Anyone rich ever consider leaving the rat race
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Anonymous
| I have a good career, make good money, but at the end of the day you gotta enjoy things. I turn off my phone when I get home, work out, and grill every other day. Life’s simple pleasures |
Anonymous
Getting into the best private schools Doing a million sports and extracurriculars and test prep/private tutors to ensure admission to the best college Prestigious camps (think: sailing camp in NE) Interior designers who help you redecorate and renovate periodically (far more regularly than necessary) Making sure your kids have the best clothes, go to the best concerts, drive the best cars, etc. Taking the best vacations Poor mom must be skinny, have gorgeous skin and hair, wear the best clothes, etc. For whatever reason, the dc metro area lacks a critical mass of old money families who know better than being flashy, so we are forced to endure the rat race perpetuated by greenhorns in the close in fancy burbs. |
Anonymous
Los Angeleno here. You don’t want a place in the hills because you won’t be able to get homeowners insurance now and will pay through the nose for the FAIR plan. Otherwise, you are correct but the traffic is relentless. |
Anonymous
This is idiotic. You could make these choices anywhere. There is nothing unique about the DMV forcing you to make these choices, and they are indeed choices. |
Anonymous
I am guessing it's written by someone who isn't rich and imagines what lives of rich people must look like. To me it describes striver class more so or maybe people who are more into making appearances (which isn't uncommon in ANY socio economic strata). It's easy enough to not have to participate IMHO. You certainly don't need to move to some "special" location to avoid people who annoy you, also unwise to expect that there won't be people to annoy you in your new place. Sometimes "down to earth" crowd isn't any better than the "glitzy" crowd and can be even more intolerant and judgy. |
Anonymous
Give me a break. There is no reason on earth you can’t leave this particular “rat race” if that’s what your gut is telling you is the right choice for you. |
Anonymous
What you describe is lifestyle creep when your tastes and expenses grow proportionate to your income, which then makes it hard to quit because this lifestyle is no longer attainable. It's called "golden handcuffs" and not limited to those earning 7 figures and definitely not unique to DC affluent areas. Sounds to me the "rat race" is more of a problem with the specific crowd you join as you allow your lifestyle to scale up, not specifically with location? Why would moving help? To me this means you just want to leave your circle, which is obviously where the peer pressure comes from, not necessarily the entirety of DC premium neighborhoods where majority of people will never attain the level of wealth you have anyway. |
Anonymous
Sigh Let me ‘splain this to you, Lucy. Certain dc metro area communities are filled with affluent strivers who relish the rat race while other areas attract people who want a simpler life. People in McLean/ Great Falls are keeping up with the Joneses. People who live in Olney/Brookeville aren’t. Both have money. They just have different priorities. |
Anonymous
Nothing you said has anything to do with my post, but thanks for the morning condescension! |
Anonymous
Disagree. There are entire communities where everyone buys into a mindset and lifestyle that aligns with the proverbial rat race, and there are other communities where the majority do not adhere to the construct…which is why I used local examples to illustrate what this thread is about. You said another post was “idiotic” because the behavior isn’t limited to the dc metro area. Sure. But that’s the behavior we are discussing and it is the dominant culture in certain zip codes. Maybe the rat race is your vibe so you can’t relate to what others are trying to avoid? |
Anonymous
1) Affluent striver communities aren't unique to DC metro 2) people who buy into certain circles and try to keep up with the upper limit wealth in their area (given that there are ranges from LMC to UC in EVERY single suburb incl. Mclean and GF) will be likely to seek similar communities if they move. It's personality. In other words, wherever you go, there you are. I know a wealthy couple who moved from a VHCOL west coast suburb to Nashville only to lead similar lifestyle, e.g. they found their own circle with similar values there too. Literally nothing has changed for these people in the way they behave, consume or dress/look. I think their finances had taken some dive, it's why they decided to "quit the rat race" by simply moving it to a lower COL location where they can continue enjoying similar lifestyle of flashy consumption with lower funds. People often do not change, they want the same lifestyle they just stress about having to sacrifice to keep affording it. I don't see people someone described above making millions and prioritizing extreme luxury changing into humble "millionaires next door" 
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Anonymous
Yes, and like I said, you can find those communities anywhere. Is your reading comprehension really that lacking? |
Anonymous
ITA, and I don't get this whole "dominant culture in certain zip codes". There is a lot of housing of diff types in every zip code. There are some gated communities or HOAs with predominately pricey homes in the millions and strict rules of upkeep. I can imagine it can give you an appearance of a certain "culture" , but living there is a choice. Non HOA communities still have plenty of older cheaper homes and even apartment buildings. Your culture isn't determined by the zip code or even a neighborhood but the company you keep. I would believe if you say it's about private school crowd in some schools, but it's not about zip codes, that's bunk. Those who say it's zip codes are the type of people who think it's a must to be on top of your local socio economic ladder and seek the company of the most loaded even though down to earth and poorer people are all around them and even maybe next door. |
Anonymous
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Advice to my fellow suburbanites; do your own thing! The only striving you should do is strive to cultivate friendships with like-minded, kind and considerate families. Strive to maintain your family’s privacy and dignity.
Jealously and envy are the real emotions on display - choose not to make living here a blood sport - this isn’t a competition! I’d like to think that my neighbors and maybe even my closer friends (even my ILs) have zero idea about our personal financial status. Maybe they guess, maybe they can figure it out, but I don’t whine about money, constantly complain about how much things cost just as I don’t tout the charities I support nor make a point to name drop my DC’s school. I’m not a member of a country club, the cliquish church, the PTA and certainly don’t get invited to any of the Cool Parent parties, vacations or events. Flying under the radar here and happy to be an enigma, but I have zero tolerance for smug braggarts and self-involved social climbers. |
Anonymous
PP didn't say anything indicating "lifestyle creep." PP said that they make enough money to buy whatever they want and still save 1M+ every year. The reason why PP doesn't want to stop working is because they can't go back to the job if they quit, not because of expenses. I think you need to stop schilling lifestyle creep. |