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The upper middle class don’t need to use public transport and have no issues paying for childcare. It’s like you’ve commented on the wrong article or something

by avazhi 6mo ago

The upper middle class don’t need to use public transport and have no issues paying for childcare. It’s like you’ve commented on the wrong article or something. This article was talking about marginal costs and benefits.

threetonesun 6mo ago
I'm not sure you understand who the upper middle class are.
- avazhi 6mo ago
  Household incomes exceed $100,000 (equivalent to $164,849 in 2025).[5] Professions for this class may include: judges, senior military officers, financial planners, engineers, professors, architects, airline pilots, and businessmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_Unit...
  - nose 6mo ago
    How do they pickup their kids towards the end of the workday? Commute times are a real factor in deciding where to live, and which schools to pick. In the Bay Area, the only real solution is living closer to work, which requires over bidding & selecting private schools if they picked the wrong area.
    - avazhi 6mo ago
      Why are you using the metropolis with the highest cost of living in the US as some kind of benchmark? SF is an extreme outlier. Why do you keep mentioning it? Almost everybody who is upper middle class in the US doesn’t live in San Fransisco, so find a better comparator.
  - threetonesun 6mo ago
    Sure, now map that income to transit usage in any major American city that actually has public transit. Also $160k household can be very different in terms of childcare costs depending on how many people in that household are working, and is an actual problem for double income families with young kids in HCOL areas.
- lief79 6mo ago
  That's a very common problem, it's not a well defined and clearly visible definition.
swiftcoder 6mo ago
> The upper middle class don’t need to use public transport Their kids still ride the school busses. Upper-middle class aren't in a position to hire a limo and driver to take the kids to school. > and have no issues paying for childcare Typically because both parents are working high pressure jobs, which makes childcare a mandatory expense, not a luxury.
- avazhi 6mo ago
  Plenty of those in the upper middle class can just drive their kids to school. Some of them are taking a bus, sure, but not most. You and some of these other responders are clearly conflating the middle class and the UPPER middle class. The upper middle class made >$160k in 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_Unit...
  - swiftcoder 6mo ago
    > The upper middle class made >$160k in 2025 I was figuring upper middle class was around 2x that (250-400k) in desirable areas like the Bay Area/Seattle/NYC. Which after mortgage/rent, car payments, school fees... still isn't private-limo or even stay-at-home-parent money
    - avazhi 6mo ago
      > I was figuring upper middle class was around 2x that (250-400k) in desirable areas like the Bay Area/Seattle/NYC. Which after mortgage/rent, car payments, school fees... still isn't private-limo or even stay-at-home-parent money Nobody said anybody is taking a limo, I have no clue where this straw man obsession of yours even came from. Depending on which part of the country you’re in, 160k absolutely is stay at home money for the (most likely) wife, who would also be picking up the kid(s). Sure, that isn’t upper middle class money in San Francisco or NYC, but it was surely obvious nobody was saying it was in this context lol. Legit this thing with you and limos is so weird. You realise limos basically don’t even exist anymore except as a gag for high school proms, right?
jrumbut 6mo ago
> have no issues paying for childcare I guess this depends what you mean by issue. One can pay for it but eventually (especially for multiple children) it crowds out other things. The price forces a consideration of marginal costs and benefits instead of being able to think about it in terms like "my child would be happier here" or "I value education in classics/fine arts/religion/whatever else a private school teaches for non-financial reasons."
footy 6mo ago
I consider myself upper middle class and I ride the bus. I'd rather ride my bike but sometimes I ride the bus.
hirvi74 6mo ago
I am not sure where I am on the stack, but I make more than most families in my area and I heavily rely on public transport. It's also why I can afford to a lot of things others cannot -- I am not sinking money into a car payment, car insurance, gas, etc. every month.
LPisGood 6mo ago
I’ve heard it said that a country is wealthy not when the poor have cars but when the rich use public transportation.
- Synthetic7346 6mo ago
  Couldn't the country be poor with exorbitantly expensive parking?
  - alterom 6mo ago
    In short: no, not to the extent that it'd make rich people use public transportation. Their personal driver can pick them up if needs be.
surajrmal 6mo ago
It's absurd to say the upper middle class doesn't use public transportation. Of course they do. My commute is $8 each way on public transportation and would be significantly worse or more expensive if I drove (traffic) or used Uber. I could afford to live closer to work, but I wouldn't have nearly a nice home or sense of safety for my family. Childcare also is still a major consideration when deciding how many children to have. No one wants to earn upper middle class wages and still end up living paycheck to paycheck.
- Synthetic7346 6mo ago
  I also take public transportation into work because parking is expensive and work pays for a commuter card. But for literally everything else I have to drive, even to get to public transportation. It does feel like a upper middle class privilege. If I were poorer I'd be renting close to work to save
- swiftcoder 6mo ago
  > It's absurd to say the upper middle class doesn't use public transportation. Of course they do. This is maybe only a thing in the handful of US cities with a well-developed subway/tram system? I've not seen many upper middle class folks taking the bus in other US cities

by avazhi 6mo ago

threetonesun 6mo ago

I'm not sure you understand who the upper middle class are.

avazhi 6mo ago
Household incomes exceed $100,000 (equivalent to $164,849 in 2025).[5] Professions for this class may include: judges, senior military officers, financial planners, engineers, professors, architects, airline pilots, and businessmen. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_Unit...
- nose 6mo ago
  How do they pickup their kids towards the end of the workday? Commute times are a real factor in deciding where to live, and which schools to pick. In the Bay Area, the only real solution is living closer to work, which requires over bidding & selecting private schools if they picked the wrong area.
  - avazhi 6mo ago
    Why are you using the metropolis with the highest cost of living in the US as some kind of benchmark? SF is an extreme outlier. Why do you keep mentioning it? Almost everybody who is upper middle class in the US doesn’t live in San Fransisco, so find a better comparator.
- threetonesun 6mo ago
  Sure, now map that income to transit usage in any major American city that actually has public transit. Also $160k household can be very different in terms of childcare costs depending on how many people in that household are working, and is an actual problem for double income families with young kids in HCOL areas.
lief79 6mo ago
That's a very common problem, it's not a well defined and clearly visible definition.

swiftcoder 6mo ago

> The upper middle class don’t need to use public transport Their kids still ride the school busses. Upper-middle class aren't in a position to hire a limo and driver to take the kids to school. > and have no issues paying for childcare Typically because both parents are working high pressure jobs, which makes childcare a mandatory expense, not a luxury.

avazhi 6mo ago
Plenty of those in the upper middle class can just drive their kids to school. Some of them are taking a bus, sure, but not most. You and some of these other responders are clearly conflating the middle class and the UPPER middle class. The upper middle class made >$160k in 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_middle_class_in_the_Unit...
- swiftcoder 6mo ago
  > The upper middle class made >$160k in 2025 I was figuring upper middle class was around 2x that (250-400k) in desirable areas like the Bay Area/Seattle/NYC. Which after mortgage/rent, car payments, school fees... still isn't private-limo or even stay-at-home-parent money
  - avazhi 6mo ago
    > I was figuring upper middle class was around 2x that (250-400k) in desirable areas like the Bay Area/Seattle/NYC. Which after mortgage/rent, car payments, school fees... still isn't private-limo or even stay-at-home-parent money Nobody said anybody is taking a limo, I have no clue where this straw man obsession of yours even came from. Depending on which part of the country you’re in, 160k absolutely is stay at home money for the (most likely) wife, who would also be picking up the kid(s). Sure, that isn’t upper middle class money in San Francisco or NYC, but it was surely obvious nobody was saying it was in this context lol. Legit this thing with you and limos is so weird. You realise limos basically don’t even exist anymore except as a gag for high school proms, right?

jrumbut 6mo ago

> have no issues paying for childcare I guess this depends what you mean by issue. One can pay for it but eventually (especially for multiple children) it crowds out other things. The price forces a consideration of marginal costs and benefits instead of being able to think about it in terms like "my child would be happier here" or "I value education in classics/fine arts/religion/whatever else a private school teaches for non-financial reasons."

footy 6mo ago

I consider myself upper middle class and I ride the bus. I'd rather ride my bike but sometimes I ride the bus.

hirvi74 6mo ago

I am not sure where I am on the stack, but I make more than most families in my area and I heavily rely on public transport. It's also why I can afford to a lot of things others cannot -- I am not sinking money into a car payment, car insurance, gas, etc. every month.

LPisGood 6mo ago

I’ve heard it said that a country is wealthy not when the poor have cars but when the rich use public transportation.

Synthetic7346 6mo ago
Couldn't the country be poor with exorbitantly expensive parking?
- alterom 6mo ago
  In short: no, not to the extent that it'd make rich people use public transportation. Their personal driver can pick them up if needs be.

surajrmal 6mo ago

It's absurd to say the upper middle class doesn't use public transportation. Of course they do. My commute is $8 each way on public transportation and would be significantly worse or more expensive if I drove (traffic) or used Uber. I could afford to live closer to work, but I wouldn't have nearly a nice home or sense of safety for my family. Childcare also is still a major consideration when deciding how many children to have. No one wants to earn upper middle class wages and still end up living paycheck to paycheck.

Synthetic7346 6mo ago
I also take public transportation into work because parking is expensive and work pays for a commuter card. But for literally everything else I have to drive, even to get to public transportation. It does feel like a upper middle class privilege. If I were poorer I'd be renting close to work to save
swiftcoder 6mo ago
> It's absurd to say the upper middle class doesn't use public transportation. Of course they do. This is maybe only a thing in the handful of US cities with a well-developed subway/tram system? I've not seen many upper middle class folks taking the bus in other US cities