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I see it in the Dallas area. Know people that think there is some kind of contest. Like I really care, they got a new car/house/boat/whatever, they are paying for it not me. Same for myself, I/we get something new, WE PAID for it. I'm not gonna ditch my friends if they can not afford to buy the same stuff. We do know one family that we are friends with and every time we got a new vehicle they had to run out and get one. Well, they bought one anytime any of their friends got a new car. LOL!!! In my 15 years of knowing them I have driven 4 cars (the first one being 7 years old when we met). They have owned 4 in the last 3 years. They cry they can not afford something and when they come over they are always going on about how beautiful something is at our house. Okay, stop buying....er leasing cars every 10-12 months and actually PAY ONE OFF! What a novel idea. LOL!!! I never knew I entered a race in the first place. I'm not jealous if someone else has a newer or more expensive car/house than I do. Like I said, they are the ones paying for it. And no one should be jealous if I have something newer than them. I paid for it. There is ALWAYS going to be something newer and more expensive for everyone. It takes people buying in all catagories to make the economy work. If those that had the big $$$$ never spent them we would all be in trouble.
I would 2nd South Orange County. Spent the first 30 years of my life there. I remember stressing like you wouldn't believe whenever we had people over. Fusising about the house, what I was wearing. For a girl with low self esteem to begin with, it got unbearable. I don't feel that way here in Massachusetts. SO glad my kids aren't experiencing what my husband and I did back in OC.
Long Island without a doubt!! I have been gone 13 years but every time I visit and I am amongst a room full of people, it is mind boggling how vain and caught up in nonsense they are that they have lost sight of what is truly important. You don't see it till you leave and it gets worse every time you go back to visit.
The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 'burbs! Trust me, if I see one more neighbor trying to "mimic" our lawn ornaments or what's adorning the Jones's driveway, I think I'm going to puke!
How about the "Least Keeping up with the Jones place?".
Ever been to the Great Lakes? I've seen $10,000 shack, one room "houses" sitting beside $10 million plus mansions on the Lakeshore. Amazingly enough, some people care less about acumulating money and would rather keep their slice of heaven along premium, lakefront property. These people have not aquired the greed disease yet it seems, and somehow are content to live below their means without the instant gratification of selling out to millionaires. They should do a documentary on these rare creatures...would do Americans much good to learn and take notes...
The sick joke that occurs is once these sort of people die, and leave their $10,000 shacks to their heirs...Mr. Property Appraisal guru stops by and slaps a new appraisal that is 100 times larger on their land value and the kids are left with more property tax payments per year than most family salaries. Thus forced to sell, the kids either split it into a million pieces, or sell it to the millionaire next door. Then they take their newfound wealth and blow it on instant gratification items in order to compete with the "jones"...thus the circle is complete!
The amazing thing about competing with the jones is this....nobody has a clue who really has any money nowadays. You can rent a Jag for $400/month on lease, and $500K plus loans are $1,600 with interest only mortgage scams...uh, I mean legit bank approved loans... Thus little mc mansion next door may be some guy who makes less than $40,000 salary and who will never have more than $1,000 maximum in his bank account ever due to living above their means.
Crazy that people think buying crap makes them more important...when has lack of mental control become a virtue that is praised?
Who cares what someone else drives, where they live, what clothes they wear, etc. Sounds like some are jealous. And "upscale neighborhoods" are not "magnets for insecure people". LOL!!! Maybe if you actually got to know them you might find they are just like you and not insecure at all. Afterall they had to have some self esteem in order to make the money to buy that place. If it did not bother you what someone drives or such you would not make a big deal about it. You don't KNOW them or their circumstances. Don't judge them. Do you want someone judging you if you drive a junkheap of a car or do you want them to get to know the real you? If the people that DO have the money to buy highend cars, homes in upscale neighborhoods, designer clothes, etc stopped buying them and instead horded their money most of you would be out of a job and our economy would go in the toilet. It takes EVERYONE in our economy to make it work.
I have friends in different catagories of financial circumstances and they are all my friends regardless of where they live, what they drive and what they wear. Today I could be riding in one friends highend luxury car and tomorrow we could be in anothers 10 year old chevy. Who cares.
momo--I think you might be missing the point of this thread. "Keeping up with the Jones'" isn't about income, it's about life aspirations. The people who keep up with the Jones' aren't necessarily the wealthy, they are people of any income level who define themselves by what they own and by what they feel they must have, especially in relation to what others may have, and sometimes go to ridiculous lengths to get it. I think it's accurate to describe such people as insecure.
Based on your post, you, and the friends you describe, would not seem to fit into this category!
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They cry they can not afford something and when they come over they are always going on about how beautiful something is at our house. Okay, stop buying....er leasing cars every 10-12 months and actually PAY ONE OFF! What a novel idea. LOL!!! I never knew I entered a race in the first place. I'm not jealous if someone else has a newer or more expensive car/house than I do. Like I said, they are the ones paying for it. And no one should be jealous if I have something newer than them. I paid for it. There is ALWAYS going to be something newer and more expensive for everyone. It takes people buying in all catagories to make the economy work. If those that had the big $$$$ never spent them we would all be in trouble.
