Upper Class Characteristics

[Anonymous]

Read the oldy but goody book, Class by Paul Fussell. Has some good indicators in it.

This is where I learned that wall-to-wall is NOT upper class, and that a long street address like "17568 Hiddenvalley Dr." is sort of an obvious middle-class neighborhood, whereas "12 Darien Way" is more upper class. Somewhat obvious stuff, but it was interesting to have it pointed out to me as a college freshman from a very middle class background, something I'd never thought about before until I read the book!

[Anonymous]

It has as much to do (if not more) with upbringing as net worth.

[Anonymous]

It has much more to do with upbringing (np here).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'll play.

Clear, articulate speech with an expansive vocabulary.

Awareness of social niceties and etiquette.

A propensity to be reserved and appropriately thoughtful, especially in conversation.

Quietly wealthy but outwardly financially conservative.

Humble, quiet financial (or board) support of carefully-considered charities.

Nothing says new money than obvious, cloying social climbing and desperate attempts to display wealth and perceived status.

This, plus, inherited wealth going back generations.

upper class = aristocratic class

Think: Kennedy, not Zuckerberg, even though the latter family is much wealthier than the former

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll play.

Clear, articulate speech with an expansive vocabulary.

Awareness of social niceties and etiquette.

A propensity to be reserved and appropriately thoughtful, especially in conversation.

Quietly wealthy but outwardly financially conservative.

Humble, quiet financial (or board) support of carefully-considered charities.

Nothing says new money than obvious, cloying social climbing and desperate attempts to display wealth and perceived status.

This, plus, inherited wealth going back generations.

upper class = aristocratic class

Think: Kennedy, not Zuckerberg, even though the latter family is much wealthier than the former

[Anonymous]

Purely from a financial standpoint, you need about $5M of savings/investments (inclusive of retirement and home equity).

[Anonymous]

Kennedy is white trash, as are Kardashians.
English aristrocrats, a daughter of a lord, will never be like Paris Hilton
Even inherited money will not buy class

[Anonymous]

You guys should read Edward St Aubyn

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Capitalizing the first letter of each sentence is tantamount to upperclass in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

SES is more than money/finances. This thread belongs in Off Topic (along with all the other class threads).

[Anonymous]

I can tell you exactly what upper class is. It has nothing to do with vocabulary or the clothes that you wear, or how much you spend.


You can choose to spend, or choose to save but if you are upper class it doesn't matter. You get to do what you want, go where you want to go, buy what you want to buy and you aren't that worried about it - in a word, complete freedom of choice. That is the ultimate upper class characteristic.

[Anonymous]

Read the Paul Fussell book. It feels a little dated at this point, but it definitely made things click into place for me when I was in college and trying to figure it all out. Being upper class involves a certain invisibility-- participating in a culture that most people don't even realize exists, but you can quickly learn how to spot it. I'm not upper class myself, and never will be, it doesn't work that way, but I definitely appreciate certain things about it, like respect for tradition, a little more reserve and discretion, and really nice clothes that aren't flashy. And of course their weird baby names are totally different from middle- and low-class weird baby names. They trend more to family surnames with quirky nicknames and British influence, rather than made-up and kreativvely spelled names like, say, Kaydenne.

[Anonymous]

Birth.


You can be an titled aristocrat and live like a complete boar - like my uncle.
You can be the son of a mechanic and have perfect deportment, like my other uncle.

[Anonymous]

You could have spotted it at Symphony opening night last night. Good posture, calm demeanor, fit, and their kids (even little ones) have been trained to look their elders in the eye when spoken to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Enough toilets to allow all members of the family to poop at once on the same floor.

This and bidets everywhere