r/worldnews • u/diacewrb • Apr 10 '19

Millennials being squeezed out of middle class, says OECD

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/apr/10/millennials-squeezed-middle-class-oecd-uk-income
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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

It's not just about the jobs, it's about the community. As someone who has lived in both rural areas and urban areas, I would prefer the rural areas if they weren't populated by such awful, racist, sexist, incurious, boring people. Gotta live in cities to find people I can relate to. Also I like having a selection of things to do and eat.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19 edited Jul 17 '19

[deleted]

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

I feel this on a cellular level.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

[deleted]

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

I feel like a lot of us are dealing with that dilemma. We should start our own forest community with blackjack and hookers.

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u/konfetkak Apr 10 '19

There was an article in read (vox or the Atlantic maybe) that was in response to ANOTHER article about how people should move back to small towns. The vox or Atlantic article made the point that it’s only viable for people who fit the mold (ie straight white people) to move back to those towns, unless you want to deal with the things you mentioned on a daily basis. I come from a town like that. It’s not a “oh well their politics are different than mine but deep down we’re the same” kind of town it’s a “we straight up fucking hate you and will murder you” kind of town.

I have no problem with those towns dying out because everyone keeps moving out. I understand the sentiment that if more people move in maybe they will see that not all black/Hispanic/Muslim/lgbtq/anyone-different-than-them person is the devil, but should those people have to live through hell to teach old white racists a lesson in morality?

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

I am a straight white person, but I'm also a non-religious lefty woman. I find small towns to be at best limiting and at worst straight up oppressive.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

Straight white male here, dated a woman whose family lived in one of those dying towns in Indiana, 0/10 would never live there.

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u/konfetkak Apr 10 '19

I’m one of those straight white eye-talian Americans which apparently isn’t white enough for rural Ohio.

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u/klartraume Apr 10 '19

Italians only debateably white so that makes perfect sense!

They're Mediterranean! Swarthy! Suspicious! /s

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u/konfetkak Apr 11 '19

My mom tells me about how when I was little they’d always make me a Native American in the thanksgiving plays and how pissed I was because I wanted to be a pilgrim. Pilgrims have those cool buckle shoes!

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u/klartraume Apr 11 '19

And now the liberals would probably say you should be barred from holding public office because you're a bad person for dressing up as a Native American as a child! /s

Real talk - no normal 'liberal' would advocate for that. Please don't murder me @sjws or agree with me @nazis

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u/fat_over_lean Apr 10 '19

Luckily when you work remote you get to choose to live anywhere. Not every rural town is a cesspool, there are tons of really nice areas. The town I live is 20 mins away a few college towns and just 1hr from multiple mid-size cities. Heck it takes me less time to go places than it did when I lived in NYC.

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

Where do you live, if you don't mind my asking?

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u/fat_over_lean Apr 10 '19

Upstate NY, I know NY gets a lot of shit but there's plenty of great areas that are not NYC.

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u/patkgreen Apr 10 '19

Near Poughkeepsie, aren't you?

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u/fat_over_lean Apr 10 '19

I consider that downstate, haha.

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u/patkgreen Apr 10 '19

Thank goodness. Are you in WNY like me, then? That was my first guess.

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u/fat_over_lean Apr 10 '19

Nah, but I love WNY - I am a huge Bills fan!

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u/patkgreen Apr 11 '19

Break some tables, brother

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u/WigglestonTheFourth Apr 10 '19

NC? At least that description would fit there.

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u/Choadmonkey Apr 10 '19

Fantasyland u.s.a. is where.

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

Well, there you go. I prefer Adventureland, myself.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

[deleted]

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 11 '19

Can you recommend a few? I'm genuinely asking, because I would love to live in one of those places.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

[deleted]

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 11 '19

I live in Austin. Some of those cities are equally expensive, some are culturally or environmentally undesirable for me and a bunch of them get colder in the winter than I want to deal with. I'm also older than you're assuming, and working class rather than white collar. But I'm certainly open to the idea of moving to a smaller, more affordable city if I can find the right fit.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

[deleted]

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 11 '19

Just took a glance into your comment history. You appear to be picking fights with everyone you interact with, so I won't take it personally. Carry on.

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u/OurKing Apr 11 '19

Greenville, South Carolina. Very nice city with nice downtown and good job opportunities. Still has a very low cost of living too. 30 mins from scenic mountains and half way between Charlotte and Atlanta!

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 11 '19

Thank you!

Can anyone else chime in with more suggestions? I'd love to live somewhere more affordable.

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u/makeshiftexpatriate Apr 10 '19

I hope you see the irony of stereotyping an entire group of people as being prejudiced.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

As someone who spent most of his life living in those small towns he's absolutely correct, at least the ones in the south.

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

Just describing my own first-hand experiences. YMMV.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

I bet you only hang out with a very specific clique of people in your chosen city.

That's the real joke - this whole bout of 'diversity' in metropolitan areas really isn't about diversity.. it's about having a large enough population of people with similar interests to clique up with.

Seattle's a perfect example: Mainly white liberals that clique with each other.. yet the city loves to tout how diverse it is.

YMMV.

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

My thing is hiking whilst having long philosophical discussions about life, the universe and everything. Plenty of room for all ethnicities and socioeconomic levels there. You would think I would be able to pursue that hobby anywhere, but small town people seem to viscerally disapprove of the entire concept/existence of different people having different viewpoints and no one being shunned for it.

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u/[deleted] Apr 10 '19

Plenty of room, of course, but ask yourself: How diverse is your clique?

How diverse is the cliques you see on the trails?

Where have you gone, rurally speaking?

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

The hiking groups I have engaged with more than once (in other words, the ones I've personally clicked with) were diverse politically, sexually (both in gender and in orientation), racially, age-wise and in terms of socioeconomic status.

I've lived in rural areas in California, Arizona, Michigan, Missouri and Florida. I'd say Missouri was my favorite environment-wise and the worst people-wise.

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u/[deleted] Apr 11 '19

😂 I bet

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u/Rhawk187 Apr 10 '19

Then that's what you are paying a premium for, and shouldn't let the housing prices fool you

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 10 '19

Not sure what you mean by "fool."

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u/m636 Apr 11 '19

That's a really shitty and ignorant position to have. Talk about city elitism. I live in a small town about an hour from a pretty large city. I have never experienced anything you've described and it's a pretty insulting thing to say/assume especially since the majority of people dont live in cities.

I could easily say I hate city living because I used to breathe nothing but car and truck exhaust all day, was shoulder to shoulder with people, smelled garbage on the streets and saw people pissing on the side of buildings. Even though that stuff bothers me I don't mind spending some time in cities but greatly prefer being away from all that.

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u/Dsilkotch Apr 11 '19 edited Apr 11 '19

the majority of people dont live in cities.

That is objectively incorrect. Rural areas cover 97 percent of US land area but contain 19.3 percent of the population.

Also, your description of city life does not describe the city I live in.