Anonymous wrote:My weekend took me to Alabama due to a wedding and I ended up befriending a few people at the wedding and going to their homes. One couple I met is a lawyer and stay at home mom. They live in a 5000 sq ft home and drive a Lexus and an Audi. They had a live in nanny. The kicker is that their house is only worth $450k and he is a solo attorney in a suburb. Would you consider these people rich or just middle class in the right area to live a nice lifestyle? Yes I’m being materialistic and terrible thinking these things.

- do they have 20 surrogate children?

Redneck rich maybe? They'd be borderline poverty level in DC, NYC or LA, so if you go by income then no, they are not rich. But that's a very LCOL area so they are able to maximize it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weekend took me to Alabama due to a wedding and I ended up befriending a few people at the wedding and going to their homes. One couple I met is a lawyer and stay at home mom. They live in a 5000 sq ft home and drive a Lexus and an Audi. They had a live in nanny. The kicker is that their house is only worth $450k and he is a solo attorney in a suburb. Would you consider these people rich or just middle class in the right area to live a nice lifestyle? Yes I’m being materialistic and terrible thinking these things.

How do you know the house is only worth that much?

Also even if it was, maybe he makes a lot more than that reflects. Or they have family money. Can't judge a book

Zillow. They also paid $375k for it in 2023 and it’s not a new house.

UMC. I lived in Alabama for a few years and the COL lets you live very well. It’s like stepping into the mid 90s but with your 2025 paycheck. Unfortunately, the crazy classist, racist, prosperity Christian, pro Trump culture was enough of a reason to leave.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In flyover country you don't have to make 7 figures to have two cars and a nice house. That's just crazy DC thinking.

Turns out most of the country is way nicer and has a way higher standard of living than DMV.

A tuakly most of the country is not really nicer...just has larger cookie cutter Mcmasions at low prices because their public schools and infrastructure suck and there are no airports/shopping/fine dining for hundreds of miles.

This. Colleague of mine from our office in Huntsville came to our house in McLean briefly. He remarked on what a nice house it is, and that it must have cost at least $700k. Yeah...$2.7m and that was 10 yrs ago. Probably would be $700k in AL.

It's not crazy DC thinking, it's unfortunate DC reality.

Unless you are a Saudi, nothing in Mclean was bumping 3M in 2015.

Maybe not is your crappy neighborhood. Plenty of houses were going for that in 2015.

Because you do not know anything more than the general cost of the house and what type of cars they drive, there is no way to know.

If you met Warren Buffet at his home and saw his car without realizing who he was, would you assume he was rich, poor, middle class?

Look all major metropolitan areas cost more. This is not DMV vs Alabama.

ON AVERAGE (do not reply with the but but but outliers, we know), major metropolitan areas ON AVERAGE have:
more job opportunities and more diverse job opportunities
more cultural amenities (theater, concerts, art, etc)
more and better restaurants
access to professional sports teams
more college educated people
access to a major airport where you can get direct flights most places

The town I grew up in I could live like a goddamn king if I wanted to. But I don't want to. People are friendly there but it's also very insular and not that accepting of newcomers.

I'm guessing where they are living they feel pretty rich and if they took their salary to a major metropolitan area they would no longer feel rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My weekend took me to Alabama due to a wedding and I ended up befriending a few people at the wedding and going to their homes. One couple I met is a lawyer and stay at home mom. They live in a 5000 sq ft home and drive a Lexus and an Audi. They had a live in nanny. The kicker is that their house is only worth $450k and he is a solo attorney in a suburb. Would you consider these people rich or just middle class in the right area to live a nice lifestyle? Yes I’m being materialistic and terrible thinking these things.

Ya’ll I’m sorry to inform you but yes many of us in the south where real estate is cheaper are living in mansions and driving nice cars for much less than you are. But as usual, we don’t have the cosmopolitan feel of the DC area and it’s a little different down here.

Do you mean that delusional sense of superiority in every sense of the word?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In flyover country you don't have to make 7 figures to have two cars and a nice house. That's just crazy DC thinking.

Turns out most of the country is way nicer and has a way higher standard of living than DMV.

A tuakly most of the country is not really nicer...just has larger cookie cutter Mcmasions at low prices because their public schools and infrastructure suck and there are no airports/shopping/fine dining for hundreds of miles.

This. Colleague of mine from our office in Huntsville came to our house in McLean briefly. He remarked on what a nice house it is, and that it must have cost at least $700k. Yeah...$2.7m and that was 10 yrs ago. Probably would be $700k in AL.

It's not crazy DC thinking, it's unfortunate DC reality.

Unless you are a Saudi, nothing in Mclean was bumping 3M in 2015.

Anonymous wrote:If your argument is that you'd rather have a sh!tty life in DC than a nice standard of living in Alabama...well, you win no matter what I guess.

But who could love DC so much? I don't get it.

I live in Alexandria and love it. It's not the absolute best place in the country but it beats 98% of it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In flyover country you don't have to make 7 figures to have two cars and a nice house. That's just crazy DC thinking.

Turns out most of the country is way nicer and has a way higher standard of living than DMV.

A tuakly most of the country is not really nicer...just has larger cookie cutter Mcmasions at low prices because their public schools and infrastructure suck and there are no airports/shopping/fine dining for hundreds of miles.

This. Colleague of mine from our office in Huntsville came to our house in McLean briefly. He remarked on what a nice house it is, and that it must have cost at least $700k. Yeah...$2.7m and that was 10 yrs ago. Probably would be $700k in AL.

It's not crazy DC thinking, it's unfortunate DC reality.

Just look on Zillow and compare, you will understand.

Anonymous wrote:My weekend took me to Alabama due to a wedding and I ended up befriending a few people at the wedding and going to their homes. One couple I met is a lawyer and stay at home mom. They live in a 5000 sq ft home and drive a Lexus and an Audi. They had a live in nanny. The kicker is that their house is only worth $450k and he is a solo attorney in a suburb. Would you consider these people rich or just middle class in the right area to live a nice lifestyle? Yes I’m being materialistic and terrible thinking these things.

Ya’ll I’m sorry to inform you but yes many of us in the south where real estate is cheaper are living in mansions and driving nice cars for much less than you are. But as usual, we don’t have the cosmopolitan feel of the DC area and it’s a little different down here.

Anonymous wrote:My weekend took me to Alabama due to a wedding and I ended up befriending a few people at the wedding and going to their homes. One couple I met is a lawyer and stay at home mom. They live in a 5000 sq ft home and drive a Lexus and an Audi. They had a live in nanny. The kicker is that their house is only worth $450k and he is a solo attorney in a suburb. Would you consider these people rich or just middle class in the right area to live a nice lifestyle? Yes I’m being materialistic and terrible thinking these things.

How do you know the house is only worth that much?

Also even if it was, maybe he makes a lot more than that reflects. Or they have family money. Can't judge a book

Anonymous wrote:Two cars and a house is not rich.

If someone had 2 Lamborghinis and a 29 million dollar house in Beverly Hills you wouldn’t consider them rich?