Why do middle class people have busier social lives?

[swimmingpoolshower]

Feel I may get flamed here but...
I'm WC, maybe a bit MC cos I went to uni. I am also a part time cleaner for MC families and have lots of MC friends. Why do MC people always have so much going on?

Is it money to be able to do things?
Boredom of doing the same things?
Letting off steam from stressful jobs?

No judgement at all but every weekend is house warming, birthday meals, theatre, trips to museums, and that's when you're not 'away for the weekend.' Centre parcs, Rome, Cotswolds, Air BnB in the city. It's January, everywhere is going to be cold.

I think I'm a bit jealous tbh.

The main difference between the classes isn't monetary poverty, it's intellectual poverty. That is, curiosity.

Haven't rtft but my mum commented on this when my 1st child was very young and they visited for the weekend.
They said how busy all the parks/aquadrome/lido were here compared to my hometown which has relatively high deprivation/unemployment.

She thought it was down to 2 working parents, children in childcare all week etc due to house/rent prices rather than specifically a class thing. Her parks are busier midweek.
I don't think it's exclusively money because there are so many free activities/places but the focus on "experiences" & "making memories". In the case of my 2 spending every weekend swimming/at the park etc has made them terrible at actually playing with toys.
I'm actively trying to do less now, but it's a difficult habit to break.

What makes you 'middle class' education wise. I have a Law degree and a Masters in Law. I am very working class.

I agree about intellectual poverty vs curiosity. I also think being intellectually curious can involve going out in lots of forms which reflects different personality type as well as class.

All this ‘doing stuff’ doesn’t have to be loud or involve lots of people - the intellectually curious mc can be introverts who like to go to quieter things or those without so many people. They might be reading huge amounts at home or going to places that are less busy and might be doing the things alone or in smaller groups. The extroverts might revel in expanding their minds in crowds and groups or being with others ....more the stereotypical mc charging round loudly from activity to activity and seeing hoardes of friends.

The wc might be more likely to enjoy less mentally stimulating leisure - gross generalisations of course. But shopping, watching TV, going to the same pub every Fri night.....all perfectly sociable but not challenging. And perhaps new or tricky things are seen as a pain and to be avoided rather than stimulating.

It’s interesting when one thinks of one’s own children - my DS has lots of opportunities to try things and I hope he develops a curious mind, but actually he just doesn’t really seem to have it for himself yet and isn’t intellectually curious despite being quite clever. Will my mc efforts to expose him to stuff and the fact DH and myself are up for trying new things make him curious as an adult or is it inbuilt - nature vs nurture? Class vs nature? Interesting.

@marble11

What makes you think you're WC?

As for a 'middle class' education...nowadays I'd define it as private school, grammar school (not so much in the past but nowadays as so few grammar schools, it's the preserve of those who can afford tutoring mainly), a decent state school but with additional private tutoring and attending a 'good' university to do a degree in a traditional or 'real' subject.

marble11 Middle class people are typically more liberal and woke than WC people. MCs are slightly more detached from reality than WCs in a way that having more money and a more secure existence they don’t have to worry about unemployment, street crime, sliding into debt and all that shit that threaten WCs more on a daily basis.

Who do you think voted for Brexit for instance? I think mainly the WCs.
The MCs are way too safe in their comfortable lives to worry about unwanted immigrants who might take their jobs. They actually want them. They want the cheap labour, the cheap cleaners, the cheap nannies to look after their kids etc..It is easy to love and welcome hordes of immigrants when they don’t pose a thread to your daily existence but actually add to it.
Wc people are typically more street-wise and no-nonsense and they actually see immigrants as competition.

Money, particularly that of women. And a bit of feminism.

Men of all classes get paid more and can go to things like pub-all-dayers and football, which both cost as much as the opera, whereas women have only recently gone out on ladies' occasions, and MC women do it more.

Female friendly venues abound now, whereas traditionally they didn't exist. Women socialised at church, at home and at work (surprise, surprise). Again, the more women earn, the more they go out. And women have always been the cultural guardians of the nation's arts.

@Snowfalling20 — not in my case, I promise. WC, went to Oxford, have a lot of friends who are wealthier than I am, and have often been lent a chalet in the Swiss alps and a house in the south of France.

@Kalifa, if that is really why you voted for Brexit, you’re in for a rude awakening.

It's having the money to do stuff of course. It's not rocket science.

Sleeveen where do get your bullshit from? I am an immigrant myself and can’t vote as I am not a British citizen.

I guess its both money and what you are used to. I would say I grew up middle class, but the lower end of it. We did a lot at the weekend (having a huge family helps) and half it was visiting relatives and half it was doing 'stuff'. Though we'd take our own food if we went to a theme park etc.

Am firmly middle class now, probably have more disposable income than our parents did and am still very busy at the weekends. I wish I was less busy at times. But I do feel a need to 'do things' and make sure my son has access to a wide range of things to do, much like my parents did with me.

Isn’t a lot of it just what’s normal...which when I grew up (very MC) involved going to the local museum with a friend of it was raining, going to the theatre (often local and cheap), going for a walk to a local attraction, my DParents hosted guests and dinner parties endlessly. To me this is just normal. We live a long way from our friends at the moment and I miss having people round so much. The other stuff I continue to do.

Some of the other parents at school were openly shocked that my DM is expecting to take DS1 (7) to a Shakespeare comedy this summer (£10 a head tickets, take a picnic). But unsurprised that DH was taking him to a 40 over cricket match (much more expensive). Different normals.

I’m an immigrant, too, @Kalifa.

You can do a lot very cheap or free esp if you live in a city. Museums, galleries, parks, libraries, free events, the beach if you live near one, going for walks, community centres, having friends over for cheap meals/wine etc. Its not all about money. Not convinced it's a class thing tbh; seems pretty offensive to suggest WC people aren't sociable and/or dont enjoy culture

Obv going away to hotels and spas every wknd is going to involve a fair amount of cash though

I too don't think it's about money (I won't get into the class discussion, I am not a Brit so...)
My husband and I are in our mid-late 40s, good income, children at home but no debt (mortgage just paid off). We'd never spend weekend just around the house, watching Netflix for relaxation. But we don't necessarily spend much money either. We'll take the children for a long walk/hike out of the city or invite friends over for dinner or children invite their friends. We may go to the public pools because we are all keen swimmers, children play their sports, I will do a yoga class. I sit a lot at work so it's good time to move. The extended family has dinner together on Sunday evening. We don't go away overnight often though, I need some time at home to get organised for the week.
It is true that I can afford a cleaner weekly which frees up some time. I also don't care for shopping, could afford more things, newer furniture, new car, but prioritize time, no debt and savings.

I could write you an essay about cultural capital and the social classes, it's the focus of my MA dissertation.,..anyway as you were.

@punknarwhal that sounds fascinating. Any chance I can read it when you're done.

@antipodeansun everything in your post costs money, not loads but some. I took dc's swimming on Tuesday, that was £10 for one adult and two children. Museum in town is free but you have to pay for the bus or parking. That's £5 at least. I can't personally go into town without stopping for a coffee, £8 for coffee, two juices and a cake to share. Yoga is £5 per family at my local place, then I have to pay to park,
Even having friends over is the price of a bottle of wine and something nice for pudding. When you're on the real breadline these things all add up. If I did all those activities every weekend then I'd be skint. That adds up to an extra £1,500 per year that some families just don't have.

@swimmingpoolshowet it's not due until may so if I remember !

Our weekends are typically low-key, filled with dc' s hobbies, homework, walks or cycling, occasionally lunch with family & friends.

In summer we spend many weekends camping with dc and friends. We don't have a whirlwind social life and do not chase after activities at all.

We very rarely attend commercial activities targeted at families with children e.g. visit Santa, Legoland and prefer more independent experiences.

We are mc in terms education, income and probably our home, we have an allotment and the dc have many hobbies but we stay out of most of the hassle and bustle of mc social life. There is a lot of pretentiousness and sharp elbows around us, we prefer to stay away from that.

I could write you an essay about cultural capital and the social classes, it's the focus of my MA dissertation

That does sound interesting. I'm not convinced not liking opera but liking athletics makes me working class (in the usual definition, I take a literal approach and say I'm working class as I need to work to live) as some people would suggest though - it's just different interests.

As for nature/nurture - we have thousands of books, read all the time, read to ds when he was small, he did the summer reading challenge every year. He never reads now - endless xbox games or watching sport are far more entertaining for him.

As for nature/nurture - we have thousands of books, read all the time, read to ds when he was small, he did the summer reading challenge every year. He never reads now - endless xbox games or watching sport are far more entertaining for him.

That, and doing sport, is how I'd describe my sons. They both only read for school nowadays.

Swimming pool, - cycling is a cheaper option

The cynic in me would suggest that some of the socialising among the parents, is as much to do with finding out what other people are up to and boasting about their own achievements , as it is actually enjoying each other’s company.

I have come across this type
School parents we socialise occasionally with spend hours talking about what music grade they're working towards, moaning about tuition fees or private school and how their dc have met someone from the RF who visited their nursery, their dc won the school art competition etc..... I am unable to relate to this sort of excitement as I find it very bourgeois inverted snobbery alert