Stuff Rich People Do

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:They have very large expensive beach cottages, which they use to house their many children and grandchildren and friends of the children and grandchildren (which is how I got to see this first hand.) The daughters or wives mostly don't have to work, so stay at the beach all summer; the Dh's fly down to see their wives and kids on the weekend. They were very generous and provided food for everyone in the house and took us out to eat.

When my friend and I left the house, she turned to me and said "was that just a fantasy or do people really live like that?" It was really nice and I have never experienced anything like it before or since.

In many European countries, this is pretty common both in the upper AND middle classes.

OK, dads drive (not fly) to the nearby beach house/ condo in the weekends, and said house/ condo is way less spacious, but essentially everything else is the same.

Something is broken in our country.

What you describe isn't more common in Europe than America. Real estate is notoriously expensive in many European countries. Of course there are huge differences between countries but to claim many Europeans have second homes is silly.

Lady, use your brain. Europeans (well, most) do. What matters is the access and the quality of life, not the property.

Hint: ever heard of the word Family?

NP. I'm European and you don't know what you are talking about. It is no more common than in the US.

+2 I know Russians who have a summer dacha, but middle class western European families don't have something comparible. Property on the Mediteranean coast is expensive and owned by the very rich.

I live in Ukraine and I know a LOT of "middle class" (who live in what would be considered "poor" conditions if in America) Ukrainian families who spend each weekend at their dacha. The super rich tend to travel in Europe for holidays rather than spending them at the dacha, but the second home/dacha is NOT limited to the rich alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
I live in Ukraine and I know a LOT of "middle class" (who live in what would be considered "poor" conditions if in America) Ukrainian families who spend each weekend at their dacha. The super rich tend to travel in Europe for holidays rather than spending them at the dacha, but the second home/dacha is NOT limited to the rich alone.

I think it depends a lot on the country. In France a lot more people have second homes than in the UK, for instance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've learned that there are no schools but private schools, that rich men need their wives to stay hot or they'll be summarily dismissed, that "Mrs. Simpson's" is a thing, and that 1000 square foot per family member is "just right" in a home. And I've learned that nobody cleans their own house.

Mrs. Simpson's?

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/302415.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We own property in the carribean. Our neighbor flys his jet there. His kids make comments like "we live in a mansion." When I first met them I asked them how they got there - asking essentially if they had to connect from their home town. I was quickly explained that no, you don't connect on your private jet.

What about refueling the plane?

[Anonymous]

I'm European and it is not at all true that majority of Euros own beach properties. Real estate in Europe is generally very expensive. What is true is that most continental Europeans (slightly different in the UK) take 2-3 weeks off in August, rent a beach house, and just relax as a family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just curious- what HHI do you consider rich? We have a HHI around 450k. I don't know if that is considered rich or not, but one of the luxuries I've enjoyed is having a nanny come 3 days a week while I'm on maternity leave. I go see my trainer, get my nails done, go spinning etc. she comes for 4 hours T-R. It feels like a major luxury to me, but we did that instead of a night nurse that cost way more because DD was decent at night and since I am EBF it didn't even give me any more rest (we tried it for a few nights).

Yes you are rich. Are you for real?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rich people wonder if a HHI of 450k is rich

No, rich people know they pay more than that in taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend's children go to a school with a lot of wealthy families and the biggest "rich people" thing she's reported is that one family ships their daughter's horse (via plane) to wherever they are on vacation for a couple weeks so she won't miss her riding time.

We may have a winner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Rich people wonder if a HHI of 450k is rich

No, rich people know they pay more than that in taxes.

In estimated quarterly payments.

[Anonymous]

rich doctor shop for their good drugs

[Anonymous]

When you refer to HHI you are not rich. You may be very well off, but you are not rich if that HHI spigot can ever be turned off.

[Anonymous]

If your wealth is derived from a salary, you are not rich. Your boss can make you one of the poors in a heartbeat if he is in a bad mood.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Have birthday parties without food?

This is so true. I wonder why.

Allows the cocktails to hit them faster, so when Aunt Kitty starts getting passive aggressive with Cousin Biff, everyone is three sheets to the wind and can ignore her.

...eating is so bourgeoise. Do you think I want to listen to you chew? Gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you refer to HHI you are not rich. You may be very well off, but you are not rich if that HHI spigot can ever be turned off.

I don't know about that. I still use the term hhi, even though less than 20% of our income is technically salary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:When you refer to HHI you are not rich. You may be very well off, but you are not rich if that HHI spigot can ever be turned off.

True. Rich is when you only care about the net worth you've already accumulated...and you minimize HHI, covering expenses while minimizing taxes.

Which, incidentally, is why we should introduce an annual wealth tax and reduce income tax rates.