Wealth As A Kid ……

We lived in a nice neighborhood and had more than some of my friends. However, I also had friends who lived in mansions. When I say mansions, I'm not kidding...long winding tree lined driveways... houses behind four tall architectural columns... cathedral ceilings... wings, ya know, east and west... and some even had ballrooms... ballrooms! 😮

Their parents drove Mercedes sedans, Lincoln Continentals, and Cadillacs. My "rich" friends had their own cars, Mustangs, Camaros, etc. In high school, preppy Villager-style clothing was the rage. The girls carried the much envied John Romaine purses. Thankfully, while I admired these "things", I didn't covet them as some girls did. I wouldn't "just die" if I couldn't have them, lol.
 

NorthernLight said:
I never thought about it. I grew up in a pretty homogeneous small town, and I guess the question didn't exist for me.

"Rich" people on TV seemed like everyone else. I only knew they were rich because they, or someone, said they were.
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Me, too. My parents were average working class. I never thought we were rich nor poor. It wasn't until high school that I noticed other kids had better clothes, etc. To me. rich people have money, but they're still human. Money doesn't make them better, or worse than me.

 
having more than 1 phone. kids who had their own phones... ULTRA rich. a remember a few kids who didn't have even 1 phone. also remember briefly having a party line.

i can never remember not having a TV. first in my family (extended to aunts, uncles and grandparents) to have a color TV... and we were NOT rich.
 
A house with a butler's pantry. I grew up with this. People riding their horses in the neighborhood. My best friend's sister owned a Palomino. Cadillacs, having a generous allowance. Really nice clothes and jewelry. Swimming pools. Crystal chandeliers. Wainscotting. Beautiful gardens and trees everywhere you looked. Having all the latest electronic gadgets, for me this was a transitor radio. This thread is making me happily nostalgic. ☺️
 
Bella said:
The first time my friend Andy took a group of us to his house to hang out and give us a tour, I couldn't keep my mouth shut. I was agog. 😮 He was such a nice, down-to-earth and unassuming guy, I had no idea he lived like that.
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Interesting, never really been to anyone's house that falls into the "has a ballroom" category. Seen houses bigger and nicer than mine, but nothing like that.
 
Alligatorob said:
Interesting, never really been to anyone's house that falls into the "has a ballroom" category. Seen houses bigger and nicer than mine, but nothing like that.
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Rob, I was floored.
Ok, cure me please: SPIDERS! - Page 7 Emotigal-fainting-gif
 
A lot of things screamed 'wealth' when I was going up.

What part of town you lived in, the car you drove, and if in high school your parents bought you a car for graduation, the clothes you wore, pools, having parties at your house, especially if your parents were out of town, having your own phone in your bedroom, were able to go to China Peak to go snow skiing all season.
 
There were 6 houses on the block where I grew up. 2 had cars and 2 had phones. Ours was the only one with both.
My father bought a brand new Chevy in 1937 for $700. He drove it until 1950. My mother never learned to drive. We (I) had to stoke the furnace with coal. When I was 16 my father had an oil burner installed. When I was 19 we got our first TV, 5 channels.
 
Growing up, we were poor. My father became disabled from a work injury and we had to work from a young age (12). There were times we didn't have food in the fridge (but I don't remember being hungry). No A/C in the house. We did have amenities like a bathroom, though. No car until much, much older. We walked everywhere or took the bus. I really didn't pay attention to the rich people. Too busy going to school and working. There was one instance, however, that I remember when I was around 9. We were living in an apartment and the landowner also lived in the apartment with his young daughter. She was an only child and because there were many of us girls, she would invite us over to play with her. She had her own dog and pretty clothes, and many toys. Once in awhile, she would give us toys. But after we grew older, finished school, got jobs and married, our socioeconomic lifestyle improved considerably and me and my sisters have done well in life. I also have visited many wealthy homes since then. But after becoming a homeowner several times, I have come to the conclusion that those expensive mansions can cost a pretty penny to maintain! So I have no regrets with the decisions I have made.
 
It was always cars for me. My great uncle owned a black 70's Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance. He let me take my girlfriend out in it, and I felt like I was rich. It was like riding on a ridiculously large cloud.

Our next door neighbor had a 70's Cadillac Eldorado convertible. I used to watch his house and babysit his Great Dane when he and his wife traveled. I took it out on the town one night and felt like a million bucks. That was a sign of wealth to me.

I drove a 3 year-old Opel Manta with an added-on A/C system and 8 Track Player at the time. :ROFLMAO:

Opel Manta.jpeg
 
I always thought people who went out for lunch after church EVERY WEEK had to be rich. It was a very.special.occasion if my parents took the whole family out to lunch at an actual sit-down restaurant and it didn't happen more than once or twice a year.

We always had a very good Sunday dinner (on Sundays, "dinner" was at noon, to differentiate from the rest of the week, when dinner was at 6) waiting for us at home, but oh! it would have been a treat to go out.
 
I had wanted to be rich so I could live in the penthouse next door to Leonard Bernstein.

My mother had been devastated by the Depression. I was happy for her because dad, with 2 partners, owned his own business and made good enough money for her (and kids) to feel somewhat secure. She would ask him frequently "Can it happen again?"
 
dseag2 said:
It was always cars for me. My great uncle owned a black 70's Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham D'Elegance. He let me take my girlfriend out in it, and I felt like I was rich. It was like riding on a ridiculously large cloud.

Our next door neighbor had a 70's Cadillac Eldorado convertible. I used to watch his house and babysit his Great Dane when he and his wife traveled. I took it out on the town one night and felt like a million bucks. That was a sign of wealth to me.

I drove a 3 year-old Opel Manta with an added-on A/C system and 8 Track Player at the time. :ROFLMAO:

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haha.. made me smile.. never mind cars ..we couldn't even afford an 8 track... :p
 
dobielvr said:
A lot of things screamed 'wealth' when I was going up.

What part of town you lived in, the car you drove, and if in high school your parents bought you a car for graduation, the clothes you wore, pools, having parties at your house, especially if your parents were out of town, having your own phone in your bedroom, were able to go to China Peak to go snow skiing all season.
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Good Lord.. that whole paragraph would have been like a complete foreign language to me when I was a kid..

Phones, in bedrooms ?..POOLS ?.... car for graduation.?.. parents out of town ? snow skiing ?... ... just beyond any comprehension when I was young..
 
hollydolly said:
Good Lord.. that whole paragraph would have been like a complete foreign language to me when I was a kid..

Phones, in bedrooms ?..POOLS ?.... car for graduation.?.. parents out of town ? snow skiing ?... ... just beyond any comprehension when I was young..
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I moved in to that area when I started high school (10th grade)
The only things that applied to me was the phone in my room, and an occasional party when my parents went out of town.

I agree though, it is a bit much.
 
charry said:
What was something , that you thought was an indicator of wealth , when you were a kid……..
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Country neighborhood
We were all pretty much in the same boat
Not many bikes
Rolled old tires around with a stick
Threw dirt clods and pinecones at each other for fun
Used long sticks for rifles when playing cowboys and Indians

but

There was one family
They had everything

They had Sunny Jim peanut butter (I had oleo)
They had Wheaties (I had oatmeal)
They had Wonder bread (I had brown bread)
They had cap guns....and caps
even silly putty!

Never really noticed their hovel
Thought their string of old Hudsons was pretty cool
Never knew the ol' man would try to keep one pieced together with parts from the others, in order to get to work.....when he did work

I thought they were money rich after seeing the mom fish so many nickels and dimes outa the piggy bank with her butterknife

Yeah, they were rich
 

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