Anonymous wrote:I imagine country clubs are full of the worst kind of people. Like middle class wannabes desperate to be rich
I went to top private schools and barely any students were members of country clubs. Most of us had our own pools at home. We even had a kid with tennis courts at his house. My family spent the entire summer at our home in Italy. We didn’t need to drive out to a public pool at a country club
I also went to school with the children of literal billionaires and zero of them were members of country clubs
As the posters say -- you are quite off. No one middle class can afford a CC. At the higher end, the fees are 100k plus to join. That is not equity. It is gone when you give it to them so you have to be fine burning 100k. No middle class person can do that. Fees will then run you at least 1k a month. Plus CC's add things a lot. New fees and capital contributions, not yearly but every few years.
Really at most of these clubs people who are really UMC can't afford it unless they are frugal everywhere else. Could you do a CC at 350-400k? Yes. But 500k plus is probably what you need in income. That is not middle class or even UMC. Most people at cc's are closer to a million a year.
It could depend a lot on the area and what the people do. Most wealthy people that live here belong to a club here and a club where their second home is. So your experience is different. Playing tennis on your private court does not involve pros and playing against lots of other people which a lot of people like.
As for your billionaire kids --- yes it is likley that parents do belong. Not many that don't whether in Augusta, Palm Beach, or otherwise.