Reply to Envious when people post about their wealth and success on DCUM?

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[quote=Anonymous]OP - I understood what you meant. I think I end up on both sides of this, but not pathologically in either case.

My husband and I have a household income of about $150k, which by regular standards is a shit ton of money, but in D.C with student debt means that we'll probably never own a house.

In D.C. - and in life - I do sometimes feel envious of others' financial stability, what they have access to, etc. I have friends in NYC who are in a position where they just bought a $1.5 million house in Brooklyn, putting down 30%. The woman works full time in a great job, that lets her work from home; the man is a freelancer. They've got a gorgeous little kid and a great marriage. (That isn't just for show or a false front; I know them really well. They have a great marriage.) I do sometimes envy that they've got access to what appears to me to be a sort of perfect well-off bohemian existence.

But I have other friends who earn far, far less than what my husband and I do. And I realize, talking to them, what an ass I am when I start feeling sorry for myself re: money - I can afford things that these friends really, really can't. I may not be able to get a $1.5 million house in Brooklyn, but there are many things in life that we take for granted that are not enjoyed by a whole lot of others.

So it's all relative. And even in this stupidly expensive D.C. area where it is possible to feel strapped on $150k per year, I recognize in my finer, more Pollyanna moments how well-off we are. I try to, anyway. Cause I think if I don't recognize that then I really am a myopic ass. We are the 1% even if we don't feel that way on a day to day basis. So, yes, sometimes I feel envious. I long for more comfort. I long for more stability. I try to keep that in perspective.

Re: Facebook - I don't think anyone was suggesting that people are saying outright on Facebook things like "I just spent $2000 on a purse!" I think it's more that you can't help but indicate some amount of material comfort on Facebook even if that's not the aim. If I take photos of our dog inside our apartment, you'll see our apartment. You will see what sorts of things we have (or don't) in the apartment. That will tell you something about our place in the world. You will see where I went to grad school - it's an expensive place; you don't know I took out loans to pay for it, but you know that I have some capital (financial and social) from having gone there. Etc.

TL;DR: Seriously, most people on DCUM don't have any reaction other than contempt for others financial goings-ons?

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