Things in poor neighborhoods are done differently than in middle- and upper- class neighborhoods. People that grow up in poor neighborhoods develop behaviors, customs, and beliefs that are different from other neighborhoods because they are part of surviving in the struggle. When they move on up, some of those behaviors, customs, and beliefs are no longer necessary and can even be harmful (e.g. strong reactions to perceived attacks). Others may actually provide an advantage (e.g. living through power outages). Regardless, these changes can cause a sense of estrangement from their childhood and original culture, leading to some resistance. Given all that:
What did you change and what did you keep?
I’ve CPTSD
“the sticks” doesn’t mean poor, it just means in the countryside (at least in the UK). On the estate(s) would be correct for us.
I didn’t grow up particularly poor, but became poor upon moving out of the family home. This led to making do with very limited ingredients, finding bargains, and that has stuck with me ever since. I’ve saved a lot of money down the years, can live very frugally for a period of time when I really need to, and as such became a homeowner because I knew how to knuckle down and avoid unnecessary expenditure, perhaps to the detriment of my health at times.
“the sticks” doesn’t mean poor
Is there an informal term that would describe poor rural neighborhoods similar to ghetto/barrio?
I stopped pulling over to pull useful items out of other people’s trash.
I still look, but I haven’t yanked a chair or TV in years.
yoooo, my first adult bed, furniture set, and laptop were from the trash. rich kids in college towns throw out the best stuff. it was a Compaq, and the only problem was overheating because it needed that heat sink lube.
A big thing is thinking about finances constantly and asking those kinds of questions in social settings. It’s more of a common thing to do when you’re in a poorer environment.
Everyone talks about finances… but upper class has different “struggles”
Poor people more often have the kind of reaction of “Oh, that must have cost a lot.” whereas richer people will simply say “Yeah that’s good for you, it’s important to get the good stuff”.
Or, it’s knowing how fancy something is and then having to one up people. Money is involved but perhaps not explicitly mentioned, depends on the purpose though.
I still to this day when leaving the house or a building. I need to look both ways before I exit. When I was younger and living in the ghetto I almost got shot because there was a shoot out down the street.
