Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

Why are you so committed to sending your kid to private? Does your husband teach in a private school?

"middle class" is determined by more than your adjusted income on your 1040, PP.

Upper class is largely determined by birth ( old inherited money, nobility of foreign countries ) In this way, Cooper Anderson is " upper class" because he is a Vanderbuilt and well you , just aren't.

Most of what you are referring to as " not middle class" are the upper middle class ( college educated and affluent / 300K a year or more )

For example, if you are a law partner who gets an 800K bonus every year, that is a good income , but you are still upper middle class, not upper class. Rockefeller you are not.

" Middle Class" : you are college educated , have a profession , send your kids to college and earn a reasonable living.

" working class" : no higher education, no profession and a wage earner.

So, what does a college professor who graduated from an Ivy League school ( as did his parents and GP's ) , owns his home and send his kids to private "have in common " with a law partner who earns a few million a year ?

Answer: probably went to same school ( or maybe the Proff went to a better school, the lawyer grew up wanting to vacation and " summer " where the Prof's family did for generations and the lawyer would probably ask the prof if he could borrow a book from his library.

In short , lots in common.

working class and the rest, not so much

Did you pull these definitions out of your ass? I know. a lot of Upper Middle class people with ZERO education. When someone's company is pulling in 3 million dollars in profit a year I doubt his/her lack of a college degree dilutes their economic class.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When people speak of best fit I'm often puzzled by exactly what that means. How can you really tell without actually enrolling? When you tour a school isnt it just a snap shot in one day of the life of that school. I have toured schools and was underwhelmed. However, after talking to other who toured who had a different reaction I realized that I didn't see everything and my opinon was based on a one time limited experience. On the other hand, I have also toured schools and loved it. Yet after talking to others I found out things that didn't come up in the tour.

I suppose some schools have a reputation for being a certain way, but I find it difficult to let that be the reason I decide against a school. Isn't it completely possible my experience will different?

PP's point( bolded above) is very true.

When we toured Beauvoir I loved the science and art rooms and the school population seemed very diverse and varied, but the blanket stereotypes about the place were a bit concerning.

" country clubby " and the like

Actually, the school exceeded my first impression by FAR.

My DC LOVED his years there and I found that the parent community was 99% very very nice people. Open, interesting to talk to and get to know and very welcoming.

We are not wealthy. In fact, DC receives FA, but we found the other parents a real plus to the whole experience and I could not have possibly guessed that from the parent tour

Anonymous wrote:When people speak of best fit I'm often puzzled by exactly what that means. How can you really tell without actually enrolling? When you tour a school isnt it just a snap shot in one day of the life of that school. I have toured schools and was underwhelmed. However, after talking to other who toured who had a different reaction I realized that I didn't see everything and my opinon was based on a one time limited experience. On the other hand, I have also toured schools and loved it. Yet after talking to others I found out things that didn't come up in the tour.

I suppose some schools have a reputation for being a certain way, but I find it difficult to let that be the reason I decide against a school. Isn't it completely possible my experience will different?

Anonymous wrote:The fact that there are multiple people on this thread defining "old money" is the reason Beauvoir leaves a bad taste in my mouse. The fact that well educated, smart, parents are still buying into an antiquated social caste system is so....well...gross.

This is all supposed to be about providing a great education for our kids, not to indoctrinate them into a social class.

Or is it??

Anonymous wrote:The fact that there are multiple people on this thread defining "old money" is the reason Beauvoir leaves a bad taste in my mouse. The fact that well educated, smart, parents are still buying into an antiquated social caste system is so....well...gross.

This is all supposed to be about providing a great education for our kids, not to indoctrinate them into a social class.

Or is it??

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

Why are you so committed to sending your kid to private? Does your husband teach in a private school?

"middle class" is determined by more than your adjusted income on your 1040, PP.

Upper class is largely determined by birth ( old inherited money, nobility of foreign countries ) In this way, Cooper Anderson is " upper class" because he is a Vanderbuilt and well you , just aren't.

Most of what you are referring to as " not middle class" are the upper middle class ( college educated and affluent / 300K a year or more )

For example, if you are a law partner who gets an 800K bonus every year, that is a good income , but you are still upper middle class, not upper class. Rockefeller you are not.

" Middle Class" : you are college educated , have a profession , send your kids to college and earn a reasonable living.

" working class" : no higher education, no profession and a wage earner.

So, what does a college professor who graduated from an Ivy League school ( as did his parents and GP's ) , owns his home and send his kids to private "have in common " with a law partner who earns a few million a year ?

Answer: probably went to same school ( or maybe the Proff went to a better school, the lawyer grew up wanting to vacation and " summer " where the Prof's family did for generations and the lawyer would probably ask the prof if he could borrow a book from his library.

In short , lots in common.

working class and the rest, not so much

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for all the typos. It's that time of day! Good luck with the whole process and you are right to go with your gut whichever school that may lead you too. There were some schools that everybody loves, like Sidwell, that after touring I knew would not be the right fit and didn't apply to. To each their own.

It's "to each, his own." Each is singular. Their is plural.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

Why are you so committed to sending your kid to private? Does your husband teach in a private school?

"middle class" is determined by more than your adjusted income on your 1040, PP.

Upper class is largely determined by birth ( old inherited money, nobility of foreign countries ) In this way, Cooper Anderson is " upper class" because he is a Vanderbuilt and well you , just aren't.

Most of what you are referring to as " not middle class" are the upper middle class ( college educated and affluent / 300K a year or more )

For example, if you are a law partner who gets an 800K bonus every year, that is a good income , but you are still upper middle class, not upper class. Rockefeller you are not.

" Middle Class" : you are college educated , have a profession , send your kids to college and earn a reasonable living.

" working class" : no higher education, no profession and a wage earner.

So, what does a college professor who graduated from an Ivy League school ( as did his parents and GP's ) , owns his home and send his kids to private "have in common " with a law partner who earns a few million a year ?

Answer: probably went to same school ( or maybe the Proff went to a better school, the lawyer grew up wanting to vacation and " summer " where the Prof's family did for generations and the lawyer would probably ask the prof if he could borrow a book from his library.

In short , lots in common.

working class and the rest, not so much

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Fit is a word used by rich people who get to choose where to send their child to school. The majority of the country doesn't talk about fit.

The majority of the country doesn't feel entitled to go to privates when they can't afford tuition. They simply go to public school, instead of asking other parents to subsidize them.

Can I please vote for you for president!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree. Just for a point reference so we are all on the same page--what in your book qualifies as middle class? It seems like peoples definition of middle class runs the gamut especially in DC.

In NW DC, Middle class is : college educated , earning between 75 K and 300K a year ( oro slightly less than 75 K if you are a teacher or gov't employee .

I'm a college educated teacher (with a Master's) who makes more than slightly less ($60K). Do I qualify as middle class? If so, what in God's name do I have in common with people who make $300K?

I was wondering the same thing. I am married to a teacher who is in the exact same position as you education wise and salary wise. I am a government attorney so our HHI is close to $175K. His coworkers (who don't know what I do for a living) constantly question how he can afford to live where we do (which is not some rich fancy area) or how he can afford to drive the car he does (a 2005 car with 200,000 miles). When he tells me this I seriously wonder how a single teacher or even two married teachers are living a so called middle class lifestyle? Sorry, but $75K a year is NOT middle class. I do consider my husband and I to be middle class, but given our student loans (over $300K) we are teetering on the lower middle class side. The only thing I have in commone with someone who makes $300K is that my student loan bill is that high. LOL

That being said, as you commented in your most recent post we too are committed to sending our DC to private school even if that means working a second job to make it happen.

Why are you so committed to sending your kid to private? Does your husband teach in a private school?

Anonymous wrote:Sorry for all the typos. It's that time of day! Good luck with the whole process and you are right to go with your gut whichever school that may lead you too. There were some schools that everybody loves, like Sidwell, that after touring I knew would not be the right fit and didn't apply to. To each their own.