To think British people aren't thought of as rich anymore

[DeliaSmithsEpicGuitarRiff]

I kind of love this, as the child of someone from a colonised country and different race, but the other half very much British.
I am away somewhere that it is possible to spend a lot of money. There once was a time where being British would mean you received excellent service, no one thought you were poor, no one suspected you would steal or have your card declined.
Now I feel the opposite. That being British makes people assume I'm poor or likely to quibble about prices. Where I am now there are so many tourists from much richer countries such as the Middle East, China and India and we simply do not compete. The sales people look at us with contempt and pity, the poor English woman. It feels like some epic karma for the empire.
Are we likely to continue to decline in standard of living until we are Europe's shabby cousins, you know the ones who had lice and lived off tinned ravioli? And will the proud, Brexiteers even recognise that this our fate?

They were doing that 20 years ago! (Asda price, not primark)

I’m white and English, and I receive good service when I’m abroad. I’m a polite and friendly person, and people react well to that everywhere.

That’s not what you said.

But now she's clarified that.

Don't take the bait this racist and vindictive post is fishing

i think it's a fair point.
Other countries are much richer than us now.

I don’t think you should regard retail workers as stupid, considering the state of your writing.

I think OP is right.
About 15 years ago I was hiking in Russia. We reached a stream and I changed into my crocs to cross it. A couple of my Russian companions laughed at me and said "Ha ha, First world" (in a friendly piss taking way) because I had more than one pair of shoes.
Can't imagine the same scenario now. Their economy is coming on great while we're stagnating.

OP - do you know that the UK is the fifth richest country according to the global wealth data book. Unfortunately we have not redistributed this wealth effectively and so public services and infrastructure are poor. This makes us feel poor.

Not sure about wages. I would have thought we’re mid-point in Europe but possibly still pay a less tax than some countries at that higher end. Our housing costs are also high - especially in London and the SE.

Probably what you’re seeing (if this is true) is greater diversity in high-end shops as more parts of the world have Uber-rich created of the backs of the workforce. Isn’t captalism fabulous!

I’ve been to 60 countries and the only place I’ve experienced what the OP describes was in the South of France years ago.

@IggysPop I think people who live in a rich country can still be poorer than what is expected if the country is run badly. In the UK 30% of children live in poverty, that doesn’t sound like the 5th richest country in the world. In my country that number is 9% and in Finland it’s only 3.7% for example. I think the wealth of a country and the wealth of its inhabitants can vary vastly.

Neither have I, and I’m much-travelled.
Compared with many people in so many countries, anyone from the U.K. who can afford to go there on holiday is by definition rich by comparison.

i guess it depends where you travel and who you mix with. Last year I spent time in Sri Lanka, Thailand and India. There I was definitely rich. I also stayed in Miami, Bermuda and Santorini. Definitely not rich there.

I currently earn around 12k per year, so by MN '6 figure' standards I am poor. I am still in the top 14% of rich people in the world, according to GivingWhatWeCan.org, which adjusts for the cost of living.

This does not surprise me in the least.

@Namechangefordaughterevasion not saying you, but I do wonder about the huge increase in tourism to Asian countries and South America in the context of Brexit and the weak pound. Is it to feel like the big fish again? Is it to feel wealthy amongst those who have less? In the same way that we used to do the grand tour and marvel at the Italian peasants and Bavarian farmers. We don't want to see our poverty; we want to see exotic poverty.

I've not heard about a huge increase in tourism to Asia and South America since Brexit. People have been going to these countries for decades, especially the last 30 years or so.
The idea that people are going since Brexit to feel rich is rather bizarre.

Yeah right, she was just trying to shut down the discussion.

The purpose of the grand tour was to see art, architecture and history, not country bumpkins, who could have been seen back in Britain.

I do wonder why you are so fixated on the British Empire and the activities of the aristocracy on the Grand Tour?

Tinned ravioli and oven chips with ketchup ...😊

Yep and before that shouting lovely jubly like Del Boy.

Britain was once the wealthiest country in the world, due to a variety of factors, but as an inventing nation things took off in the 19th century. Industry replaced agriculture, and like California is the largest and wealthiest innovation centre in the planet today, so too was Birmingham, the West Midlands and the North West at the peak of the Industrial Revolution. So we went from wealth concentration in a family due to successfully prosecuting wars, to inventions and copyrights as a way to protect wealth. The two World Wars changed things a lot, but we have always been a nation of inequality. That will not be overcome ever - one could ask why should a society based on meritocracy be even? It may become fairer, but it will never be even as long as we pursue growth.

I work in the finance sector and I can say the average person has no idea how much wealth there is in this country. I could point to various average looking homes and say “that person has £12m invested”, or £40m, £100m sometimes. People don’t always flaunt, private people just go about their business getting what they need when they need it. It’s a British trait and a European one too.

I don't think that shop assistants in Chanel or YSL typically say lovely jubbly, or lure people in on the promise of Primark prices.

Edited because autocorrect really didn't like jubbly.

@Pollyanna87 if you read any of the accounts of the time, it was clear that the country bumpkins of Tuscany, Bavaria, Toulouse were very much part of the experience for Brits abroad in the 18th Century. Meeting them, marvelling at their happiness in relative simplicity, shagging them (if you were Bryon).

I don’t agree. Russia should be in the top two wealthiest country in the world given the vast natural resources at its disposal, but it’s policies to allow wealth to be concentrated in the hands of oligarchs who transfer profits overseas means Putin has wasted opportunities. Real incomes are in decline and the economy has gone into a predominantly war footing over the last 2 years.