I live in a modest middle-class development. It's a mix of blue collar workers and some white collar, including teachers, people who work for state utility companies or state government, with only a few corporate executive types like me. There have been layoffs and some foreclosures in my development. Despite the problems around us, we stayed. The cars on my street are all common Fords, used Jeeps, Camrys, various Hyundai models, a couple of pick-up trucks and Subarus. In the eleven years that we've lived here (we moved to PA from Minnesota) only two neighbors have purchased new cars. Most neighbors purchase used American brand vehicles.
I picked this neighborhood because it had some diversity, although it is primarily white. Most of all, it is not expensive. I had two daughters starting high school when we arrived. I knew I would need about 300K in cash to put them both through college, so buying below my means seemed like a smart idea. My neighborhood is middle class but not upper-middle-class, has good public schools, and zero crime. It is seven minutes from a ski resort and has a healthy mix of Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. It was all brand new construction when we moved here from Minnesota, with a few homes still being built. I've "guesstimated" that most of my neighbors make a lot less money than I do. My wife is tied into the neighborhood gossip in which people talk about jobs they hope to get and how much those jobs pay. Most neighbors wives work outside the home to help pay their mortgages. My wife has never had to work outside the home. With one exception, my neighbors don't know that my job sends me all over the world, flying exclusively first or business class, staying in four and five-star hotels in places like mainland China, Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Dubai in the Middle East, Japan, and a dozen other countries. Most of our neighbors have never left the US, and those that have are mostly immigrants from other countries. So, when I came home with a brand new Lexus GS sport sedan, in a very exotic color, eyebrows went up. Three years later, I bring home my loaded Jag with its flashy color and arrogant 22-inch gunmetal gray Double Helix wheels. I got a lot of stares. One day last summer, one of my neighbors stopped staring and crossed the street. He looked at my F-Pace and said, "Jaguar, huh." He turned around and went right back across the street. Sometimes I do wonder if it was a neighbor that vandalized my car instead of a stranger. I hate to think about that, but I suppose it is possible.
I like my neighborhood. I don't want to "move up" to Bucks County or someplace similar. But neighbors can be resentful when you drive around in a Jaguar. Resentment bothers me. I've never been resentful that my colleagues at work live in much fancier neighborhoods than I do. I've never resented people driving around in sports cars that cost as much as my house is worth. People need to get over it. Life isn't fair. Resenting what someone else has is a waste of time.
