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Excuse you? We live in the greatest country in the world. ANYBODY who was born and raised here can become the president or whatever they want to be through hard work, education, and perseverance. PERIOD. There are opportunities at every crack and corner of this country for every person of any race, religion, & sex. If you don't take advantage of it, that's no ones problem but yourself. You go to any third world country and compare it to the U.S. Come back and tell me what opportunity doesn't the U.S. have? Do not demean this country like that.
This is more true in Europe than the USA. Income is much more closely correlated with parental income in the US than in Europe (ie, your income depends on what your parents earned).
Excuse you? We live in the greatest country in the world. ANYBODY who was born and raised here can become the president or whatever they want to be through hard work, education, and perseverance. PERIOD. There are opportunities at every crack and corner of this country for every person of any race, religion, & sex. If you don't take advantage of it, that's no ones problem but yourself. You go to any third world country and compare it to the U.S. Come back and tell me what opportunity doesn't the U.S. have? Do not demean this country like that.
Yeah, unless you're a woman or atheist, you can become president.
I usually look at the US without blinders to our faults.
The only way you can come up with these comments is by comparing the US to third world countries?
You might want to see how it fares against other first world countries.
Excuse you? We live in the greatest country in the world. ANYBODY who was born and raised here can become the president or whatever they want to be through hard work, education, and perseverance. PERIOD. There are opportunities at every crack and corner of this country for every person of any race, religion, & sex. If you don't take advantage of it, that's no ones problem but yourself. You go to any third world country and compare it to the U.S. Come back and tell me what opportunity doesn't the U.S. have? Do not demean this country like that.
In comparison to other countries, family leave and many other social policies are laughable.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chielgirl
Yeah, unless you're a woman or atheist, you can become president.
The only way you can come up with these comments is by comparing the US to third world countries?
You might want to see how it fares against other first world countries.
Indeed.
Tvdxer, to answer your question, I think Elnina says it all, especially in the last sentence.
Okay, I'll share as I want to add some value to what could be a very interesting discussion.
DH and I primarily reside in the USVI. On our island all of the beaches are public. During Easter weekend (in truth it lasts about a week), a lot of the inlanders set up some very exotic camping arrangements around the beaches. I'm talking about full outdoor kitchens, tents for sleeping, campfires, fishing and lots of fun for kids and adults. We were invited to a campsite a few years and it was more of an adult camp, but it was just good cheap fun and lots of chatter about everything (most gov't bashing). The classes range from poor to working poor and working middle class.
Yep, we're the Francophiles. A few legs in first class gets us to CDG with no problem. However, we use upgrades. I've said this before, so I'll repeat myself. After both of us working many years and constant business travel, we have the ability to upgrade, use the airlines' clubs, etc.
Have also traveled to Egypt on a budget but surprise! You get a heck of lot for your USD so we stayed in a suite with a view of the pyramids.
Our class? Hmmm? Never thought about it before. Thanks for what will hopefully be a great thread.
Yes of course travel and travel destinations are affected by how much leisure time and money one has.
I don't think it's as much by social class as it is by the amount of money and leisure time. Teachers for example have a lot of leisure time, they have 3 months off in the summer, another month off around Christmas so they have the luxury of time and can travel to Europe, Asia, and to exotic islands, they can take lengthy cruises.
Someone working in IT might actually make more money but has to stay connected and be available at all times which limits how long they can be away from the job.
Students are like teachers and have 3 months off to travel and so they do -- unless they are working their way through college and instead must work. Later they may find themselves held down by jobs and families, many people have only 2 weeks paid vacation for the whole year so shorter trips are what they do.
They may find it easier to do family camping trips when the kids are younger but even those get more difficult with older kids who may have jobs or summer activities.
Retirees have a lot more leisure time so they may take trips out of the country or they may prefer to RV around the USA and Canada. Or they will take extended cruises since they don't have to get back to a job.
But the ultra rich are just different. They don't have to worry about money or time. They have unlimited amounts.
Yes of course travel and travel destinations are affected by how much leisure time and money one has.
I don't think it's as much by social class as it is by the amount of money and leisure time. Teachers for example have a lot of leisure time, they have 3 months off in the summer, another month off around Christmas so they have the luxury of time and can travel to Europe, Asia, and to exotic islands, they can take lengthy cruises.
It is largely a matter of money and time, but it's also a matter of social class, I think.
But I do think different attractions appeal to different socio-economic demographics. Compare Door County with Wisconsin Dells, for example. This is probably visible from even the advertising literature.
Once in college I was amazed to hear that a friend had gone to Panama city for Easter break. I was such a member of the egghead class I'd never heard of Panama city florida and assumed she'd gone to Panama the country. She gave me the strangest look and must have thought I was very declasse. Quit hanging out with me soon after - but maybe she just found someone else with a car to drive her around.
Yes there are huge class differences - look at Asheville vs Gatlinburg vs Pigeon Forge. Higher up the class scale you'll find towns like Highlands and Blowing Rock in NC. It's a whole different world up there.
My parents never in a million years would have taken us to Myrtle Beach. It was camping on the outer banks for us. But it wasn't about the money - another year we went to Montreal and Quebec.
Mostly we went to scientific conferences. But some of those could be pretty fun - hanging out with the other nerdy kids.
It is largely a matter of money and time, but it's also a matter of social class, I think.
But I do think different attractions appeal to different socio-economic demographics. Compare Door County with Wisconsin Dells, for example. This is probably visible from even the advertising literature.
Okay, so I know about Door County. What's the deal with the Wisconsin Dells? Are you saying it's blue collar or something? I'm thinking the analogy here in Southern Ontario would be Muskoka versus Grand Bend, or something like that (i.e., upscale cottage country versus cheap and cheerful beach weekend destination.)
I don't see any correlation except that the upper-middle and upper classes travel overseas a little more.
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