Not too long ago, I was talking to a friend about how our standard of living is so much higher than our parents. I mean, there’s the obvious: My house is bigger and newer than anything my parents ever had in their lifetime, and they never owned two cars until they divorced.
But then, the more I thought about it, the more I started to realize just how different life is for my family now than it was for my family of origin.
I mean, we weren’t poor. My dad worked for the Federal Government and we lived in suburban Virgina. We were “Middle Class.” And my dad cut the lawn with a push mower. Not the gas or even the electric kind. The kind you PUSHED to make the blades spin around and cut the grass.
Is the Middle Class disappearing? The way I grew up seemed to be the norm back then, but I don’t know anyone who lives that way now.
After the jump…my comparison of Then and Now
Then…There were five of us in a three-bedroom house, each of which were smaller than my current master bath. Now…We have three bedrooms, but there are only three of us. Instead of sharing space, My Kid has a choice of rooms for lounging around in.
Then…Our house had one tiny bathroom, and it was smaller than today’s walk-in closet. Now…I have two-and-a-half baths, one with a deep tub and jacuzzi.
Then…Our family rarely ate out, and when we did, it was somewhere like Roy Roger’s. Now…We eat out at least three times a week. The sheer number of “family-style” restaurants like Chili’s and TGIFridays indicates to me that we’re not the only ones.
Then…Most of our clothes were handmade by my mother. Almost ALL of my clothes were hand-me-downs from my older sister. The ones that were store-bought were usually from JCPenney or Sears. Now…We buy our kids’ clothes at The Gap and American Eagle. There are even specialty stores targeted at young shoppers, like Limited Too.
Then…Our parents rarely bought us anything other than for Christmas and birthdays. And then, the gifts were things like clothes (yay! store-bought!), a clock-radio, a Barbie doll. Now…We buy our kids the latest video game as soon as it hits the stores. We can’t even think of what to buy them for the holidays because they want for nothing.
Then…For entertainment purposes we had one TV in the house. (It got four channels, including PBS). We rarely went to the movies, and when we did we popped our own popcorn and snuck it in in Mom’s purse. Now…Our home has five (count ‘em: FIVE!) TVs with cable and we go to the movies every week.
How has your standard of living changed from the way you grew up? Do you think the Middle Class is disappearing?
Responses to “That was Then; This is Now”
April 9th, 2008 at 5:13 pm
THEN – house was paid for, kids ran around the neighborhood playing, knowing they could go home any time. NOW – big mortgage and credit cards maxed out, no one at home to take care of the kids, and no one with sense would let the kids out of sight anyway because they might get killed. THEN – mom cooked nutritious food every night. NOW – mom tries to get the obese children to order something that’s not fried, but it isn’t easy at Chili’s. THEN – children loved their toys and took care of them. NOW – children are bored with their toys before the wrapping paper is picked up at the curb. Toys are so old fashioned anyway… what kids really want is to go out and party like Britney Spears.
Sorry, but it ain’t all roses! This post frankly icked me out.
Yes, I think the middle class is disappearing. It’s been replaced by people who think everyone lives in giant houses and people who sit around outside their second job waiting for their cousin who has a car to come get them so they can make it to their third job.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:53 am
THEN-Went to Memphis’ ABA basketball games or Memphis State games as a birthday/Christmas present after eating a spaghetti dinner at Big John Grisanti’s resturant on Airways (even as a kid, I preferred to eat at adult resturants). NOW-attend every University of Memphis basketball game and as many NBA Grizzlies games as my stomach can stand, (they’re horrible) after grabbing a burger at Dyer’s on Beale on way to FedExForum as a nightly routine. THEN-my parents could barely afford the annual or semi annual night out mentioned above, but made sacrifices to ensure their only child’s happiness. NOW-Single wiht no children I consider my largest expense, my annual Tiger Scholarship Fund contribution a necessary investment to ensure my own happiness.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am
For me, under the “thens:”
We didn’t have air conditioning until I was well into grade school (and as children, we never missed it).
I had to share a bedroom with my sister off-and-on growing up.
We never had a garage.
We had one phone, dial, with a cord.
Mom cooked everything; I don’t recall packaged/premade food except for cold cereal, and it was never the very-sweet kind. AND my mom cut the whole milk with powdered milk to make it stretch. I was a teenager before I realized that biscuits came in a can.
Our parents had us turn off the shower while we soaped up to save water.
Dad made firestarter logs out of newspaper and we burned wood in our fireplace. He put the ashes in the compost pile. Nothing wasted.
Leaf blower? What’s that? We raked and hauled leaves to the curb on the old shower curtain.
Mom canned. Everything. And made jelly out of most of it.
Now?
I can’t imagine living without A/C, even in my car.
None of my children has ever had to share a room.
We have a one-car garage — but it’s full of lawn mower, camping gear, wood-working tools, bicycles and the freezer.
We have one phone, push button, with a cord.
There’s a lot of frozen Sam’s Club food at my house. I don’t get home until after 6 p.m. and who wants to wait til 8 to eat? Still no sweet cereal unless my husband did the shopping. And we drink the milk straight — to the tune of six gallons a week! My children know biscuits come out of a can, but only on camping trips.
No one turns off the shower. Are you kidding? The A/C would freeze us to death!
We have a wood-burning fireplace and we use it to supplement the old oil heater. We buy the wood cut but split it ourselves, and we put the ashes in the compost pile. We don’t even take the newspaper, who has time to read it?
Still no leaf blower. We rake and haul on, you guessed it, an old shower curtain.
I can. Everything. And make jelly out of most of it.
Reading this list, I actually don’t feel as dislocated from my parents’ economy as I thought …
April 10th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Then: 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath home for Mom, sis and me in Parkway Village; shared a room with Sis on/off for most of our childhood; one phone on the kitchen wall; clothes were hand-me-downs from cousins or bought at Sears or TG&Y; went out to dinner twice a year (for my birthday in May and again just before Christmas); Mom had a yearly Christmas budget of $50 per child; it was my job to cut grass/trim bushes and bag it up; when I asked for something, Mom made me watch her balance the checkbook, so I learned not to ask; my first two cars didn’t have air conditioning.
Now: I live alone in a 3 bedroom 1 bath home; my clothes (and there are a LOT of ‘em) are from The Limited and Macy’s; I have ONLY a cell phone (but was 30 before I got it); I eat out twice a week; I still get a Christmas stocking, in addition to other gifts, & it is worth far more than $50; my own Christmas budget for the family is $500; I hire people to cut the grass and trim the bushes; I balance my checkbook every Saturday morning, just before I go to the mall (still, I cannot bring myself to replace my filthy living room rug, though I can do so for $40, because I know the new one will get dirty too because I insist on reading the Sunday paper there); I wouldn’t even glance at a car that didn’t have air conditioning.
But, I miss the days of taking calls at home, not in Target or while cruising I-40. I miss looking forward to dining out because it was a rare treat. I miss being so excited over a little white turnable blasting the Star Wars theme, knowing that Mom stretched the budget to get me that AND a doll. At Thanksgiving I asked my niece, who turned 16 in Sept., about what gifts she received for her BIG birthday. She couldn’t recall a single gift.
April 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I’ve noticed I’m the only man chiming in, may I continue to play?
Cynthia, I agree particularly with your observations as you sum up. I truly miss how special doing certain things were because doing those things were so rare, they were a real treat looked forward to for weeks or months in advance.
I like this topic so here goes again: THEN-Cherished our annual week long family vacation driving trips.(Never did the camping thing like your family did that time, Cynthia) My parents saved for months to make those trips happen. NOW-Throw a bag in the trunk, get in the car and go alone sometimes on spur of the moment anywhere anytime. THEN-Attended an average of 8 concerts a year at Mid South Coliseum, when all the big rock acts hit Memphis reguarly. Ticket prices were in the $25 range to see ANY ONE on tour(where is Mid South Concets when we need them?) NOW-Driving to Atlanta to see the E Street Band because very few big acts play Memphis any more, ticket price $110. THEN-Fabulous stereo components recieved as a high school graduation present bought from the local “mom and pop” high end audio store of that day, Scott Sound Center costing my parents a very generous $500. NOW-Home theatre everything housed in a oak wall length ceiling hgh entertainment center in my favorite room purchased by me from a national chain store at five times the cost. THEN-Drove a 1967 Mustang with an 8 track tape deck bought for $250 from my Grandpa from age 17 to 24 when I sold it as a classic. My mistake, that car would sell today for way more than $20k. NOW-Drive a 2002 Mustang with the now essential very necessary satillite radio, CD changer, and something becoming rare these days…a casette deck. Costs me more than $20k six years ago.
Man, things have changed!!
April 9th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
THEN – one white wall phone in the kitchen, one black rotary dial on my parents’ nightstand and no answering machine. NOW – my girls had their own telephone line 20 yrs ago and I bought my 9 yr old granddaughter a cell phone for Christmas.
THEN – my mother and the mothers of all my friends hung clothes on the line in the backyard NOW- there are not only dryers, but home steam cleaning machines
THEN – I spent every Tuesday morning ironing NOW- one of my daughters does not own an iron, it is all dry-cleaned
I know my standard of living has changed, but so have my expectations and standards. And like our parents gave us the best they could afford, we do the same for our children. the best just keeps getting better