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My kid did not get a car after high school graduation. When my kid had an opportunity for a good stepping-stone job and it required a car, I gave my 21 year old American bomb that has no heat or A/C and back windows that will not open. There have never been any complaints. A few local friends made some half-serious jokes about its appearance, but they have no problem getting a lift in that car. When the kid used it for a job in the city, fellow employees thought it was a cool car and a "classic." The car that I drive is not that much newer. The previous car, a 1970 VW bug, died at age 25 on Queens Blvd. when its bottom chasis separated and fell off in the road, but the engine kept a-ticking.
We see it all the time here in NC as well. We avoided such a neighborhood, although we still got the good H.S. But there's a kid on my DD's soccer team - parents moved here from NJ 6 years ago, bought a brand new $600K house, both parents work, clearly stressed out and they still haven't registered their cars here because they "can't afford the car tax". REALLY?!
And in the real world we call that "stuck on stupid"
I just wanted to add something about that it may be everywhere now. Sure there are materialistic places all around, it just appears more prevalent on LI. We've been living in a Chicago suburb for the past 15 years, and here's what we did. We weren't concerned about the other kids, but we only have a few families that were show-offs. On LI, again, it 's everywhere. My kid didn't get their phone with texting (not smartphone) for $70 until she saved up from working at Walgreens, and she paid for the $40 monthly service. At night, she shared an $89 tablet with her mom to do her online facebook crap, etc. I brought her to Goodwill and Salvation Army stores where she got AnnTaylor, Vanderbilt, Jones NY, American Eagle, stuff cheap. What, you can't wash or dry clean that name brand stuff. I got Columbia jackets, and Ralph Lauren jeans and shirts to knock around in. We bought new at Marshalls and Target or Kohl's. My wife and she shared a 1999 Jeep to go to work and go out on weekends. She paid half of insurance and all her gas. So, you can be close to "cool," it jus depends how you go about spend your money. You can be frugal without being cheap. Even if you have the money to spoil your kids, its harmful to not have them learn boundries and the value of earning and managing money.
Just never heard of a kid not taking a free car in excellent shape. Sure it's the parents because they should have supported the gift. Just got an update on my 15 yo neice. My wife checked facebook, and today she posted a picture of her hot sub teacher she took with her new iphone 5 during class. Well, that's putting it to good productive use, huh. Why is it my business? Even still, I love her and care about her-she's still just a kid that I don't want to see grow up do be an airhead, that's all.
This is purely anecdotal but where I went to college we had a handful of kids from Great Neck and Jericho....the graduation gifts these kids received ranged from new porsches to new mustangs. Really sweet cars.
One of these kids had a really high end laptop that he brought to school and my friend accidentally touched it and the rich kid thought he bent the screen. Even the repairman thought there was no issue with it though the kid wanted to get 500$ from my friend.
I just wanted to add something about that it may be everywhere now. Sure there are materialistic places all around, it just appears more prevalent on LI. We've been living in a Chicago suburb for the past 15 years, and here's what we did. We weren't concerned about the other kids, but we only have a few families that were show-offs. On LI, again, it 's everywhere. My kid didn't get their phone with texting (not smartphone) for $70 until she saved up from working at Walgreens, and she paid for the $40 monthly service. At night, she shared an $89 tablet with her mom to do her online facebook crap, etc. I brought her to Goodwill and Salvation Army stores where she got AnnTaylor, Vanderbilt, Jones NY, American Eagle, stuff cheap. What, you can't wash or dry clean that name brand stuff. I got Columbia jackets, and Ralph Lauren jeans and shirts to knock around in. We bought new at Marshalls and Target or Kohl's. My wife and she shared a 1999 Jeep to go to work and go out on weekends. She paid half of insurance and all her gas. So, you can be close to "cool," it jus depends how you go about spend your money. You can be frugal without being cheap. Even if you have the money to spoil your kids, its harmful to not have them learn boundries and the value of earning and managing money.
Just never heard of a kid not taking a free car in excellent shape. Sure it's the parents because they should have supported the gift. Just got an update on my 15 yo neice. My wife checked facebook, and today she posted a picture of her hot sub teacher she took with her new iphone 5 during class. Well, that's putting it to good productive use, huh. Why is it my business? Even still, I love her and care about her-she's still just a kid that I don't want to see grow up do be an airhead, that's all.
Now that's excess for teens for you. Please note that (1) most of the kids on these shows AREN'T celebrity offspring (of whom you would expect such extravagance), and (2) very, very few episodes of this entire series were shot on Long Island. They were shot all over the country. See the wiki article below for all episodes and a list of the locations they were shot in and a list of the mindblowing in some cases "special gifts" (like breast enhancement surgery, tiaras, 6 figure horses, etc.) in addition to the huge party:
This is purely anecdotal but where I went to college we had a handful of kids from Great Neck and Jericho....the graduation gifts these kids received ranged from new porsches to new mustangs. Really sweet cars.
One of these kids had a really high end laptop that he brought to school and my friend accidentally touched it and the rich kid thought he bent the screen. Even the repairman thought there was no issue with it though the kid wanted to get 500$ from my friend.
That stuck up snob needs a 5 finger knuckle sandwich. $500 - my initial response isn't fit for print......and the follow up would involve fingers. I hope your friend wasn't a pushover.
If you don't want your goods to be subject to damage, place it behind a climate controlled, glass enclosure with state of the art alarm system. The snob is a moron.
I do think some of this entitlement feeling is encouraged more on Long Island. We moved here 3 years ago from out west. Before that point the only new clothing (beyond socks and underwear) that my kids received was from Grandparents, the rest was bought at a a used clothing store for around $2 apiece. Our cars when we moved were a 1997 and a 2004. We've since bought a "new" 2007 for commuting. Birthday parties were a few friends (1 per year of age) at the birthday kid's house.
Just yesterday, after 3 years in Long Island, my daughter, not yet a teen, refused to wear a coat because it was a hand-me-down. She'd rather be cold. Last year the school had a catered party for the fifth graders that cost more for tickets than the prom did for me in when I was in high school. The pressure to attend from both peers and the PTA (couldn't get yearbook without attending) was tremendous. Almost every birthday party thrown by school friends has been an event at some local business with 30+ kids attending and obviously quite pricey.
When you celebrate moving from one building to another (fifth grade gala) with a catered event that costs more per head than my wedding, you foster that sense of entitlement in children. When you celebrate turning 6 with a major event involving a blow up house and inviting dozens of kids, probably also costing more per head than my wedding, you foster that sense of entitlement in children. The Long Island culture is building that expectation for ostentatious overrecognition and stressing the importance of appearances that leads to 6 figure weddings and bankruptcy court.
Coming from somewhere else, it is much worse here.
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How spoiled are LI teens?
$500 - my initial response isn't fit for print......and the follow up would involve fingers.
I hope your friend wasn't a pushover.
The snob is a moron.
