Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
With all due respect, (here’s the main thrust of why many folks don’t like “yuppies”) in your last paragraph you make it sound as if anyone not “yuppie” brings down property values, cause crime, and raise their children poorly. Your unwritten point seems to be that no other breed of urban American can accomplish those things successfully. I beg to differ.
The heart of the issue as I see it, comes from the perceived idea that investing in property (condos, converted properties, prime locations), brings with it the extended right to engineer the ‘quality of life’ in the surrounding environment. (‘I pay a lot to live here. I don’t need that sh.it outside my window.’) It’s essentially a ‘bulldozer’ attitude about what is best, what is right, or what is most pleasing, the rest be damned.
I also think many of the so-called yuppies believe that higher education automatically translates into superior understanding of social principles for living in a community. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I remember NYC in the ‘bad old days’ of the seventies and eighties. To hear many people tell it, some not even born then, you would think every man got mugged and every woman got raped all of the time, and every building in the city burned down. New York was poor: true. New York was dangerous: true. New York was dirty: true, but not entirely, and certainly not mostly. Yet this is much of the belief among those we call yuppie. As a result, there is this notion among them that anything or anyone not fitting certain socially acceptable parameters must be made to change or made to leave. So-called “quality of life” issues and laws have become the tool by which almost anyone can make almost any other individual change or pay a penalty. It is based, in part, on the idea that anything or anyone distasteful (socially or even aesthetically) to the community at large must be dealt with. The problem is the ‘conservatism’ of taste and perception that yuppies tend to have that make some issues and attitudes (personal or 'cultural' proclivities) look worse than they are, if they are at all.
I could go on opining for paragraphs and paragraphs, but let this be the opening of a hopefully respectful two (or more) way conversation. And yes…I don’t like “yuppies.” (read above)
I never understood the hate for Yuppies. I lived in the DC area most of my life. I was born in 1990 at the height of the crack era in DC. I lived in some very bad neighborhoods in DC because my parents were struggling college grads. I lived in NW, SE, NE region of DC. DC in the 1980s-1990s was very dangerous I lived in one of the most dangerous in the country the area between Howard University/Galludett University station, drug dealers, prostitutes on the corner. I remember hearing gun shots every where as a child, I went to a K-12 charter school for a year and I remember our principle dying over a heroin overdose, kids beating up teachers, crackhead parents, people selling drugs, and lots of kids having sex in school/pregnant girls.
Thank god my parents moved to out to a safer area in the city; we moved to a nice 4 story townhouse in Adams Morgan/Mt. Pleasant and later I moved to Alexandria,VA and graduated from high school there. I go to college in NoVA(Northern Virginia for those who aren't from DC). DC has made a total 360. People used to be afraid to come to DC and DC had so many horrible nicknames like Don't Come, Dirty City, Dumb City, Drug City, D****ty. DC is one of the wealthiest cities in America and it will be soon rival NYC's wealth. All of DC's suburbs and surrounding counties are in the top 10 and top 20 list for the wealthiest counties in the US. I'm very happy for DC, we were once a city that fell right on it's face now we are back up and stronger than ever.
I'm glad that I can actually walk down the street without being harassed, robbed or sexual assaulted. There are many Yuppies and some Hipsters here and they have brought many business, restaurants, bars, retail stores and local businesses back to this area. Everyone is much happier in the city and there is so much more life here. There are dozens of multicultural festivals, restaurants and lots of racial harmony in this area. Most of the yuppies and hipsters have no problems with the local and they blend right into he community. This is just my opinion and DC has had much different circumstances than NYC. You can't blame the yuppies and hipsters for "ruining neighborhoods" if people don't want their neighborhoods ruined they should get ride of the trashy drug dealers, thugs and criminals. I wish people would stop supporting dumb things like the "Stop Snitching Campaign" which supports witness intimidation. The Yuppies and hipsters seem to be the ones persevering parks, theaters, multicultural centers, ethnic neighborhoods.
I lived on both sides of the track and I would never want to go back to the days when cities were scary and crime ridden. Things are much better for cities like DC and NYC. Yes there is still crime and ghettos in both cities. But things have improved for the better.
WOW great story! That is why I like Hipsters and Yuppies. They do care how their area looks and try hard to make a change. They bring businesses, take care of property and contact the police a lot. The neighborhood changes and crimes go down.
To me, they come across as snooty/elitist, cliquey, status-obsessed conformists with facile concerns and dubious beliefs, including a belief that they're smarter than most other folks, which is hardly the case.
I would take humble, hard working, intelligent, family oriented, friendly LEGAL immigrants over these snooty/elitist, cliquey, status-obsessed conformists YUPPIES any day.
Go ahead and move...why do you think you are making 300k? Ah yes, its because you live in NYC. Move to Texas and watch as your income is slashed in half or if you even have any left.
I would do better in Texas. I am a business owner and moving to Texas would give me even more financial ability to expand. With less taxes I would have more money to hire more people and grow.
You are certainly not "living the same lifestyle" in NYC as in the plastic suburb Dallas. I don't frankly understand what anyone is talking about when they say "quality of life in Dallas" unless that is a code word for "10,000 square foot mansion with...a 3 car garage." If you think that makes life worth living go for it, but to me there's a reason Dallas is so cheap. You get what you pay for.
And I've got to say that 2,300 square feet is not a "tiny" house.
Texas has a more diverse landscape than NY, warmer weather, and lower taxes with cheaper housing. This is what $1 million will get in Southlake, Texas.
Moderator cut: Copyright issues. Post your own photographs, only.
Plus a beautiful lifestyle and booming economy.
Moderator cut: Copyright issues. Post your own photographs, only.
Compared to Long Island $1 million, a crumbling state, high cost of living, and outrageous taxes that keep a lot of residents from enjoying what NY has to offer at all!
Moderator cut: Copyright issues. Post your own photographs, only.
I don't hate yuppies but I find their parenting to be odd. It is safer in NYC than it's been in decades, but children of yuppies have very managed lives. This "helicopter parenting" is bizarre to me. They plan every activity and set "play dates" for their children.
For example, a new playstreet opened in my neighborhood, which will be closed to traffic and parking until August. When I mentioned that I saw more dogs than kids there, someone said, "I think someone needs to give lessons on how to play outside - our kids lead such structured, indoor lives that the whole notion of a place for free play is strange to them." Since I mentioned that when I was a kid that I lived on a busy street with a city bus, but that we still we played jump rope, rode our bikes, played punch ball, skelly, hopscotch, stoop ball, jacks, clapping games, tag, and more, they asked me to come out on to "put my ideas to work." I'm thinking about it.
Hopefully the playstreet will evolve and these kids will learn. Unfortunately, many kids of helicopter parents will grow up with a schedule that rivals a grown ups, but without learning the freedom of running outside to play or planning their own activities with their peers, being creative in making up new games and rules. I this parenting style to be a reflection of the overall yuppie lifestyle -- very busy, goal oriented, and strategically planned.
A couple of years ago I was "yuppie-like" but I found the lifestyle too pressure packed and have chosen a new path.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
