Would you date a binman?

[TrishM80]

Inspired by another thread about being a binman as a career.

You meet a guy on a night out or OLD. Seems nice enough and nice looking, all good. Tells you he's a binman.

YABU - immediate turn off
YANBU - give him a chance

i don't think i belong here my husband works fixing pumps from the sewer (so pumps clogged with shit people have flushed down the toilet) etc and my son wants to be a bin man

One thing that has come up a couple of time upthread is assuming that people in 'jobs' rather than 'careers' lack ambition.

No doubt some do, but every single bin man I've known has had a really fulfilling life and loads of interests outside work.

They really enjoy their job, and leave any worry about it at work at the end of their (early finishing) day, and put their passion and effort into other things.

That's much more attractive, interesting, and imaginative than a desire to climb a career ladder and no time or headspace for anything else.

@KittytheHare

As long as he had cor blimey trousers I wouldn't mind.

Made me laugh out loud!

@Kendoddsdadsdogsdadsdead

Binman yes. Tory no.

This!

I'd rather date a bin man than an investment banker

Why?

@forinborin

I don't think we will have much in common, to be honest, to have a relationship.

do you not have bins? Do you think binmen can't be interesting and well-read and cultured people? You're ridiculous

I laughed at drawing the line at ”outreach coordinator” on page 1.

Nothing wrong with a man who's actually hard working and probably fairly healthy, i.e. most bin men.

I'd be far more put off by a lazy bloke too bone idle to get off his backside.

As long as his personal hygiene/cleanliness is OK, i.e. daily showers when he gets in, etc., that's fine with me. Obviously if he was always smelly/dirty, that's a real put off.

Well if it's the guy that has not picked up my garden waste bin for 2 weeks as it's too heavy 🤣🤣 then no I wouldn't

Am I the only person on here who genuinely doesn’t care who my daughter dates/marries (if anyone!) as long as he/she is kind, considerate, loves her & has a job? And couldn’t give a shit what that job is?

I find the middle class angst so odd. What’s the point in getting a ‘respectable’ well-paid but stressful job, only to bring your kids up to want the same thing? And their kids to want the same thing, and so on. At what point does somebody break free from this ‘keeping up appearances’ cycle & actually live their life for fun, pleasure and relaxation?

Well, bin men certainly contribute more to the everyday functioning of society and to human happiness than many of us. So yes.

My son wants to be either a bin man or an archaeologist when he grows up. Of the two I prefer bin man as he will have a steady stream of income, job security and a council pension scheme with the extra burden of no huge uni debt. He can still pursue his passion for history/digging stuff up in his spare time.

His job wouldn't be what mattered, so long as he has one and can pay his way.
I would need him to be intelligent, intellectually stimulating and funny. If he's those things, then sure.

@Gearedtoyou

Is it just me who's come over all uncessesary at the thought of a nice bin man?

Nope, it's not just you 😳🤣

Probably not because he wouldn’t earn enough money to contribute to our lives together

My son wants to be either a bin man or an archaeologist when he grows up.

Maybe he meant archieologist, a student of minor British royalty.

I mean there's nothing wrong with being a bin man, if you really met the man of your dreams and it turns out he was a bin man would it really put you off?? They are really hardworking and usually very friendly.
I think I'd choose a bin man over a fishmonger any day... 🤢

do you not have bins? Do you think binmen can't be interesting and well-read and cultured people? You're ridiculous
But nowhere in my post I said that I considered binmen uninteresting, poorly read or uncultured. I am quite boring and uncultured myself. Just that we are unlikely to have much in common. Well yes, bins I guess are a common ground, that's a fair point.

My old binman was certainly well read and intelligent, minceandonions.
I was having building work done, and my bin was in a different place every week, depending on where the builder was dumping supplies or digging foundations.
I jokingly said to the bin guy "Guess where we've hidden it this week!"
He promptly quoted the King James bible
"Seek, and ye shall find!"
That destroyed any unconscious bias I might have held about binmen's level of education, I must say. And I think they do as much for public health as any doctor, in their vital role.

@DillonPanthersTexas

This is Mumsnet where most posters seem to be graduate chartered professionals on six figure salaries with partners on even more. Like champagne socialists opining at dinner parties on the plight of the poor they would not actually like to have any such folk as neighbours. I imagine for the middle class types here there is some similar virtue signalling going on with regards to dating a binman.

Yep. Not having career progression opportunities is a huge turn off for me. I wouldn’t mind if he had a side hustle etc but if he was a bin man because he couldn’t find anything else then nope

@forinborin

I don't think we will have much in common, to be honest, to have a relationship.

Do you think bin men only talk about or have any knowledge of bins? Do you only talk and know about your job?

I think you’d bore my bin men to tears.

@Kendoddsdadsdogsdadsdead

Binman yes. Tory no.

Spot on!

Would he date you??
A job is finance. Whatever it is. Finance is important. The end!

First I'd have to check whether his singing is awful and he likes to sing a lot. But that is just a hang-up from the binmen at my old house!

I think you’d bore my bin men to tears.
But then it's a win-win that I am not prepared to consider a relationship with them.