Not sure if this is the best comm for this post, but it really hit home with me, and is getting some good discussion in my circles.
Not sure if this is the best comm for this post, but it really hit home with me, and is getting some good discussion in my circles.
Yeah I missed the lowest paid person in the office part. But you're right the hobbies stood out a bit to me too. I understand not having time outside work, but it isn't bourgeoisie to have other interests in life. Soccer is communal costs nothing but time, and even rock climbing has a pretty low barrier to entry compared to golfing and sailing and the like.
In my experience, adult soccer leagues are definitely made up of rich people. It's not soccer itself - if you have a few friends or are able to find a group of strangers to meet up with, then yeah for sure - but signing up for an established adult soccer league can be super expensive. Not to mention the gear you have to buy.
Overall it's the cultural difference, the author COULD have joined in on many of these activities, including the vegan soup lunch (although knowing tech people I imagine it was an insanely expensive soup). But there's a huge cultural barrier to be involved in the first place, not to mention even wanting to be involved.
Soccer in itself is a proletarian sport, you don't "need" fancy equipment, at the most basic level you just need a ball and something to mark goals.
Making it bougie is a heinous crime to me.
Totally agree! This is just my experience in the US, definitely not the case elsewhere in the world. And like I said, nothing is stopping proles from getting together without fancy gear.
Rock climbing only cost like $150 for the gear and it will last you for years. But a membership to an indoor climbing gym in a place like that is likely over $100 a month. Even sports like soccer if you're playing in a club, which I assume her rich co-workers were, can get expensive. I had to drop out of rugby because not only was the $40 a month for dues hard for me but I also could never mesh with the team cause everyone would go out to eat together after almost every practice and I could never afford to.
This is true. I've never been big into rock climbing, but I have some friends who are and I live in an area with a handful of natural walls not too far away, so all of my experience has been pretty cheap. But your point on club dues and the extra social outings is fair. I don't have much experience living outside the rural/suburban parts of the Midwest, so I forget that folks will find ways to make their social groups even more exclusive.