As someone who lifted myself out of childhood poverty by my bootstraps, a few observations... 1. Role model availability plays a huge part in what kids think t

As someone who lifted myself out of childhood poverty by my bootstraps, a few observations... 1. Role model availability plays a huge part in what kids think they can be. I didn't have good role models when I grew up. Except for teachers and doctors I encountered, I rarely met educated middle-class adults, and even more rarely met upper class. I think this is a big aspect of the neighborhood thing... what kinds of people live in that neighborhood? What is the social life of the parents? 2. Tribalism goes both ways. The poor distrust the middle class as much as the middle class distrusts the poor. A great deal of the business transactions the poor experience are exploitation, businesses that take advantage of the weakness of the poor, either by force (this is the only deal you'll get), or by ignorance (trust me, you'll do great!). So the benefits of living in a better neighborhood are that there are better adult examples for children, and there are professional services that have to provide to more sophisticated and strong middle-class customers as well as the poor.