Middle class life

[Blueandsilver]

Not one of those goady or provocative titles. I suppose I see Mumsnet in this bracket although perhaps less so than maybe ten years ago.

I’m just thinking things like Downton Abbey, John Lewis, national trust memberships, NCT classes, Volvos, Labradors.

What else?

so is using the word 'yore' MC?

@ComtesseDeSpair

Well some middle class people do claim they can't afford essentials.

That 3rd skiing trip is a must!

Wow.

I just want to move to Shoreditch

HMSSophia nice list, sounds like good old fashioned aspiration working class values.

OhTheLeetleHandsAndFeetle it can be easily solved by finding somewhere else to post.

if you can’t afford essentials, you’re not middle class.

i thought class wasn't just about money?

I’m not from UK. So i really dont understand classes here. But from what you said. I seems like one.

i drive range rover not volvos,
shopping in john lewis
nct classes when pregnant
lots of wooden toys for my boys
kids do rowing (we live in cambridge so i think its common rowong here)
shopping in waitrose

but i always think we are working class family. Because my husband still need to work if we want to survive in life.

so am i middle class? Whats the difference between working class, middle class and upper class?

On MN, so they say. Hence why the concept of class has become utterly pointless. I suppose it makes people feel better about themselves: hey, struggling to make dinner but speak with a nice accent and enjoy listening to Radio 4. Makes the starvation less painful.

Downton Abbey is a TV program viewable by anyone. What on earth is middle class about that?

Fuck's sake, Labradors middle class!

Yes but only if it drives a volvo

Whats the difference between working class, middle class and upper class?

what i've gauged over the years. The wc may have more money than you but they are chavvy so are below you. The upper c are aristocracy & are so "normal" driving around their 20 yr old car back to their inherited stately home (we gloss over the fact that the ancestors may have done nefarious things to obtain said wealth). The middle class are desperate to not be confused with the wc & identify with the uc, they also go to museums!

I grew up in a council house. I speak with a regional accent considered common. I love football. I am a member of the Labour Party.

I own three properties and my own business. I listen to radio 4 and shop at Waitrose. I’m university educated and read classic novels.

where are you going to pigeonhole me op?

Or...: aspirational, insecure about being seen to do the right thing, espousing popular causes while not really wanting to put their money where their mouth is, being obsessed with their home (and always referring it to as their 'property'), obsessing about other people's childrens' behaviour, concerned about being somehow contaminated by those around them if they live in what they think of as WC areas, using the term 'naice' to describe mainstream pre-approved consumer choices, curtain-twitching, insecure about how other people might perceive them, continually classifying other people (eg as chavs, common, posh), uptight....

a greedy landlord? 😆

I genuinely don't understand what these "class" concepts mean in a modern society. I think you need to let it go.

People like different stuff. Some earn more than others. Some save and others spend. Some have very limited choices due to them not earning much at all. Some people are rich but again many of those you wouldn't know that unless they told you.

This whole idea is so outdated and pointless.

If that was to me @whalleyt you’re miles off. I’m not a landlord.

I hope that this is sarcasm that I have failed to grasp via the screen. On the offchance you're being serious - what are you on about? You know that many working class jobs are just non office jobs? Do you think all plumbers, pub landlords, cafe workers smoke weed and verbally abuse their children?!

My dh is the same as you except he owns many more properties and votes Tory. He's WC and so are you.

@BitOutOfPractice Oh no, that's even worse as you are just hoarding houses 😱

I swear at my kids, but go to museums. I also pop little French bon mots into the convo here and there. It's very charming. Not sure what class I am. Not upper class anyway.

@Buythebag40 I don't think @BitOutOfPractice was genuinely thinking oh no what class am I, she's just trying to show that the markers in the OP are pointless. She can afford a Labrador AND a Volvo, meanwhile poor middle class me can afford no Waitrose and no John Lewis.

See, I really miss it. We are all happiest with people who share our values. I have absolutely no values in common with a lot of the people who now post on here.

This interests me, though. Mainly because I don't understand how you categorise people in this two-dimensional way.

Could you explain what values you perceive to be middle class? The ones you feel help you relate to people? I am genuinely baffled by the idea that values can be subdivided in such a way.

I'm a multi millionaire in rl.

What are you online?

I find it quite hilarious that people get so angry anytime people want to have a conversation about socioeconomic class markers.

Socioeconomics are a demonstrable, researched, documented reality.

"Class" is this far more nubulous concept that people never seem to be able to define except through rather absurd stereotypes. They are not the same thing.

The first evidences many interesting, proven facts and need for changes.

The second probably doesn't exist except in people's prejudices. And the reasons for those prejudices are fascinating, hence my questions.