The BlueSwan Basement of Absurd & Ignorant Posts VIII

[LimoLiberal]

I am option 5 [250k-500k USD annual household income] but it doesn't get our family very far in NoVA.

[non-absurdity]

I never said we live paycheck to paycheck. We don't. But we don't have the classic hallmarks of wealth. We have one car, our house is small and was bought in the 90s for not a lot of money but has sextupled in price since. To be clear, I've had the privilege of never experiencing money issues, and if there was something I really wanted my parents would pay for it. But we're not stereotypically rich and I attribute that to the high cost-of-living where I live.

Arlington, VA is #8 on the list of 20 most expensive US cities to live in.

https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/real-estate/T006-S001-most-expensive-u-s-cities-to-live-in-2019/index.html

Not quite sure why Atlas is so resistant to believe a high cost-of-living can alter how far money goes.

[LimoLiberal]

I am option 5 [250k-500k USD annual household income] but it doesn't get our family very far in NoVA.

[non-absurdity]

I never said we live paycheck to paycheck. We don't. But we don't have the classic hallmarks of wealth. We have one car, our house is small and was bought in the 90s for not a lot of money but has sextupled in price since. To be clear, I've had the privilege of never experiencing money issues, and if there was something I really wanted my parents would pay for it. But we're not stereotypically rich and I attribute that to the high cost-of-living where I live.

Arlington, VA is #8 on the list of 20 most expensive US cities to live in.

https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/real-estate/T006-S001-most-expensive-u-s-cities-to-live-in-2019/index.html

Not quite sure why Atlas is so resistant to believe a high cost-of-living can alter how far money goes.

The point is that what you view as not such a glamorous life is still massively out of touch with the average person. (I admit I struggle with this myself) Most people's lives suck. Being able to go to Whole Foods without worrying about the bill, regularly going out for dinner and drinks at decent places, being able to travel to visit a friend or family if you need to - these are relatively mundane, but out of the reach of most people.

We live in a culture where flaunting privilege is accepted, and even applauded, but at least try to have some self-awareness of your station in life.

I do have self-awareness. I literally said, "I've had the privilege of never experiencing money issues".

I guess it's frustrating to be portrayed as an out-of-touch ignoramus for simply suggesting that my family's income doesn't go as far as some might think because of cost-of-living. Because that's all that I was saying.

[LimoLiberal]

I am option 5 [250k-500k USD annual household income] but it doesn't get our family very far in NoVA.

[non-absurdity]

I never said we live paycheck to paycheck. We don't. But we don't have the classic hallmarks of wealth. We have one car, our house is small and was bought in the 90s for not a lot of money but has sextupled in price since. To be clear, I've had the privilege of never experiencing money issues, and if there was something I really wanted my parents would pay for it. But we're not stereotypically rich and I attribute that to the high cost-of-living where I live.

Arlington, VA is #8 on the list of 20 most expensive US cities to live in.

https://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/real-estate/T006-S001-most-expensive-u-s-cities-to-live-in-2019/index.html

Not quite sure why Atlas is so resistant to believe a high cost-of-living can alter how far money goes.

The point is that what you view as not such a glamorous life is still massively out of touch with the average person. (I admit I struggle with this myself) Most people's lives suck. Being able to go to Whole Foods without worrying about the bill, regularly going out for dinner and drinks at decent places, being able to travel to visit a friend or family if you need to - these are relatively mundane, but out of the reach of most people.

We live in a culture where flaunting privilege is accepted, and even applauded, but at least try to have some self-awareness of your station in life.

I do have self-awareness. I literally said, "I've had the privilege of never experiencing money issues".

I guess it's frustrating to be portrayed as an out-of-touch ignoramus for simply suggesting that my family's income doesn't go as far as some might think because of cost-of-living. Because that's all that I was saying.

“Not going as far as some people think” is much different than what you originally wrote

How?

[LimoLiberal]

You said it doesn’t get your family very far. That’s very different from what people’s perception of that kind of wealth is.

I think you're misinterpreting what I mean by "very far". I don't mean that the money my family makes is equivalent to what the average American brings in. By "very far" all I mean is that we aren't in that upper level of society that people associate with wealth. We don't have the trademark symbols of money ingrained into the American consciousness. Fancy cars, big houses, lavish vacations, cool gadgets, pools, designer clothes. And that is partly a result of where we live diluting the reach of our income. And you can say that the cost-of-living penalty is recouped by the societal benefits of living in one area versus another, but I would call most of you hypocrites because I've seen multiple threads calling Northern Virginia the most soulless and sad place on Earth, which I would mostly agree with.