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Have you ever looked at someone and thought to yourself that they must come from a different planet? Rich people, for instance?
Such individuals grow up in a completely different environment, meaning that a bunch of non-standard things seem very much normal to them; however, not everyone stays so out of touch with reality, so here are a couple of stories of moneyed folk learning otherwise!
More info: Reddit
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#1
I went to an extremely expensive private school. I thought that I was poor because we didn't have brand new luxury cars, a massive house, and I didn't get a brand new toy just because I asked for it.
It wasn't until I was older that I realized my parents had just as much money as those other kids, but they saved it all and lived very frugally. My father grew up extremely poor (like, you're brother gets to eat dinner tonight and you'll eat breakfast tomorrow poor), and he didn't believe in buying extravagant things or outrageous cars.
I thought that because we drove Toyota Corollas (which were bought new every 6-8 years) and we lived in a "small" house (4 bed/ 4 bath split level for three people) and we didn't have a maid that we were poor.
And I'm glad that we lived that way, because I was raised to work for the things I wanted and that just because you CAN buy something, doesn't mean you should.
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#2
My then bf, now spouse, made an offhand comment about how cheesy it is to frame one's college diploma, because it's not like they're a huge deal. I'm the first person in my family to go to college. Damn right I framed it.
#3
Any hobby I wanted to start as a child my family would procure the materials within a week. Painting, archery, flying lessons, water skiing (the skis, not a boat) and so on.
Anything I wanted to try my parents would make sure I got the opportunity. It took me a while to realize what an incredible gift that was.
Courtney Christelle 1 year ago
Me and my son aren’t well off but I’ve always tried to indulge his hobbies, even the ones he only did for 2 days. I had to fight tooth and nail as a kid to try new things and wanted my son to experience as much as possible to find what he truly enjoyed.
#4
My fiancé was telling me a story about the "exchange students" that lived with them and how they were so nice and would help take care of the house. I asked him why his exchange students stayed with them for so long, when all my high school exchange student friends had only stayed for a semester.
It was at that moment he realized that he grew up with Swiss nannies.
#5
That our maids didn't have maids at their home. Till I was like 7 or 8, I firmly believed every single house had 3 maids (like we did). Basically an endless loop of sorts...
TheGoodBoi 1 year ago
Hmm so while I'm cleaning your house, someone is cleaning mine. That'd be kinda nice.
#6
When I found out my mom never had new shoes growing up. Every article of clothing, every sock, shirt, etc, was a hand-me-down from her 3 older sisters. Her first new shoes were when she left home and got a job.
Now she won't stop buying c**p for my kids. She's come a long way from abject poverty to middle class comfort.
H.J. carlson 1 year ago
Mom's just overly happy to gift the kids. If you want her to chill a bit, tell her in a kind way! 🥲
#7
My parents divorced and remarried when I was young, so I essentially grew up in two households with two sets of parents.
My dad owned a private jet that he'd use for our family trips and visits and my step dad was a pilot in his free time, and he also owned a plane. So I naturally assumed everyone else's parents also owned a plane and could take off whenever they'd please.
I also assumed every kid had their own pony or horses cause my dad would buy me one every year. Naw, turns out I was a sheltered brat.
#8
Someone I knew in high school was extremely wealthy. The first time we went over to his house, he was really nervous. He kept saying stuff like "My family used to be rich. We used to live in a really big house before my dad lost his job and we moved here." He kept going on and on about this and was very insecure.
Then we get to his house and it's a freaking mansion with a six car garage. He was 18 and drove a black convertible that was about $100,000 minimum, not including the custom work they had done to it.
He had a gorgeous backyard with a canopied patio and outdoor kitchen and an in-ground hot tub and he thought he was poor because he didn't have a pool.
His bedroom was double the size of my parents' master bedroom and had skylights and a gorgeous hotel suite like bathroom and walk-in closet.
He also had a wine cellar and maids.
As we were walking around his house, I noticed how empty it was and our other friend asked where his family was. His 16 year old sister was casually doing an internship for photography and staying by herself in a rented mansion in LA. His older brother was on an extended ski trip with his friends in the mountains.
And his parents were on a month long vacation in the Caribbean. The only reason he was still in town and living alone was because he was supposed to be getting stuff together for college. What did that entail? His parents giving him a credit card and telling him to buy whatever he wanted.
It was actually quite sad. The house was so huge and he had been staying there all by himself while his family was off in random places. After I left I kept picturing this guy walking around in his professionally decorated mansion all alone and cooking another frozen Whole Foods pizza to eat by himself. But then I remembered he could eat it in his home movie theatre while sitting in one of 14 massage chairs.
We actually spent a lot of time at his house that summer. Even though his parents were never home we never threw parties or trashed the place or anything. He mostly just wanted people to talk to and listen to music with or play video games in his room. (He had a giant flat screen and surround sound and floor to ceiling shelving with every game and console imaginable.)
I actually ran into him about a year ago around December. He seemed decently happy and had graduated from an extremely nice college two years early, had his own small apartment with a roommate (he could afford one of his own but didn't like being lonely), and had adopted a cat! He also had three cars. He ended up taking a year to travel the United States in a s****y beat up van with his high school friends and took up photography as a hobby. He showed me a bunch of pictures from his trip out west. Then casually mixed in were some pictures of him and Orlando Bloom.
Remember that mansion his parents were renting for his 16 year old sister? They ended up buying it to use as a summer home and it just so happened that their closest neighbor was none other than Orlando Bloom.
But remember guys, he used to be way richer!
#9
I dated a guy whose family owned horses and had more cars than they could count. Neither him or his family were snobby.
I was raised on a budget, my brother and I had a single mother. I went to a Goodwill to look for some stuff and found something I thought my BF would like. I texted him and he responded:
"What is a goodwill?"
Goose of the Ahonkalypse 1 year ago
Goodwill is not the deal it used to be. I can almost always find brand-new kids clothing on clearance or sale for the same price as decent stuff there. Plus there's rarely little boy clothes at the second hand stores in my area for some reason. Same with bigger boy's sizes. We used to shop at goodwill as teens but as a tall girl/woman I'd be relegated to buying mostly men's shirts. I'm sure that's gotten better. I do love me some cheap dishes though.
#10
I always knew there were really poor people because my parents have always done a lot of charity, but it took me a while to realize that the middle class exists. It sounds stupid when I put it that way, but it simply didn't click that just because someone has a relatively nice house and doesn't need charity to survive, that doesn't mean they can take two months to do an unpaid internship in a foreign city (a fact which was rightfully but still bitterly thrown in my face by a friend).
River wolf 1 year ago
Well at least they knew about poor people and their parents did charity.
#11
I grew up upper middle class so we didn't go nuts but could afford everything we needed. I saw a commercial about low income dental care and it started with someone talking about how they just can't afford it. I laughed, thinking it was a joke, like who can't afford *the dentist?* Turns out a crapton of people. Humbled.
I also thought everyone's grandma gave them $100 for their birthday. Guess that only happens when Granny has 2 grandkids and a lot of income from her orchard.
Metalhead Turtle 🇺🇦 1 year ago
At least you've learned about the first one. Both are important, but more people like you need to realize that not everyone can afford dental care.
#12
I thought everyone bought a lot of groceries for Thanksgiving until I accompanied a pantry delivery in fourth grade. The woman running it let me help carry the bags to every house until one. For that one, she told me to wait in the car, but from my seat I could still see the person who answered the front door. It was my friend's mom.
When the pantry runner returned she asked if I understood why she told me to wait in the car. I told her I did, and it was probably why that friend always avoided inviting anyone over. She explained that it shouldn't change how I treat my friend, but it should inform how I treat people.
That experience really made me aware of how lucky I was to be wealthy.
...Later on in college, when people put me in charge of the Thanksgiving dinner because they never cooked before, and laughed when I put the groceries in the snow, I realized there were a lot more levels to being wealthy lol
Alyssa Phillips 1 year ago
We adopt a family every Christmas...last year it turned out to be one of my son's friends. My kids were confused why we didn't label the presents with names, but the mom and dad were so grateful that their "secret" was kept. It was heartbreaking, but this year they don't need help!
#13
What I didn't realize until I was older was that most people don't have the safety net of "being well-connected" that wealthy people have.
Just by virtue of where I grew up, there are probably 25+ people I could call who would either outright give me a good job or get me in for an interview that I'd have to f**k up to not get the job. And that doesn't even change in a recession.
#14
The concept of sharing a bathroom was foreign to me. I mean, my parents did, but they had 2 sinks, a shower with 2 heads, and they slept in the same bed so naturally they shared a bathroom, but both my sisters and I had separate bathrooms. What a blessing that was
TheGoodBoi 1 year ago
One of my friends and his siblings had their own rooms with their own bathrooms attached to the room. I always thought it was pretty cool to not have to leave the room to go to a shared bathroom.
#15
That not everyone went on holidays to five star hotels every couple of months. I also thought until I was 10 that virtually everyone owned an overseas holiday home. I remember asking my friend where he went on holidays and he was like "well I only go away every couple of years", to which I said "but what do you do with your abroad house if you're only visiting it every few years". That day really stunned me I must say
Jinx (she/her) 1 year ago (edited)
I feel lucky we can afford 1 week at a local inn every year. it's only an hour away, and it's not fancy, but it has a pool and it gets us out of our home
#16
Embarrassingly, it took me a couple years of college to figure out that A. Not everyone's parents paid for their school and apartment and car and bills. B. That some people had had bad high school experiences and that public schools were really a thing. I had no frame of reference. C. that I had gotten extremely special treatment on my handful of run ins with the law.
I honest to god thought cops were just cool guys who wouldn't bust you for [illegal substances] or dui unless you [ended] someone. I no longer have my head in my a*s but it quite the awakening.
#17
My best friend once went to the store with a $20 bill to get a 2L bottle of pop and was worried she wouldn't have enough. I had to show her how to use my toaster (its a regular toaster where you push down), and she had never had mac and cheese before in her life. Once, I had corndogs in my freezer and she wanted one, so I told her could make one. She ended up having to get me to put it in the microwave for her because she had no idea what to do.
#18
I read through a fair bit of these and tried to list things not already listed.
1. Parents that are always home because they don't need to work.
2. Trips across the country every weekend so your parents could go SCCA racing (I'd been to 48 states by 7, I think).
3. Multiple garages (my parents have 8-cars worth of garage space).
4. Getting a job is difficult. I made a point to get a job on my own, but I'm entirely sure I could have gotten one with a single phone call and wearing a suit. Probably making more money than I do now, too...
5. Having a room for each activity in the house. Pool/ping pong room, drum/guitar room, etc.
6. Having lots of land to do whatever you wanted in. Primarily for dirt-biking.
7. WHAT DO YOU MEAN SOME PEOPLE DON'T HAVE DIRT-BIKES AND 4-WHEELERS AND GO-KARTS?!
8. I thought having to share a run-way with 5 other houses was pretty normal. Learned later it is definitely not, and is still a private runway.
EDIT: Changed some things after asking my dad. Also, he reminded me to put in that we had a dirt bike track in the backyard... Which was the source of lots of broken bones for me. >.>
I learned how weird some of that was when I moved out. It was an experience.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Wait. Does OP mean runway as in aircraft runway? Shared by 5 households?
#19
I thought almost every mom was a stay at home housewife
I also thought people dont eat "clean" only because they lack discipline. Only when i got older did i realize that not everyone has the time and physical energy to cook almost every meal, nor the money to buy healthy stuff fresh and make them taste good (inb4 lentils, lentils are disgusting). Plus, after too many s****y days, comfort food can be the only reprieve.
#20
I'm not the rich person in this story, but when I was a kid, I had a friend from a rich family. One day, he related a story about the time his computer "just kept breaking" - he had to constantly back up his savegames and reinstall his video games because his parents would have to buy him a new gaming machine every other week or so. The punchline was that it turned out the cleaning lady just unplugged it and didn't properly plug it back in, and aren't cleaning ladies just the worst?
BluEyedSeoulite 1 year ago
My husband did this once, it took me HOURS to think to double check the wires going into the TV. He plugged everything into the output instead of the input. Easy 1 minute fix that you literally don't think about fixing until you realize someone might have unplugged things. To top it off, my husband listened to me trying to fix it and getting really frustrated, not offering up that he had unplugged anything until I asked later
#21
I'm embarrassed to admit didn't realize that "not being able to afford college" was a thing until about high school. I thought my family was about average growing up though my family makes over 100k because I went to a private school that was mostly insanely rich people. I also couldn't understand why people didn't shop at Whole Foods.
#22
Many many things.
1. Chandeliers and all marble floors are expensive items. Not common.
2. Chauffeurs and chefs are very useful people.
3. Having an attached bathroom to every bedroom
4. Gated house with 24/7 armed security.
5. 4 lawns
6. Indoor cycling tracks. We had them within our property. Not inside the house. Just inside the gate
7. Personal small zoo. I had deer, monkeys, 30 pairs of pigeons etc
8. Leave the bedroom unclean and come back to find it tidy with laundry done
9. In house intercom in every room.
That's just the top of my head.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I remember the fascination we had when my mum got an intercom (basically just a two way baby monitor that had two channels, not installed on the wall) so if the overnight carer of brother's needed her in the night she could talk to her while staying in the room. It was useful when we were out in the garage playing, mum could call us for tea. We used them like walkie talkies for a while.
#23
I've grown up lower-middle class, but my mom married a rich guy and his daughter is clueless as to how much money she has.
-"I'm not UPPER CLASS, I'm upper-middle!" I don't know why she does this , but it's annoying.
-I had to explain to her that sometimes you have to throw toilet paper in the trash at some places because the water pressure isn't good and she replied with, "But that's...gross and unhygienic." Yeah, and common.
-"Can't your dad just get you a better one?" When I told her I have to use my grandmothers 98 broken down car as my starter. No, I'm poor.
-"Why aren't you buying anything?" When her dad gave me $200 for a shopping trip and I was scared to use it because I knew I couldn't pay it back (even when I didn't need to). I'd never seen that much money before.
-"I'm coming back later, I'll do it then," I had asked why she ate burgers the entire trip (she's very unhealthy) and not tried any of the food from the country we were staying at.
-"Why are you happy about college? It's just more years of school." I didn't have the money for college growing up, now I do and know I'm going to a good college and might get a job in my dream field.
-"Why would they allow that at your school?" After I told her about the time a pregnant seventh grader leapt over a table to slap a girl. Maybe because I went to a trashy school with rough kids??
All I have for now. Hope y'all have a good day.
Ace 1 year ago
TP in the bin rather than the toilet isn't because of low pressure water, but insufficiently wide waste piping and sewer systems that can easily get blocked. It's very common around the world, particularly in ex-colonies whose sewage systems haven't been updated since the British built them in the nineteenth century.
#24
I didn't know anyone that lived in an apartment until my late teens. I knew apartments existed but I assumed that people owned them like they would own a house.
#25
Traveling abroad on extravagant vacations in only 5 star resorts. By the time I was 5, I had been to 5/7 continents and didn't realize how odd that was.
#26
My son flew coach class for the first time in the fourth grade. He asked why anyone would want to sit back here
#27
A few things only hit me once I was an adult
The reason some of my freinds family's moved house so much was because they rented, and what their parents could afford changed a lot. The concept of someone being a parent and *not* owning their own home just didn't occur to me. (I live in London, so it's not like home ownership is common)
Also, taking education for granted. The Sri Lankan and Ghanian girls in my school got so pissed when I'd mess around with some of the boys in RE... Turned out because they felt lucky to be in education at all, and one had to leave home at 16 to carry on to higher education :(
#28
My parents divorced when I was seven after my Father committed tax fraud (and adultery). Prior to that 'normal' was a few hundred-acre country home and private school. 'Otherwise', turned out to be a council estate home, comprehensive (state) school and jam sandwiches for dinner.
#29
A good friend of mine from college grew up with money. Lots of money. He ended up coming with me to go grocery shopping one time and was horrified that I was getting store brand items. He said that he had never had or heard of such a thing.
Never Snarky 1 year ago
I have a friend who is always worried about money but berated his wife for buying a store brand product. What? You think we live on the poor side of town?
#30
We weren't rich in the sense of like, extravagant vacations, 5 star hotels, and big super fancy cars. My parents always taught us and practiced themselves financial security, saving, budgeting, etc. We had s****y 1990 Toyota vans and drove them until pretty much every door except the side left door were broke and miles were maxed out. We always made sure to check for coupons and use them to our full advantage when we went to any story. Always planned out exactly what we were gonna buy and the prices of them. Etc. etc. I will say though, we do make, both parents combined, around 450K per year after taxes, which is way better than the average income.
I didnt realize how...unsupportive parents could be. Not in like a cruel sense, but in the sense of they just dont have the resources to support their child sometimes in certain scenarios. If one of my friends goes out to a friend event, they have to drive themselves and aren't spotted any money. When I go out, my parents will offer to drive me (despite having a drivers licence) and usually pay me anywhere from 20 to 60 dollars, saying I should buy some pizzas for my friends. I usually decline, but I sometimes take it and head their advice. I thought parents always gave their children money to help out, up until I was like 14.
I also thought parents would be supportive of stuff like hobbies. Granted, its partly due to my more reserved and laid back nature, so I dont ask for much, but when I say, "I wanna do X", whether it be me buying a game, book, etc. They will nearly always say, "Sure!" and then exceed my expectations by doing stuff like "Hey, why not get two or three?" Like (and this is kinda a weird tangent but it relates) I wanted to buy some fabric in secrecy for a fursuit, and when my parents figured out, not only were they happy for me, but they drove me down to Joann's Fabrics to buy me around 100 dollars worth of supplies to make it. My friends are kinda forced to fend for themselves, or get a job, or just take the answer of no. And sure, there have been times where I have to say no, but honestly its not because of money issues, its because they don't want to spoil me, and they tell me that numerous times.
I think the prime example of this was when I was asking my mom if I could do a roadtrip for my 18th birthday, and I asked my mom if I could stay in a hotel or something for a night with like two friends. My mom said not only could we do it, but said why not rent out a fancy condo for two nights, and invite five friends, and maybe even rent a car?
Terry Tobias 1 year ago
"I didn't realize how unsupportive parents could be." That's called not having the money to "spot" $60 for pizza or $100 to make a fursuit. I hope OP understands that better now.
#31
Not everyone has a magic debit card that refills itself every other day or so. My parents cut me off when I got married at 22, but thank God my wife was raised 100% different than I was. It was a rough couple of years to start, but we are now solidly upper middle class.
michael Chock 1 year ago
It was rough having to live like a normal person for two years, but thank God I am well off again. Sorry, what was the question?
#32
Also whenever I vacationed abroad, my cousins and I had this absolutely obscene fetish of renting out the most expensive luxury cars (Im talking Bentleys and Aston Martins and Rolls Royces and stuff- sorry not a car person), and just go cruising around middle-class neighbourhoods/hang-out spots to pick up girls or revel in the awe of the people passing by. See we came from the 1% kinda elite family in one of the poorest countries in the world- Bangladesh. So for white people in the States, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, etc. to absolutely lose their s**t when we threw hundreds of thousands around like loose change in their country...well, I cant really describe the feeling. Its ridiculous.
#33
Direct deposit. Didn't know what a check-cashing service was.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
I also don't know what that is, but it's because I'm young(ish) :) The only time I had cheques was when I did work experience at a preschool for two weeks in year 10, getting $5 a day! Pretty sure I just deposited it in an envelope at the atm though.
#34
I thought it was normal to just abandon your car when it runs out of gas....
What do you think ?
Diolla 1 year ago
Unpopular opinion here: if you grow up rich, that is the world you live in, so that is your "normal". Same thing if you grow up poor. It creates a certain mindset and you will not easily understand what it is like to live like the "other". We have a reality show here that makes a rich family and a poor family swap life for a week. The rich in that one usually say they never realized how hard life is when you're poor. And the poor still spend like poor, only more of it (e.g. buy double portions at McDonalds).
Kharyss 1 year ago (edited)
True. I grew up in a very comfortable household. Not mega rich but private boarding school, couple of ponies etc. Some of the girls I went to school with were in the astronomically rich category though. One had exotic fruit helicoptered in onto the hockey pitch every week. My parents ran bars and hotels and we mainly lived in one of the hotel suites to save them commuting after putting in insanely long hours. To this day the one thing I’ll never confess to my friends is that every meal I ate from baby to 19 yrs old was cooked for me by the restaurant chef, my room was cleaned by housekeeping and my laundry was professionally cleaned, pressed and returned on hangers daily. However my father was an immigrant and my mother was a clothing factory workers daughter before they put blood, sweat and tears into working their way up so they never let me forget that this was not a normal life.
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Diolla 1 year ago
Unpopular opinion here: if you grow up rich, that is the world you live in, so that is your "normal". Same thing if you grow up poor. It creates a certain mindset and you will not easily understand what it is like to live like the "other". We have a reality show here that makes a rich family and a poor family swap life for a week. The rich in that one usually say they never realized how hard life is when you're poor. And the poor still spend like poor, only more of it (e.g. buy double portions at McDonalds).
Kharyss 1 year ago (edited)
True. I grew up in a very comfortable household. Not mega rich but private boarding school, couple of ponies etc. Some of the girls I went to school with were in the astronomically rich category though. One had exotic fruit helicoptered in onto the hockey pitch every week. My parents ran bars and hotels and we mainly lived in one of the hotel suites to save them commuting after putting in insanely long hours. To this day the one thing I’ll never confess to my friends is that every meal I ate from baby to 19 yrs old was cooked for me by the restaurant chef, my room was cleaned by housekeeping and my laundry was professionally cleaned, pressed and returned on hangers daily. However my father was an immigrant and my mother was a clothing factory workers daughter before they put blood, sweat and tears into working their way up so they never let me forget that this was not a normal life.
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