The "overcrowded south", 'success' and keeping up with the Joneses....

[Marco]

Someone I know wrote the following on another forum, whilst addressing one of the members there:

You appear to live in a remote and probably more sensible part of the UK, hundreds of miles from the overcrowded south of England, where everything runs at a million miles per hour in comparison and full of people down here feeling they have to out-do everyone else. Everyone needs to feel they have to 'Keep up with the Joneses' - or stamp on them in the need to be 'better/more successful' and I think this spills over to hobby-forums.

I think that comment is spot on (certainly when comparing the busyness/hustle and bustle I witness when 'down south', to here in Wrexham), and indeed can see plenty of evidence of the above (the latter bit) on many forums.

Question is: can you see any of that in YOUR life, and if so, are you happy about it, or would you like to change things if you could for the better, and if so, how would you go about doing it?

Thank goodness we too are WELL AWAY from the rat race that often is living in London and the south of the UK. In that respect, we're grateful to live in a tranquil suburb of Wrexham, in North Wales - well away from the false and rather soulless existence described above.

I simply couldn't stand living amongst what the chap describes, nor do Del or I have any interest in the mindless nonsense of 'keeping up with the Joneses'.

Trouble is, forums and 'real life' are full of folk who do, most likely due to having a demanding social-climbing other half, who possesses that type of selfish mentality and materialistic obsession with 'bettering' himself or herself

My view? It's all rather sad. If you see any evidence of that in your life, get out now and do something about it, while or if you still can...!!

Your thoughts please, gentlemen, particularly on what your definition is of "successful"?

Marco.

[Macca]

Some people don't really have the option. If your job is down south you are pretty much stuck there.

Personally I don't' give a toss and never have. You've been to my place so you know that is true. I like London in small doses but the idea of living there and commuting on that tube everyday doesn't appeal to me. I have a mate who does just that, though and loves it. So who can say?

[struth]

Think there is an element of that everywhere now. Lots of pressures on people now from every angle. Not that that is new as such but think its more prevalent now, as folk in what would have been classed as upper working and lower middle when i was young have more money and even more debt through house, car, holidays and kids, plus all the chattles that go with it. They work more. Kids get farmed out more. Need more.. Trample on more and it just goes on and on as they can never have enough.

All very sad, and tbh Maggie started it as its what she wanted ... Get the lower classes in debt with mortgages etc and fear losing it that they will go along with it all....

Oh dear i digress

Anyway i aint doing that, even if i could

[Arkless Electronics]

I think people can guess what I think of "social climbing" and "keeping up with the Joneses".... Come the day of the glorious revolution.... I'd have em both banned!

As for the south and that London... I was once, many years ago, a new age traveller for a while and coming from very rural Wales (Llangybi for anyone interested) to London for a few days after living in teepees etc in the middle of a forest with no mains electricity or water was such a culture shock it was palpable!

[Tim]

Well I moved to China old bean mind you, there's all kinds of madness going on here! The grand plan though is a simple life in the country when I return and to keep myself to myself. There was an interesting article in The Guardian I read online yesterday about a journalist who decided to step out of the commercial lifestyle and try to spend no money for a year, apart from food and her home. She found it tough to start with then said she was happier than she had ever been when she adjusted her lifestyle. A lesson for us all maybe?

Ditching the TV ages ago is something that changed my life and it was the first thing that went back in its box when I moved into my apartment here too. Books, music and BBC radio on the iPlayer are my entertainment.

Oh, and chuckling at you lot of nutter's

Sent from my XT1580 using Tapatalk

[Marco]

Interesting replies, chaps. I'll get to them later.

I'm also interested in what your definition is of "successful", as implied by the chap in the opening post, and whether or not you think you've achieved it - and if not, what your plans are to do so

Marco.

[Firebottle]

Success. Getting out of the rat race as early as possible. Having the choice of what you want to do in the day. Enjoying clean air and almost zero pollution.

[Tim]

My definition of successful would be having everything you need and nothing that you don't. And we really don't "need" that much.

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[Justjon]

I spent far too many years working as a new car sales person for Audi, Mercedes etc etc and the sheer amount of customers trying to outdo their friends or neighbours in the flash car department was just laughable. I mean it was fucking ridiculous!
Thats not to say i didn't play on it It was so easy to sell a set of £1500 wheels to someone by saying that they're the latest and their mates didn't have them
And thinking about it, the majority of the crazy expensive cars i sold were on finance (which i knew the guys buying them just couldn't afford as was proven as we bought back a lot of them leaving the poor buggers in massive negative equity and paying off something for years that they didn't own anymore).
For one, I've never "got" the keeping up with the Joneses. I mean, who gives a rats ass what someone else has or hasn't got. Concentrate on ones own happiness and well being i say.
I have little money, but live in a rural village and will soon move again where the only traffic i'll hear is a passing tractor. Give me that any day over having a crippling mortgage and a flash car.

[Beobloke]

It's a generic load of tosh, Marco, and I'm a little surprised that you're quoting it so gleefully.

I live in a house in the countryside. We have no mains gas, no mains drainage and power cuts are fairly common. The nearest shop is a 35 minute walk (fortunately the nearest pub is only 25!). In the winter, when a decent fall of snow comes, the roads around us generally get blocked as they are single track country lanes. When I sit outside in the garden I hear nothing but birdsong and the occasional distant tractor as there are a few farms around us.

So therefore, you might be surprised to hear that if I jump in the car and head in one of four directions from here, I can be in Winchester, Southampton, Petersfield or Portsmouth in about half an hour. You don't get a great deal further south than us but, I can assure, you, it isn't overcrowded and the pace of life is far from hectic!

As to the calm and beautiful oases further north - have you been to Manchester, Liverpool or Birmingham recently?! Much as you might like to think so, I'm afraid you don't have exclusivity on peace and tranquility, any more than us Southerners have the full UK quota of the inner city rat-race!