless "glamour-city professional" who has no idea what "everyday folks" go through.
Plus, it's not like people who grew up in a city/suburb on the coasts and became a lawyer/doctor/business person even look for jobs in places like Mississippi. And if they did, they'd have a hard time finding one because they don't know anyone, didn't go to the right school (preferably Ole Miss but at least SEC) etc.
Second of all, the people I know who fit the description of "small-town Mississippi lawyer/doctor/business-owner" do not feel socially isolated. Sure, there are not as many people in their social/income bracket as they would find in SF or NY, but there are enough. It's not like most people regularly socialize with more than a few dozen others anyway so you really don't need too many to have a critical mass. If you go to say Jackson, MS you will find a young professionals scene, albeit on a smaller scale than in the large coastal cities.
For a lighter moment, here is a somewhat amusing take on some well off people from Mississippi. Not unusual according to a relative who was in an expensive frat at Ole Miss where "everyone" drove BMWs:
1) People with poor financial health seeking advice
2) People with strong financial health giving advice
Hence it does not surprise me so many well earners are here in category #2
Nailed it. Given the responses I'd say it's about 75% #2 and 15% #1, with only a few people in the middle represented here even though the country is in the middle.
My sense from the "real world" is that a lot of Americans are like the song. They have "cash (income) but their credit's no good." They make money but it somehow disappears... not necessarily because they waste it but because they just spend it. My dad was like that. When he'd get money it'd be gone after a few months or years, depending on the amount of money. He didn't have vices that he wasted money on... he just spent it on whatever he thought was important to him at the time. One of those things was a car for me which I used for 11 years, thanks dad. At least he didn't have out of control credit. A lot of people do that but when something comes up, put it on the credit card.
The median credit score is 687. The median personal income is in the low 30s per year range. The median household income is in the low 50s per year range. OBVIOUSLY this site does not represent the broad middle and by definition, 100K per year is FAR more than average.
In short, they make money but don't manage it. My wife is kind of like that too. She doesn't really think strategically with money, and gets kind of upset/flustered when she does. She doesn't waste money but doesn't put it to work either.
Indeed. The consequence is that our small-town Mississippi lawyer/doctor/business-owner is going to feel socially isolated. This is the reverse of the predicament of the glamour-city professional, who is surrounded by similarly affluent people, and who comes to believe that the whole world is similarly affluent.
Whom would this Mississippi outlier potentially date and marry? With whom would he/she socialize? Ought this person to go around practicing a stilted accent and self-limited vocabulary, to suitably pass for being a "man of the people"? Should this person take care to desist from peppering his/her speech with literary references? Should this person learn to love Bud Lite and NASCAR?
If they're smart, they'll find an appropriate spouse that comes from a similar socioeconomic background at college so they don't have to worry about finding one in the local area. That's usually what happens.
As far as feeling socially isolated - I doubt it. There's probably at least a handful of similar people in every town big enough to have a doctor/lawyer and some small businesses, enough anyway so they'll have their own social group.
ive argued the ops point before. statistics say that the average median income is 32,140 according to gov stats. ive seen threads where they'll be 50 responses to how much money you make, blah blah blah. 47 of the 50 responses will say i make above the average income and fully fund my roth and 401k.
its not realistic.
I would assume that people making less than $32,140 per year either can't afford internet so they aren't here posting or they're so busy working 2+ jobs to make ends meet that they don't have time to be here posting.
Nailed it. Given the responses I'd say it's about 75% #2 and 15% #1, with only a few people in the middle represented here even though the country is in the middle.
My sense from the "real world" is that a lot of Americans are like the song. They have "cash (income) but their credit's no good." They make money but it somehow disappears... not necessarily because they waste it but because they just spend it. My dad was like that. When he'd get money it'd be gone after a few months or years, depending on the amount of money. He didn't have vices that he wasted money on... he just spent it on whatever he thought was important to him at the time. One of those things was a car for me which I used for 11 years, thanks dad. At least he didn't have out of control credit. A lot of people do that but when something comes up, put it on the credit card.
The median credit score is 687. The median personal income is in the low 30s per year range. The median household income is in the low 50s per year range. OBVIOUSLY this site does not represent the broad middle and by definition, 100K per year is FAR more than average.
In short, they make money but don't manage it. My wife is kind of like that too. She doesn't really think strategically with money, and gets kind of upset/flustered when she does. She doesn't waste money but doesn't put it to work either.
Sounds like I'm doing better than the average American in terms of FICO-to-income ratio.
If they're smart, they'll find an appropriate spouse that comes from a similar socioeconomic background at college so they don't have to worry about finding one in the local area. That's usually what happens.
As far as feeling socially isolated - I doubt it. There's probably at least a handful of similar people in every town big enough to have a doctor/lawyer and some small businesses, enough anyway so they'll have their own social group.
??? ??? How do educated poor people find an appropriate spouse?
The amount of people making six figures in this forum is disturbing!
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