Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a very interesting thread. When I see people in ARL (which is where I live) who look "rich" / try to look it, I think they are in debt b/c when I was growing up, all the people who looked rich ended up in bankruptcy.

I still think that. There's a relaxedness to "wealth" whereas being or looking "rich" has a layer of anxiety over it which I interpret as overextended.

Fascinating about cars and houses but let's face it. My SFH in ARL would list for about 900K. We are still in our "starter" home. Everywhere else in the US, it would list at 200K maybe. I don't have a new build tho. My car is 10 yrs old and the other is...well, a complete Arlington mobile. Some hybrid sedan.

+1000

I was surprised to see someone say "lululemon with a Range Rover" upthread. I see the young ladies (20s-30s) at SoulCycle trying to project an image of "wealth" with that getup and a Goyard bag, so definitely not NOVA moms! Though perhaps NOVA moms in training.

I think I might be one of “those” NOVA moms but I didn’t even know what those Goyard bags were. Now that I have
Googled it I am sure I’ve seen them around, but I had no idea they were expensive. Geez, that would have been a week’s pay in my 20s. Of course I also wouldn’t spend $5 on a Starbucks coffee at that time, and to this day I can’t bring myself to pay more than 2 bucks for coffee 😂.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

... a VP of sales at a tech company selling to govvies is intellectual, WASP sensibility? The DCUM navel-gazing is strong on this one.

DP. Lots of old line tech companies and yeah they are kinda waspy. Companies like Microsoft and Apple aren't exactly young and hip.

Yeah, exactly, and neither are their clients which is the upper ranks of, say, the Department of Defense.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

... a VP of sales at a tech company selling to govvies is intellectual, WASP sensibility? The DCUM navel-gazing is strong on this one.

DP. Lots of old line tech companies and yeah they are kinda waspy. Companies like Microsoft and Apple aren't exactly young and hip.

Tunics in bright colors and big glasses.

Anonymous wrote:This is a very interesting thread. When I see people in ARL (which is where I live) who look "rich" / try to look it, I think they are in debt b/c when I was growing up, all the people who looked rich ended up in bankruptcy.

I still think that. There's a relaxedness to "wealth" whereas being or looking "rich" has a layer of anxiety over it which I interpret as overextended.

Fascinating about cars and houses but let's face it. My SFH in ARL would list for about 900K. We are still in our "starter" home. Everywhere else in the US, it would list at 200K maybe. I don't have a new build tho. My car is 10 yrs old and the other is...well, a complete Arlington mobile. Some hybrid sedan.

+1000

I was surprised to see someone say "lululemon with a Range Rover" upthread. I see the young ladies (20s-30s) at SoulCycle trying to project an image of "wealth" with that getup and a Goyard bag, so definitely not NOVA moms! Though perhaps NOVA moms in training.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

... a VP of sales at a tech company selling to govvies is intellectual, WASP sensibility? The DCUM navel-gazing is strong on this one.

Live in NYC and a number of friends are easily in top 1%. Not one drives a G-wagen, even at their Hamptons homes. Audis, Mercedes (mainly SUVs), Range Rovers, and Volvos.

Richest person I know in Nova is very rich, makes over a million a year but exact amount varies a lot and he has accumulated a lot of money.

He mostly wears the same stuff over and over. T-shirts with vacation spots he likes, cargo pants, flip flops or sneakers. Wife wears yoga pants or jeans and some kind of non- t-shirt top.

He's the sole earner and she is a SAHM. She is pretty busy managing the household and working on her volunteer commitments.

They drive sort of basic cars you see around here (not going to say specifically but think Volvo, Land Rover, etc).

I don't get the impression either of them hang out at coffee shops. They go to the same, kind of pedestrian restaurants all the time and are known well by the restaurant workers. They do hit up fine dining places once or twice a month, but they seem to prioritize knowing that a restaurant has reliably good tacos or whatever vs exploring all the new and novel places.

They work out at orangetheory, but everyone does. It's not that expensive. And it's cheaper than a membership to LifeTime in most cases.

They are not overt about their wealth in terms of being flashy with expensive brands. But you would get the impression they were rich because they have that sort of air of power and confidence that comes from being rich. Also, when they whip out a black card it removes all doubt.

Aren't G wagons the cars that Kardashians/Jenners give to each other as birthday gifts?

In "real life" the only few I've seen had NJ license plates. Same for Hummers.

I think DCUM is the only place where people try to out-rich each other by insisting that they buy the cheapest possible car and that's how you know they are the really wealthy one.

My neurosurgeon uncle drives a $250k Mercedes. Because he can. My parents drive new BMWs. Because they can.

We drive a paid off 10 year old Kia. And no it's not because we're richie rich.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

This is so true! We are not rich at all (public school teacher and public interest lawyer) but our closest friends live in McLean in a massive new build. One a partner in Big Law the other at a major consulting firm. I imagine they must make 10x what we do, probably more. Their house cost 3x what we paid for our condo.

We drive the exact same car.

Yes, because you are all bookish, research-y, practical people . You probably both own a practical vehicle which is known for high reliability, low depreciation and good safety ratings. Probably a Japanese vehicle.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

This is so true! We are not rich at all (public school teacher and public interest lawyer) but our closest friends live in McLean in a massive new build. One a partner in Big Law the other at a major consulting firm. I imagine they must make 10x what we do, probably more. Their house cost 3x what we paid for our condo.

We drive the exact same car.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think this is very neighborhood specific. Curious what other Falls Church / N Arlington rich moms do, because I am not one of them and I am genuinely curious what the rich SAHm moms do when the kids are in school.

Me again.
Where is the cool lunch spot?
Is there a fancier coffee shop than Rare Baird or Northside Social?
The execs at my company all go to Orange Theory - is there something more $$ and exclusive? Is it SolidCore?
Tinx thinks all rich moms drive g-wagons. I have never seen one of those in Arlington. All I see are Volvo XC-90s with private school stickers. Sometimes I see a Tesla X.
Where do these ladies shop? Old Town? Tysons?
Where do they get their hair done?

My only glimpse of this world is when someone posts on MONA looking for a “house manager”.

G wagons and other flashy cars are not as popular here (my fil used to manage dealerships and agrees). In general the rich/powerful in this area tend to be more low key because they tend to have made their money at very serious, fairly intellectual jobs where people have a serious , wasp sensibility. Even those in jobs found elsewhere are low key. Let’s say you’re a vp of sales at a tech company/-if you are based here, you’re selling mostly to govt so it’s more serious. Let’s say you’re the head of PR firm—here, your clients are much more serious.

Yup. This is exactly right. N. Arlington in particular has the biggest disparity between house prices and the prices of the cars parked out front that I’ve ever seen. You’d look like a complete loser driving around in a G wagon. Even the DHs all drive very reasonable cars… they’re not cruising around in a Maserati.

Nail on head.

You’ve never been to NJ I bet? My in laws neighborhood is $2-5m houses and they all have G wagons, Range Rovers, Lamborghini suvs, even a Bugatti. Not just two cars, 4 or 5.

Having grown up in nj the display of "wealth" (real or imagined) in labels, cars and houses is something I have never missed in moving away...it's been a breath of fresh air.

There seems to be little correlation between income and what kind of car a person drives at my large company despite the large differences in total compensation at various levels. I’ve never seen a g wagon in the garage.

I've never seen that G car thing in ARL and if I did, I would not guess it was over 100K wow.