Reply to What is Middle Class....Really?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP you seem to not understand that even though folks around here make more money, we have much higher living expenses. Our HHI is $180 and we live in DC. Mortgage is $1,800 and we have two kids in daycare at a neighborhood place run in a church basement for $2,400/month, which is pretty cheap for two kids under two in D.C.

My older sister and her family live in rural Indiana. Her HHI is $55k. Their mortgage is $300. Until recently they had two kids in daycare as well and that was by far heir biggest expense at $500/month.

Point is, our basic living expenses eat up a much larger portion of our income than what my sister's family does, even though we make several times what she does.[/quote]

So many people here seem not to understand that choosing to live in a major city is an expensive [i]lifestyle choice[/i].  Most people living in rural America realize that the mere ability to live within a major city is outside of their budget... living in a city is not a middle class lifestyle (at least not if it comes with all the other things people seem to be associating with "middle class").  I grew up in the rural Midwest and knew many people who commuted 90 miles to the nearest city for work every day because they did not see it as financially feasible to live closer.  Living in a city, then calling yourself middle class despite having an income in the top 5% of the country ($214,462 or above) is like choosing to buy a mansion then complaining about not being able to afford a "middle class car" because of your mortgage.  There is nothing wrong with living in a city, it gives access to a lot of great amenities, culture, educational opportunities, white collar jobs, short commutes, etc that rural America does not have.  But it comes at a cost.  If you make over $100-150k you are not middle class even if you choose to live in a high cost of living area (That being said, since so many people do live in the city with much lower incomes, I'm pretty sure it's elitist to consider yourself middle class at a $300k HHI even if just comparing yourself to the locals).[/quote]
Yes, this! The high-income people are just not getting it. It's like talking to a wall.

These complainers could take that $250,000 HHI, still keeping their DC jobs, and move out 45 minutes where housing is half the price, and other expenses are significantly lower as well. That's what people in the real middle class do - they can't afford the city life. But it is only because these high earners have so much money coming in that they can afford to live in a major city in the first place.

It's as if I moved to Manhattan making $400.000' and then started complaining that my rent is $5000 for a little apartment - and that I'm really a middle class guy like the rest of America, once you factor in my higher living expenses. BUT....I could move out to Bethpage, LI and live like a king. The people in Bethpage (I just picked an example of a real middle to lower-middle income town) will see him as a 1 percenter, and correctly so.

But the underlying point is that when these upper-income people keep insisting how it's a middle-class lifestyle on $350,000 in the city, they are coming across as out-of-touch snobs to the majority of people who can't afford the city at all, and in fact are just getting by on 25% of that income. [/quote]

+1.  You nailed it on the head!  We're early 40s with 2 kids, and our HHI is $375k (and has been around that amount for about the last 5 years). No debt, besides our mortgage ($2,800 per month).  Our net worth is just under $3 million.  We live in Upper NW, and although I don't feel wealthy (no mansion or private jet to our vacation home on MV), I know that we are wealthy.  We have options in just about every aspect of our lives (where we live, childrens' education, international travel, healthcare, food, etc).  Why is this a debate?[/quote]

You choose bad housing and crap schools.[/quote]

Really?  My entire family is happy with Oyster (especially my bilingual--soon to be trilingual children).  They will attend a private high school in DC.  We  are also very happy with our single family detached home in Woodley Park.  If we weren't, we would move...to any neighborhood we want.  That's because we have options.  [/quote]

You're an idiot. Why would you provide so much identifying information? Do you really think the struggling people in flyover, or anywhere for that matter, really give a damn that you think that you're wealthy? Are they going to applaud your "honesty?" How does it help them? To a person making 20k in Kansas, someone else making 50k in DC still looks wealthier on paper even if they have the same lifestyle. They will resent the townie for making more, but still whining and being generally "out of touch." This thread is merely provocative and designed to incite class warfare, just like the endless wohm vs. sahm debates. OP, are you writing an article or book about out of touch assholes in dc who got the Republicans elected? What got them elected was the cunning of their party and the bumbling incompetence of the Democrats.[/quote]

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