Re: defining "rich"

I live in a large Canadian city with one of the world's highest costs of living on a PPP basis. Even here, $165k/year will buy you a top-10% lifestyle. Housing might not be palatial, but thats a feature of urban geography.

I don't think we should misconstrue what "rich" looks like. I would say being "rich" is about virtually all of life's decisions containing an element of personal choice. If a household can choose which city it lives in, have control over the school the children attend, participate in regular leisure activities, pay for post-secondary studies, and still have money to spare for a comfortable retirement, then that's rich in my books. And, even in the most expensive geographies, a $165k+ household can achieve at least several items on that list.

Maybe a simpler litmus test of SES is whether, on a given day, the bulk of a household's concerns could be lumped under #firstworldproblems. wink

What is to give light must endure burning.