2.5 Million Families on £100k/year Don't Feel Rich

PasturesNew

pie81 wrote: »

Frankly everyone in Britain is "rich" compared with 80% (if not more) of the rest of the world.

Well, I feel lucky I live here and have what I have. I feel "rich" in that way, but I do find UK society seems to spend 100% of its time trying to make me feel financially inadequate. My struggle is between feeling I'm doing fine ... and the pressure of others based on what they think I must have, just because they do.

Most "conversation" with people seems to be a list of them telling you what they've bought/got and where they're going off on holiday! ... in a smug way

olly300

PasturesNew wrote: »

I didn't mean exclusive events. I mean just a "nice pub" rather than a Wetherspoons on special offer night.

I've actually no idea where wealthy people do hang out... golf clubs? at each others' houses at dinner parties?

Wealthy people hang out everywhere hence there are some on this board.

BTW PN if you like drinking things like real Cider and real Ale there are plenty of little pubs around that sell those particular drinks as cheap as Wetherspoons. They however have to charge more for well known branded drinks and the rest of the money they make up on food.

PasturesNew

olly300 wrote: »

Wealthy people hang out everywhere hence there are some on this board.

BTW PN if you like drinking things like real Cider and real Ale there are plenty of little pubs around that sell those particular drinks as cheap as Wetherspoons. They however have to charge more for well known branded drinks and the rest of the money they make up on food.

I am not really a drinker - and if you try to drink in a pub on your own it's not an enjoyable experience mostly ... so I don't bother more than 3-4x a year when I do manage to find some random people to drink with ... it's usually a Wetherspoons because that's where they're going, so I tag along.

One SNIFF of a cider and I'm giggly. 1" into a half and I'm already talking utter sh1te.

olly300

PasturesNew wrote: »

Most "conversation" with people seems to be a list of them telling you what they've bought/got and where they're going off on holiday! ... in a smug way

You need to met people with interests in other things.

Most of my friends and family talk about the sport or other activity they are heavily involved in. They tend to hate shopping. A few of them can only do their activity i.e. skiing if they go aboard, but they don't gloat about it because all they see when they go aboard is a ski slope.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

Well, I feel lucky I live here and have what I have. I feel "rich" in that way, but I do find UK society seems to spend 100% of its time trying to make me feel financially inadequate. My struggle is between feeling I'm doing fine ... and the pressure of others based on what they think I must have, just because they do.

Most "conversation" with people seems to be a list of them telling you what they've bought/got and where they're going off on holiday! ... in a smug way

Now this is very true. I think in many ways, depsite a wealth of resources available to us, we are a culturally and increasingly intellectually poor nation. My dad and I were chating about the differences in things like costs now and in his dy for concerts and theatres and stuff. He was arguing that H&S have pushed prices up for the consumer, which I countered with the ten pound royal opera house seats. I like the theatre very much, but it gets quite hard to get excited about whats on in theatreland often, SO many musicals, and longrunning things one has seen....and some other stuff. Last thing I went to that ''excited me'' culturally was actually quite boring play but it was exciting to see something different. It was also a long time ago...four years?

olly300

PasturesNew wrote: »

I am not really a drinker - and if you try to drink in a pub on your own it's not an enjoyable experience mostly ... so I don't bother more than 3-4x a year when I do manage to find some random people to drink with ... it's usually a Wetherspoons because that's where they're going, so I tag along.

One SNIFF of a cider and I'm giggly. 1" into a half and I'm already talking utter sh1te.

That's good then you can drink tap water or squash in the pub to save money but still be sociable.

PasturesNew

lostinrates wrote: »

It was also a long time ago...four years?

I have only ever been once. About 20 years ago, somebody took about 6 of us to a show as a treat. Miss Saigon it was. Hell of a long journey, there/back on the same day too. Apart from that I've never been to a theatre, or a pantomime. I don't really fancy them either. I think theatres etc outside of London are completely different affairs... I was brought up in the countryside and have usually lived rurally. Any local theatre groups would have had a dull production running for a few nights twice a year probably.

I think more people go to more things these days - but it could be because I'm mixing with posher people online than I ever did in real life. In real life I just mixed with ... the underclasses, until I stopped doing that as I had nothing in common with them except they just hung out on walls/street corners for free.

PasturesNew

olly300 wrote: »

That's good then you can drink tap water or squash in the pub to save money but still be sociable.

I did used to have orange squash/soda water and lime/soda water. Some pubs would charge just 30p for that, but some would actually charge the same for that as they would for a coke or cider.

lostinrates

olly300 wrote: »

That's good then you can drink tap water or squash in the pub to save money but still be sociable.

Yup. like me.

lostinrates

PasturesNew wrote: »

I did used to have orange squash/soda water and lime/soda water. Some pubs would charge just 30p for that, but some would actually charge the same for that as they would for a coke or cider.

OK, but that wasn;t the rpimary issue...cider makes you squiffy, so pay the same for something non suiffy and sit in the nice pub. Someone to go with might be (and I think thats a female issue more than a social status one, I wouldn't want to go alone either.)