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Tangently, being poor in a wealthy area is far different than being poor in a poor area. An example being "cast offs". In my early 20s, I moved from a poorer

by b112 2y ago

Tangently, being poor in a wealthy area is far different than being poor in a poor area. An example being "cast offs". In my early 20s, I moved from a poorer rural area, to a well to do city suburb. Walking to various places, I noticed things cast aside that would never, ever be thrown away in the area I grew up in. Examples being: * an expensive propane bbq, with damage to one of the hoses. A $10 repair and I had a bbq worth hundreds. (Even looked brand new) * A set of cutlery, and plates. One of 8 plates had a crack. The cutlery was missing one fork out of a set of 8. (For a young man eating off of one plate, this was a big bonus) * a coat rack, mild discolouration (10 cents in paint out of a spray can to fix) Anyhow, you get the point. Very usable items cast off, and I would never have found this treasure trove in a poor neighbourhood. Just being surrounded by a society of greater wealth, means better access generally.

wyclif 2y ago
I take your point. I was at a very preppy east coast school whose name you've definitely heard of. One day I was walking past a high-end apartment complex where I knew a lot of sorority girls lived. There was one of those expensive chrome-plated Kirby vacuums in a trash dumpster. I took a closer look and it appeared to be brand new. I pulled it out of the dumpster and carried it down the street to my much more modest apartment complex and plugged it in out on the terrace. Turns out the only thing wrong was the dust bag was full. I had some extra bags, so it didn't cost me anything to get one of the best vacuums money can buy almost brand new. I couldn't believe someone had pitched it in the bin just because the bag was full. But apparently wealthy people do stuff like that all the time.
indemnity 2y ago
Not having to be scanning for threats 24/7 also frees up mental bandwidth for more productive activities. We moved from a dangerous inner city suburb where that was the case, to the edges of an affluent enclave as a kid, and my grades improving and extra curricular activities like getting good at computers and getting a holiday job which kickstarted my tech career, all followed that move.

by b112 2y ago

wyclif 2y ago

I take your point. I was at a very preppy east coast school whose name you've definitely heard of. One day I was walking past a high-end apartment complex where I knew a lot of sorority girls lived. There was one of those expensive chrome-plated Kirby vacuums in a trash dumpster. I took a closer look and it appeared to be brand new. I pulled it out of the dumpster and carried it down the street to my much more modest apartment complex and plugged it in out on the terrace. Turns out the only thing wrong was the dust bag was full. I had some extra bags, so it didn't cost me anything to get one of the best vacuums money can buy almost brand new. I couldn't believe someone had pitched it in the bin just because the bag was full. But apparently wealthy people do stuff like that all the time.

indemnity 2y ago

Not having to be scanning for threats 24/7 also frees up mental bandwidth for more productive activities. We moved from a dangerous inner city suburb where that was the case, to the edges of an affluent enclave as a kid, and my grades improving and extra curricular activities like getting good at computers and getting a holiday job which kickstarted my tech career, all followed that move.