memeage

[llywela]

Snagged from astrothsknot, because it's interesting. The privilege meme; being poor in the US is different to being poor in the UK

Father went to college - No

Father finished college - N/A

Mother went to college - no

Mother finished college - N/A

Have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor - No

Were the same or higher socio-economic class than your high school teachers - No

Had more than 50 books in your childhood home - yes, because my mother loves to read

Had more than 500 books in your childhood home - possible. I've never counted. There are books everywhere.

Were read children's books by a parent - Yes, our Mam always read to us, and encouraged us to read to ourselves and each other

Had more than two kinds of lessons before you turned 18 - the elderly lady who lived two doors down taught piano, and gave us lessons at an affordable rate. And my brother and I went to out-of-hours swimming classes at the local high school for a while

The people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively - Mixed, I think.

Had a credit card with your name on it before you turned 18 - No. I didn't have a bank account of my own until I turned 16, certainly not a credit card

Your parents (or a trust) paid for the majority of your college costs - No. I was able to go to university because I was awarded a grant by the local authority, and could still only afford it by living at home.

Your parents (or a trust) paid for all of your college costs - see above

Went to a private high school - No, I went to the local Comp, notoriously the roughest school in the city. Seriously notorious. We had riots, and everything.

Went to summer camp - Sort of. The Assemblies (churches) in this area organise summer camps for the children who attend. Only one week, usually in a boarding school someplace that's hired for the purpose. Cheap and cheerful.

Family vacations involved staying at hotels - No. We always go self-catering, usually hiring a small house or cottage someplace for the purpose. The last...man, it must be 7/8 years now we've always gone to a little house down on the coast in Pevensey Bay, owned by friends of friends.

Your clothing was all bought new before you turned 18 - No. I had a sister older than me who passed things down, and her clothes were often secondhand to begin with, from our cousins. They often weren't even new when the cousins had them! Everything got passed on, unless it was completely worn out.

There was original art in your house when you were a child - No.

You and your family lived in a single family house - Single family house means detached, I understand. So, no. Our family home is end-of-terrace, and the row was built as homes for railway workers.

Your parent(s) owned their own house(s) or apartment before you left home - Yes. The mortgage was finally paid off about ten years ago, although it was a struggle all the way.

You had your own room as a child - No. Not until my sister moved out when I was 18 - we'd always shared until then.

You had a phone in your room before you turned 18 - No. There was always just the one phone, in the hall

Participated in an SAT/ACT prep course - No. I'm not even sure what that is! A course to prepare for exams? No, we just had to make do with whatever time our teachers put into us.

Had your own TV in your room in High School - No. The first time I had a TV in my room was when my grandfather died, and my sister and I were given his old TV for our room. I was 18, and D then took the TV with her when she moved out a few weeks later!

Owned a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College - No. My Dad opened a post office account for each of us when we were born, but had stopped paying into it before we hit secondary school.

Flew anywhere on a commercial airline before you turned 16 - No.

Went on a cruise with your family - No.

Went on more than one cruise with your family - No.

Your parents took you to museums and art galleries as you grew up - Yes.

You were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family - No. We were always very aware of how little money there was to go around, and that this was the reason the heating was never on during the day! Mornings and evenings only, in winter.

Comments

[kiwisue.livejournal.com]

Oh, this is fascinating! I'm going to join in.

[mabus101.livejournal.com]

Very interesting...but how is it different from in the States, other than not having SAT/ACTs? (Those being courses one takes to show colleges how you did in high school.)

[babelmira.livejournal.com]

Because stuff that's commonplace here like TVs in rooms if you're poor happen here, but phones in rooms don't. Summer camps don't happen here, but seem to a big thing in the states. Hotels seem to be big deal to stay in State-wise, but not here.

Having a credit card before the age of 18 isn't legal here so won't happen. You can a bank card, but you can't write cheques. I don't even think the card is a debit card, it's just an ATM card. Detached houses may be common in the SU, here they aren't even in affluent areas.

Stuff like that

[llywela13.livejournal.com]

What astrothsknot said. The indicators of relative wealth (or otherwise) are very different on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

byslantedlight has taken the meme and looked into the background of it, and come up with a lot of really interesting detail about it. I just thought it was interesting to see how the questions applied (or not) to me.