Southeast prep/WASP culture

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DC has been my first exposure to this world as well. I've become friends with a few women who grew up in this culture and are married to these guys (although they're nice guys). It's remarkable to me how uniform their lives/upbringings are and just how small their worlds are. They have family money up the wazoo but they've NEVER LEFT THE US.
Characteristics of this crowd: lots of loafers, jackets at every occasion, Patagonia, hunting, all vacations must be to several US destinations--i.e the Greenbriar or Sea Island. Year after year, those are the only places they go. They have expensive dogs. They all work in finance or commercial real estate or maybe law. They drive Suburbans. The only people they know who aren't white are their nannies or house cleaners.

OMG, yes. You could be describing several of my neighbors, unfortunately. There is one family that looks like Barbie and Ken + 2 kids. The dad pops his polo shirt collars, wears Bermuda shorts with small prints (i.e. lobsters, sailboats, etc.), boat shoes/no socks, cardigan sweater jauntily draped around his neck (I kid you not). Drives a Land Rover. Mom, who drives a Porsche convertible, wears sheath dresses, also with cardigan sweater around neck. Son and daughter wear only Polo clothing. And the all-important neck-sweater. Vacations are in Palm Beach or Aspen. Never out of the country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of this is similar to the Catholic good ol' boy culture you get with boys who went to all-boy Catholic high schools. I went to Notre Dame and then these guys were housed in all-guy dorms and their social skills with girls/women were SADLY LACKING.

Sounds like the good ol' boys at Duke, Dartmouth, Boston College, and all the other colleges that are now J Crew with a hangover. I went to college 20+ years ago and they were the same then. Wealthy, drunk, emotionally lacking.

[Anonymous]

True prep

NESCAC
Amherst
Bates
Bowdoin
Colby
Connecticut College
Hamilton
Middlebury
Trinity
Tufts
Wesleyan
Williams

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I am from a Northeast prep culture which is very different. The clothes may be a bit similar---but the attitudes are opposite. The women are more Jackie Kennedy preppy--not tons of make-up, etc. but maybe same Lily dress.

NP here. I'm curious how the attitudes of a Southeast prep is different from a Northeast prep? And how are the women different in both cultures?

I can't help you OP, as I have zero exposure to these people. I work in DC and my colleagues are nice, normal and middle-class lol.

Southern sorority girl = Lilly Pulitzer, bigger hair bows, more guns, painted coolers, cocktail dresses on game day, working hard for that Mrs. degree

Northern sorority girl = knee high leather boots, hair flat-ironed within an inch of its life, no guns, no football, working hard for that admission to HYP law school

[Anonymous]

I envy those people! What a sweet life.

[Anonymous]

The cultural differences are significant. You can be northern prep and liberal. In the South that's a capital crime. Lots of Southerners from good families are proud of never owning a passport, a northerner has been to almost all the EU countries before they graduate middle school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cultural differences are significant. You can be northern prep and liberal. In the South that's a capital crime. Lots of Southerners from good families are proud of never owning a passport, a northerner has been to almost all the EU countries before they graduate middle school.

I grew up Southern prep and I have to agree with this. I am a liberal. When I visit my parents, you would thnk I had ten heads when discussing politics. I now don't even try just smile and say, "bless yur heart."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The cultural differences are significant. You can be northern prep and liberal. In the South that's a capital crime. Lots of Southerners from good families are proud of never owning a passport, a northerner has been to almost all the EU countries before they graduate middle school.

+1. Southern prep prides itself on being more "American," which for them includes not leaving America. NE prep is more about being able to say -- we ski the Swiss Alps each yr at Christmas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC has been my first exposure to this world as well. I've become friends with a few women who grew up in this culture and are married to these guys (although they're nice guys). It's remarkable to me how uniform their lives/upbringings are and just how small their worlds are. They have family money up the wazoo but they've NEVER LEFT THE US.
Characteristics of this crowd: lots of loafers, jackets at every occasion, Patagonia, hunting, all vacations must be to several US destinations--i.e the Greenbriar or Sea Island. Year after year, those are the only places they go. They have expensive dogs. They all work in finance or commercial real estate or maybe law. They drive Suburbans. The only people they know who aren't white are their nannies or house cleaners.

OMG, yes. You could be describing several of my neighbors, unfortunately. There is one family that looks like Barbie and Ken + 2 kids. The dad pops his polo shirt collars, wears Bermuda shorts with small prints (i.e. lobsters, sailboats, etc.), boat shoes/no socks, cardigan sweater jauntily draped around his neck (I kid you not). Drives a Land Rover. Mom, who drives a Porsche convertible, wears sheath dresses, also with cardigan sweater around neck. Son and daughter wear only Polo clothing. And the all-important neck-sweater. Vacations are in Palm Beach or Aspen. Never out of the country.

OP here. Yes yes yes yes yes to both of you, this is what I am talking about!

[Anonymous]

It is not how they dress that bothers me. (I like preppy clothes sometimes) It doesn't bother me what colleges they went to. (Good academics are a good thing). It doesn't bother me how much money they have. ( we would all like to live comfortable lives). What bothers me is the pervasive attitude that is stick together, treat others like crap (especially women), get drunk, delay grownup responsibility for as long as possible(except for the fat paycheck for themselves), and everyone else is just a private joke to be ridiculed behind their backs. It is rich boy frat bro syndrome.

[Anonymous]

Welp it's clear none of you have actually spent real time with any of these "bros".

[Anonymous]

As an international student at Georgetown, I'm horrified that an upper class exists in this country where they are "proud of never owning a passport" and being really American instead of aspiring to being a global citizen. In my country that would be considered really backwards!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welp it's clear none of you have actually spent real time with any of these "bros".

I've spent plenty of time with them, unfortunately. Was an outsider because of my race.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an international student at Georgetown, I'm horrified that an upper class exists in this country where they are "proud of never owning a passport" and being really American instead of aspiring to being a global citizen. In my country that would be considered really backwards!

That's because no one aspires to be like the people of your country.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Welp it's clear none of you have actually spent real time with any of these "bros".

Really? Why don't you enlighten us then? Because this is looking pretty accurate to me.