Are upper middle class family gatherings now just luxury travel pissing contests?

[Anonymous]

My only story about rich people and travel was when a super-rich friend was complaining about having to go to Paris when she had an eventing competition in 3 weeks. I stupidly said, " You can pay someone to ride your horse," only to realize that she just wanted permission not to have to go to Paris.

Me, I couldn't imagine not wanting to go.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Keeping up with the Joneses" used to mean a new Lexus SUV and a country club membership, now it means seeing the Joneses on instagram hiking in Peru, using Epic Passes to ski all season in Vail, and sun bathing in Mykonos.

Joan Didion said that being super rich means that you see all the same people in all those places. If that's someone's reality, that's what they're going to talk about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you just weren’t this prone to jealousy before?

Who's jealous? It's just shallow and boring conversation. Shallow and boring is fine among professional work associates but family are only together a couple of times a year and THIS is the most spirited dialogue now? It's sad.

Travel is not “shallow and boring conversation.” What do you want to discuss? Little Larlo’s soccer? Little Larlo is going into AAP?

You piss money away flying places to eat & booze to try to appear interesting. It's just mindless consumerism.

I don't know anyone who travels for this reason.

Some influencers seem to, but that is there job after all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you just weren’t this prone to jealousy before?

Who's jealous? It's just shallow and boring conversation. Shallow and boring is fine among professional work associates but family are only together a couple of times a year and THIS is the most spirited dialogue now? It's sad.

Travel is not “shallow and boring conversation.” What do you want to discuss? Little Larlo’s soccer? Little Larlo is going into AAP?

Little Larlo likes soccer and bonding time with his close friends far more than sitting in an airport, customs line, taxis, hotel, hotel pool, weird food, and being dragged around to tourist attractions so his insecure status-signal obsessed striver mommy (and daddy) can have vapid content to brag about on social media and at social gatherings.

"Weird food" lol. So your kid will grow up to be as unsophisticated as you are. Ok.

Calling conversations about travel "vapid," because you don't do it. does not make it so. People aren't "bragging" just because you are intimidated and can't admit that, even to yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a work colleague travel to Budapest once only to come back and spend the next 4 years we worked together pounce any any oppurtunity to correct someone 'mispronouncing' it.

Dude was special.

How did he pronounce it?

Buddha- pesh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That sounds so boring, OP.

How is it boring? Do you think I want to hear about the mundane details of your daily life? No, I’d much rather hear about an exotic part of the world.

It's just boring. People talk about the weather, beaches, food... they never talk about anything really interesting like the art they saw, because they don't know anything about that and it's just about taking photos for instagram.

Yeah ... I'm sure OP can handle a conversation about art. Lol.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Keeping up with the Joneses" used to mean a new Lexus SUV and a country club membership, now it means seeing the Joneses on instagram hiking in Peru, using Epic Passes to ski all season in Vail, and sun bathing in Mykonos.

I mean ... it is the 21st century. People prefer to spend money on experiences over things. Not sure why you are so vexed by this. I would enjoy Mykonos. I have zero interest in driving a Lexus and I don't play golf. So.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a work colleague travel to Budapest once only to come back and spend the next 4 years we worked together pounce any any oppurtunity to correct someone 'mispronouncing' it.

Dude was special.

How did he pronounce it?

Buddha- pesh.

Ahh. I would try to work in Budapest to a lot of conversations, just to get him to correct me.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had a work colleague travel to Budapest once only to come back and spend the next 4 years we worked together pounce any any oppurtunity to correct someone 'mispronouncing' it.

Dude was special.

I know a 20-something who got married a month out of high school, has no further education, has pumped out multiple kids, and when they were really little the family was on Wic. She wanted to be a SAHM for "religious reasons." That has fallen off, lol. Although she is still unemployed. She went to London with a friend to see Ed Sheeran and for months has been insisting that trucks are "lorries" and the bathroom is "the loo." Etc. On and on. Insufferable. But that's not UMC insecurity, that's LC insecurity.

[Anonymous]

I know what you mean OP. It’s probably because the group doesn’t have much in common anymore, so they default to a topic of conversation that’s fairly inoffensive. And people are trying to keep the conversation from dying out by contributing their own anecdotes. I doubt anyone went home thinking they had an awesome conversation - it’s hard work to keep a conversation going for 2-3 hours among people who don’t naturally fit together!

Or it could be low EQ people who are looking for an excuse to brag. I know a few of those. We are wealthy but don’t travel much these days because of little kids. I have a much-less-wealthy frenemy who is always trying to brag about her mediocre-sounding family vacations and girls’ trips. I just smile and nod and ask a few polite questions while snickering in my head.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Maybe you just weren’t this prone to jealousy before?

Who's jealous? It's just shallow and boring conversation. Shallow and boring is fine among professional work associates but family are only together a couple of times a year and THIS is the most spirited dialogue now? It's sad.

Travel is not “shallow and boring conversation.” What do you want to discuss? Little Larlo’s soccer? Little Larlo is going into AAP?

Little Larlo likes soccer and bonding time with his close friends far more than sitting in an airport, customs line, taxis, hotel, hotel pool, weird food, and being dragged around to tourist attractions so his insecure status-signal obsessed striver mommy (and daddy) can have vapid content to brag about on social media and at social gatherings.

You couldn’t be more wrong. I would be just as happy staying here, but my kids (and spouse) absolutely love traveling to new places. Some kids like new adventures more than “soccer and bonding time with friends”.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"Keeping up with the Joneses" used to mean a new Lexus SUV and a country club membership, now it means seeing the Joneses on instagram hiking in Peru, using Epic Passes to ski all season in Vail, and sun bathing in Mykonos.

I mean ... it is the 21st century. People prefer to spend money on experiences over things. Not sure why you are so vexed by this. I would enjoy Mykonos. I have zero interest in driving a Lexus and I don't play golf. So.

It’s literally a scam. People are being duped into flushing large sums of money down the drain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I guess I don’t understand why travel should be off limits. What should people talk about? Politics is off limits, same for religion. Perhaps books? That could be seen negatively too. If food or restaurants, that may sound pretentious. Jobs may be boring ( or not, but If not, then you are bragging.). Same with children as topics…say too much you are bragging. If theirs is struggling then you are insensitive. If you love running or peloton or yoga and others don’t, again you are pretentious or smug. What is left!

For me, I do read the room. If I’m with family or friends who travel or have a similar hobby, I go with that. If I’m with childhood friends and cousins who do not have similar experiences, I try to just ask about them, their families, and recall childhood memories for a laugh.

I'm the poor person who's never left North America. It's fun to hear about other places once or twice if people tell interesting stories, but after that I'm just hearing about far away places I'll never have enough money to go to, and people aren't talking about anything in these countries I can relate to in any way. I once spent an hour at a table listening to all the rich people talking about their favorite resorts in Mexico and Hawaii and making plans to meet up, stay at their respective condos, etc. I went to Mexico once, for a wedding, and the only thing I bought there other than food was tampons. It was very stressful to have to pay for a passport AND a dress. I can't afford Hawaii. I'd rather talk books and recipes and Netflix. I use my library card and like food and movies. I just feel completely left out.

[Anonymous]

Yes!
Everyone is humble - bragging about their travels..

[Anonymous]

Don’t use the word p*ssing. It’s so nasty.