Is anyone here a Yuppie brave enough to come out of the closet? (loan, to live)

[cubssoxfan]

Wow, let's categorize people who are different than me or who alienate me or intimidate me or make me feel inferior.

People do have tendencies and you can try to place them in groups. But be careful, because when you start to peel the layers it gets complicated.

I live in an above average income, NW suburb and am white-male, college educated, have professional job and own a home. I guess I'm a Yuppie

But wait! I have 2 cars both 6 years old (minivans) I mow my own grass plow my own snow do many repairs around my house have painted my house and stained my deck. We shop at Sam's, Wal-Mart and splurge at Target amd JC Penney. We enjoy good wine, but our taste buds are satisfied with bottles under $12. Our children happily wear hand me down clothes. I rarely drink Starbucks, I make good coffee at home and when I do grab coffee to go at Starbucks, its plain coffee.

But wait! We have gone on cruises and take nice vacations. I like "expensive" beer.

But wait! We go on a lot of inexpensive camping trips. My wife drinks MGD.

So maybe I'm not a Yuppie.


So, go on categorizing people in broad generalizations. It can be fun. But beware of crossing the line and becoming insulting. These things have a way of coming back as bad karma and biting you in the a**. I can see you out with a date you really care for and this topic comes up and you shoot your mouth off and end up insulting your date Or it comes up at work and costs you $$.

PS. When we were younger we bashed those who had more than we did, BUT we clarified it scorn those who were arrogant, shallow, heartless or had "Big hat and No cattle". We realized that we were going to college to afford the nice things in life and that you could live a better lifestyle than your parents without becoming a jerk. So judge people based on how they act and treat others instead of judging them by their profession and by what they own. I met fellow students from well to do areas who were down to earth with good values; had to have jobs to pay for school and were grateful when the parents gave them the 7 year old Taurus to use as their own(but still had to pay for insurance and maintenance). I met students from low income areas that spent money they didn't have (with parental approval)to buy fancy clothes, designer sunglasses and finance a fancy car. You simply cannot "judge a book by it's cover".

[EEstudent]

I didn't know what the word yuppie meant. But after the "dictionary" definition it was easy to figure out who and what the term is for. I think most people that don't know what yuppie means would still have an idea what a yuppie is even if they don't have a term in their vocabulary for it.


1)I disdain from talking to most people that graduate from "super accredited" colleges (i.e. Stanford,MIT,Ivy league etc) even though i know some friends i grew up with that go to Ivy league schools; they were nice,respectful, down to earth, but now if i see them they are the same but there is a noticeable difference in their demeanor as compared to my friends that go to state schools.Of course this doesnt apply to all Ivy grads. but I'm speaking from first-hand experience.

2)I'm pretty sure most yuppies could not have been through that much in their lives to have seen the trials of the blue collar workers. And if they have then they know not to really show off their money and have an appreciation for wealth and fortune. And if they have gone through some serious things than they would not mind going to taco bell, dressing down, and wouldn't care what people think when thier walking/driving down the street. And of course everyone would like to live the high life once in a while but they never forget where they have come from.

3) what i meant when i said "not real" is not down to earth; that's the type of people that yuppies are associated with being,you know head in the cloud wrapped up in their own lives; perhaps i should have been clear from the beginning.

4) I wasn't aware that yuppie could also be eschewed to be a racial slur; its really unfortunate if that is the truth. That just turns the word into a stereotype and label; LookoutKid seems like he is really involved with the community and made a very astute observation. But the sad truth is... you cant really do a whole lot to stop a stereotype once it gets started.

5)the reason why I underlined the word you're is because someone had called me out on it, so i made sure i didn't make the same mistake.


Im addressin all drama.

[ajolotl]

How about:

Yuppie: short for "Young Urban Professional," defines anybody with slightly different tastes, background, interests, level of financial success or who in any way annoys EEStudent when he gets out of bed in the morning.

Originally Posted by EEstudent

I didn't know what the word yuppie meant. But after the "dictionary" definition it was easy to figure out who and what the term is for. I think most people that don't know what yuppie means would still have an idea what a yuppie is even if they don't have a term in their vocabulary for it.


1)I disdain from talking to most people that graduate from "super accredited" colleges (i.e. Stanford,MIT,Ivy league etc) even though i know some friends i grew up with that go to Ivy league schools; they were nice,respectful, down to earth, but now if i see them they are the same but there is a noticeable difference in their demeanor as compared to my friends that go to state schools.Of course this doesnt apply to all Ivy grads. but I'm speaking from first-hand experience.

2)I'm pretty sure most yuppies could not have been through that much in their lives to have seen the trials of the blue collar workers. And if they have then they know not to really show off their money and have an appreciation for wealth and fortune. And if they have gone through some serious things than they would not mind going to taco bell, dressing down, and wouldn't care what people think when thier walking/driving down the street. And of course everyone would like to live the high life once in a while but they never forget where they have come from.

3) what i meant when i said "not real" is not down to earth; that's the type of people that yuppies are associated with being,you know head in the cloud wrapped up in their own lives; perhaps i should have been clear from the beginning.

4) I wasn't aware that yuppie could also be eschewed to be a racial slur; its really unfortunate if that is the truth. That just turns the word into a stereotype and label; LookoutKid seems like he is really involved with the community and made a very astute observation. But the sad truth is... you cant really do a whole lot to stop a stereotype once it gets started.

5)the reason why I underlined the word you're is because someone had called me out on it, so i made sure i didn't make the same mistake.


Im addressin all drama.

[aragx6]

I'm pretty sure most yuppies could not have been through that much in their lives to have seen the trials of the blue collar workers.

Then you're wrong. Quite the opposite really. Did you grow up on the reduced meal plan at your school? Did you lose your dad to mental illness at 20? If not then you have no idea what my life was like.

It gave me an appreciation for the things I never had as a kid, and a desire to make sure my kids grow up better. I like nice stuff. I live a bit beyond my means. So sue me.

Plus, taco bell is gross.

[noid_1985]

IM a Thuppie- you know Thug meets yuppie

[ajolotl]

Originally Posted by aragx6

Plus, taco bell is gross.

amen to that!

[sharkylittleton]

I'm pretty sure most yuppies could not have been through that much in their lives to have seen the trials of the blue collar workers.

My old man was blue collar. Immigrant worked 35 years as a machine operator and finally retired a few years ago. I know what it's like when paralyzed with fright going through union strikes, etc. I made my own way from the day I turned 16, flipping burgers for my first job. I put myself through school. I might be a bobo or yuppie or whatever it's called, but there is more to a book than the cover.

[cubssoxfan]

EE- are you perhaps trying to say you hate snobby people who practice high levels of deficit spending to impress others with a "pretend affluence" and to compensate for shallowness in their lives?

I don't believe most of us care for people like that. But I do seperate them from people who are affluent becasue they earn a high standard of living. Many people with true affluence have money in the bank, very little debt, contribute generously to charities and are usually approachable, down to earth people.
Good people span income levels just like snobby, arrogant, shallow people do.

Nothing wrong with having a nice house, a nice car and nice things. Are you also a nice person? AND are you smart enough to have nice things without mortgaging your future to do so? If so, you have my respect. If not......well I won't get into my speech about "Big Hat & No Cattle". I'll just strongly urge a reading of the book "The Millionaire Next Door"

[oakparkdude]

Originally Posted by cubssoxfan

Nothing wrong with having a nice house, a nice car and nice things. Are you also a nice person? AND are you smart enough to have nice things without mortgaging your future to do so? If so, you have my respect. If not......well I won't get into my speech about "Big Hat & No Cattle". I'll just strongly urge a reading of the book "The Millionaire Next Door"

Great book. Definitely recommend reading it. It will burst a lot of pre-conceived notions about the rich.

Based on his posts on city-data, it seems like EEstudent is a young adult with a lot of ideas about life but with limited life experience to back them all up. That's okay, we were all like that at his age. I'm sure he's a fine agreeable person offline.

[cubssoxfan]

I'm pretty sure most yuppies could not have been through that much in their lives to have seen the trials of the blue collar workers.

My old man was blue collar. Immigrant worked 35 years as a machine operator and finally retired a few years ago. I know what it's like when paralyzed with fright going through union strikes, etc. I made my own way from the day I turned 16, flipping burgers for my first job. I put myself through school. I might be a bobo or yuppie or whatever it's called, but there is more to a book than the cover.

KUDOS!! I am so grateful for what my parents did for me and my brothers. WW II evacuees, my dad had 8th grade education. Went to night school to learn HVAC. Worked multiple jobs to save $ for income apartment building. Helped put us 3 through college. Also made sure we earned our keep. Almost all home and apartment building maintenance was done by family. Cleaning apartments, hallway, cutting lawn, snow shoveling, painting, door refinishing, redoing asphalt roof, digging trench to fix outdoor pipe. Then Mom got "tough love" on us and we had to clean toilets and bathrooms, vacuum, dust, make beds. I am so grateful I learned all these things. First summer job was church janitor. Worked from 15 years old, got work permit. I don't look at what I had to do, I look at what was done for me.
And now I am Middle Aged, Suburban Professional. Yeah for MSP's!!!