fancy "friends" with fancy educations that suck... (highest, average, real estate)
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I somehow entered a circle of hell and had to relocate to get out of it. I moved to a very high-end metro area and got involved in the local scene, even befriended a few people. I use the term "friend" loosely because they were more like leaches. I noticed that these kids, were all in their late 20s, early 30s.. they all seemed pretty well off. I wasn't much older.. I'd say I was early 30s as well.
All of them went to Ivy League schools, but after knowing them for a while I noticed a few similarities. They were all sort of just starting their careers in pretty average paying jobs. I'd say they made in the $60-80K range, but by the clothes and cars they drove you would have thought they made a lot more. They worked in industries like fashion, retail or typically a sales type of role.
I suspect when we all became friends, they thought I was one of the fancy folk because of my home and a couple of toys I owned at the time. In my case, I made around $180-200K during that time. While in this circle of friends I never discussed salary and just went with the flow when hanging out. I came from a pretty working class family, finished HS and went into the military as a grunt for 4 years... I then went to a state school, that doesn't have much name recognition, but had a fairly good engineering program; my tuition was about $17K a year, which I paid for with the GI Bill.
Obviously, I no longer associate with these people but I just couldn't figure out the air of superiority these kids walked around with. It was really perplexing to me. I eventually met some regular people, no big name colleges, good careers and pretty down to earth. I suppose the only thing that brought the fancy folks and the regular guys together was over-priced real estate and the convenience of pedestrian friendly nightlife and restaurants.
Is there a term for these fancy educated & luxury car driving kids that have entitlement issues?
I somehow entered a circle of hell and had to relocate to get out of it. I moved to a very high-end metro area and got involved in the local scene, even befriended a few people. I use the term "friend" loosely because they were more like leaches. I noticed that these kids, were all in their late 20s, early 30s.. they all seemed pretty well off. I wasn't much older.. I'd say I was early 30s as well.
All of them went to Ivy League schools, but after knowing them for a while I noticed a few similarities. They were all sort of just starting their careers in pretty average paying jobs. I'd say they made in the $60-80K range, but by the clothes and cars they drove you would have thought they made a lot more. They worked in industries like fashion, retail or typically a sales type of role.
I suspect when we all became friends, they thought I was one of the fancy folk because of my home and a couple of toys I owned at the time. In my case, I made around $180-200K during that time. While in this circle of friends I never discussed salary and just went with the flow when hanging out. I came from a pretty working class family, finished HS and went into the military as a grunt for 4 years... I then went to a state school, that doesn't have much name recognition, but had a fairly good engineering program; my tuition was about $17K a year, which I paid for with the GI Bill.
Obviously, I no longer associate with these people but I just couldn't figure out the air of superiority these kids walked around with. It was really perplexing to me. I eventually met some regular people, no big name colleges, good careers and pretty down to earth. I suppose the only thing that brought the fancy folks and the regular guys together was over-priced real estate and the convenience of pedestrian friendly nightlife and restaurants.
Is there a term for these fancy educated & luxury car driving kids that have entitlement issues?
Neiman Marcus Haute Mess. See haute couture. Proper pronunciation is critical:
They may have come from a family of means, and their parents and/or grandparents may make sure they live the life style they have become accustomed to. I think pretentious douche bag is a good descriptor.
So you didn't like them because they had nicer cars and clothes than you thought they should? OK then.
I originally read the op's comments differently. I see your position. I've dealt with people who are jealous because you have nicer things than them and they don't think you had to work for what you have. It''s not fun. Those are the people who will try to take you down a peg or two because since they don't have it they think you shouldn't either. (I'm not saying the OP is like that.)
We are all born into different situations. It's possible these other people were raised with that style of living and are representing what they know. Their life challenge is not raising themselves up to that standard of living, but instead figuring out how to maintain that standard. Each generation gets different life challenges.
I think the OP made a good decision in leaving. He didn't share the same goals as these other people. He was able to find people who did share more of his goals.
Intelligent is the right term. They have left money behind knowing it is just a means to an end. So they don't *worry* about it. If they find they can't buy food they'll *address the problem*. It sounds backwards but in today's world is there much left that doesn't?
So you didn't like them because they had nicer cars and clothes than you thought they should? OK then.
"In Rob Horning's April 2009 article "The Death of the Hipster" in PopMatters, he states that the hipster might be the "embodiment of postmodernism as a spent force, revealing what happens when pastiche and irony exhaust themselves as aesthetics."
Should is an implied demand, that's you. IMO, it's not a matter of like or not but about smarts. In life it's who owns your time that counts. If I were the OP I wouldn't concern myself with anything other than living way below my means and banking/investing a hundred K a year. At 35 he could retire, own his own time, and do as he pleases.
We fall to this earth with an allotted number of trips around the sun. Most people spend them in some sort of slavery, be it Wall Street, Desolation Row, or their vices. I say be a deliberate free man . . .but that's just me.
I ought (moral imperative) to conclude this with a suggestion. One of my old students phoned me years ago
suggesting I watch the 1994 movie "Wyatt Earp." There is a vivid description of a "deliberate" as opposed to the "affable" man. You can be affable when you elect but you can't be deliberate without some sort of training. . .some have more talent for this than others.
I don't know about snob but it is obvious all the work values I grew up with no longer exist.
I remember the late 50's (yeah, I am that old) and early 60's when the very highest thing a man could aspire to be was a scientist or engineer and if you were involved in the space program you were at the top of the heap.
In 1961 if you had asked most any of us if we wanted to be a billionaire or scientist/astronaut nearly all of us would have jumped at being a scientist/astronaut.
While money was important back then I do not remember it being the main driving force to the extent it appears to be today.
Maybe I am wrong but today it appears to be more about the money and flash that goes with it.
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